USADA v Armstrong - Charges

The USADA report list six charges against Lance Armstrong:

1. Use and / or attempted use of prohibitive substances
2. Possession of prohibitive substances
3. Trafficking of prohibitive susbstances
4. Administration and / or attemted administration of prohibitive substance to others
5. Assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting, covering up and other complicity
6. Aggravating circumstances

The difficulty I have with charge one is that testing should have caught it. According to the report, from 1999 - 2005, 20 of the 21 Tour podium finishers have been linked to doping and that from 1996 - 2010, thirty-six of forty-five have been linked.

Hopefully the report will give some insight into how Lance Armstrong could have avoided detection during that time when so many others were caught.

USADA v Armstrong - Introduction

The introduction of the USADA report summarized that the USADA interviewed multiple team members and that several of those team members are quite prominant. It also stated that financial records had been obtained. The USADA requested to interview Lance Armstrong and that he refused and based upon that refusal, the USADA published their reasoned decision.

Since Lance Armstrong chose not to cooperate with the USADA, they were able to review the information they received and reach their decision. I'm assuming it's called a reasoned decision since the information was not initially reviewed by a nuetral arbitrator.

USADA Report

I wasn't going to read the USADA report against Lance Armstrong but after being asked what I thought by several friends, I decided to take a look. First, a little about where I stood at the start. I am someone who believes that Armstrong did it clean. I wear the yellow band. I find it hard to believe that anyone could consistantly beat the system. It would have to require inside knowledge of when testing was going to be done. It would require having access to doctors around the clock to help beat the test.

That's where I start from. I hope to read a few pages a day and write what I find and think.

Computrainer - Super 6 - Week 2 - SP33

The first couple weeks of the Spinervals Super 6 program is focused on building your aerobic base with a weekly higher intensity session. Today's workout was the intense session for the week and is based upon Spinervals 33 The Pain Cave.

The Super 6 plan is being offered through Training Peaks so in order to take advantage of their many features, I converted Spinervals 33 into an ERG workout to be used with the Computrainer coaching software. The workout is pretty intense and went really well until I decided to mess with the heart rate sensor and reset the entire workout. Not a good move, especially when you are in the last set.

One feature that I'm using in Training Peaks is the charting function. By exporting my workout from the coaching software, I can upload it to Training Peaks and chart my performance.

The pink color is watts and I am real consistent with the workout. During the long interval set starting about minute 21, the power is steady for the entire ninety seconds.

Harvest Moon - Post Race Report

It's been a month since Harvest Moon and I've had a lot of time to reflect on what when wrong. The first thing that was wrong was the mental game. I don't know exactly what it was but I think all the solo racing just played on my mind too much. Racings a lot of fun but it's always been more fun when it's with friends. The sharing in the struggle and accomplishments make the day much more fun. For 2013, I've got to either talk my friends into more races or make more friends at the races. Either way, I've got to put the fun back into the race.

The second thing that went wrong has to be run training. Prior to Harvest Moon, I spent some time trail running in Durango. While it was fun, it was a lot harder than my normal running with lots of steep ascents and descents. I think this put a lot of stress on my calves and I didn't give them time to adjust and recover.

The last thing that went wrong was the cycling. When I returned from Durango I did back-to-back seventy mile rides. Prior to that my previous long ride was near forty and it wasn't back-to-back. While the long rides were fun, they put too much strain on already tired legs. It was definitely a violation of the ten percent rule.

As a result of the two training errors, what I thought on race day was a cramp was probably a grade two strain of the soleus. It's been four weeks and I'm barely able to run three miles without pain and that's after three weeks of no running. It also cost me two races, Crescent Moon and Panerathon, both of which I really like doing.

Next year, leason learned. Keep the training increases reasonable and stay within the plan. When I have spare time, take a longer nap, not a longer ride.

Harvest Moon Race Report

Harvest Moon Half Iron has always been one of my favorite races but this year, maybe I should have sat it out. The season had been really good through the triathlon in Estes Park but lately it seems I lost my motivation. I've been racing and most of the time, my usual friends have been absent.

When I showed up at Aurora Reservoir, Steven was there set up ready to go. The swim sent really well for not having much motivation. I set a good pace from the start and swam pretty straight considering you have to swim staight into the sun. It would be really nice to not have to swim into the sun but I guess that's what you get.

The bike course had a small modification at mile one; the exit from the reservoir was modified and now exits like Rattlesnake. The first ten miles were typical eastern Aurora with the rolling hills to the turn around. The northbound leg to Watkins had a nice tailwind and I literally flew. Somewhere along the course, I had caught up to Steven and for some reason, I just settled in. I don't usually settle in on a race but for some reason today it seemed like the thing to do. Overall, the bike was ok, not a great performance, not a bad ride, just ok. I know it didn't take too much out of me so I should have had plenty left for the run.

I was in and out of T2 pretty smoothly and onto the long out and back that is Aurora Reservoir. The initial pace felt pretty good so I tried to dial it back a little. I know 13.1 is a long way to run and going out too fast at Harvest Moon is a recipe for disaster. The course has some small steady climbs but it has almost no shade and by the time the run starts, the temperature has climbed. About three miles into the run, I had to stop for a pit stop. Something had been bothering my stomach since mile forty on the bike and it was time for a stop.

I was running really well through the turnaround and heading back when the wheels or left calf literally fell off. One second I was running nice and smooth and the next the left calf was starting to hurt and then I was walking. I tried to stretch a little but nothing gave me any relief. With six miles to go, a short run turned into a long hike. After walking a couple miles, I was able to shuffle for a minute and then walk for a minute. It was the best I could do and it got me to the finish, not pretty but still a finish.

Computrainer and Spinervals

Last year at this time I decided to change up my training with the Performance Improvement Guarantee (PIG) plan. This year I've decided to change it up using the Spinervals Super 6 plan. To do the plan with the Computrainer is going to require a little prior planning.

For the aerobic base building sessions, I think I can either use a Spinerval DVD and manually set the resistance or I can just pick a Computrainer course and hold the target power for the duration of the workout.

I think the best way to handle the interval workouts will be to build ERG workouts. My reasoning is that interval workouts involve changing resistance quickly and sometimes within short intervals. I don't think that this will work as well with a DVD and manually changing resistance.

The plan starts, like all good plans, with an assessment of your current ability. Like the PIG, the Super 6 starts with a threshold test. I was able to hold 247 watts for the test which was a little lower than the 253 I held for my final PIG test. I'm pretty happy with that since I'm coming off a three week rest period.

Computrainer - Vittoria

My Continental trainer tire suffered a blowout last week so I replaced it with a Vittoria trainer tire and so far I'm loving it. It's a little quieter than the Continental. I ride Vittoria on the road so I'll see how it holds up on the trainer.

Computrainer - Flat Tire

Cruising along on a nice tempo ride when I feel a little vibration in the rear tire. That's not normal but I'm almost done with the tempo portion so I keep riding. A minute or two later, the vibration gets worse and then blam, thump, thump, thump. Now that's definitely not right. I jump off the trainer and smell rubber burning. That's really not right. Taking a look at the tire, there's a one inch slit in the tire.

I guess Computrainer is the closest thing to riding outside, it even has the occasional flat tire.

Evergreen Sprint Triathlon Race Report

Racing Underground brought back the Evergreen Sprint Triathlon and it fit into my schedule so I thought I would give it a go. I thought racing at elevation would also make it a little more exciting and difficult.

The race takes place in the Evergreen Town Lake and is a great venue for a race. The parking is somewhat limited but there is plenty of grass and trees for after the event. The lake normally doesn't allow swimming but Racing Underground was able to get permission as long as everyone wore a wetsuit. The water temperature at the start was around 68 degrees which is warm for the lake. The shore of the lake wasn't conducive to swimming with the lake bottom being pretty soft and descending quickly. The swim start was in water so you have to either be up near the shore or out treading water. I had a very good start and was able to get near the front of my wave by the first buoy. I was caught by a two people at that point but I wasn't able to hold their feet so I had to continue on my own. I had a form break from about 250 meters to 350 meters. Once I got back on form, I was ok, but it took a little work.

The bike course was one of the most challenging courses I've ridden. After a flat mile, the climbing begins and it doesn't end until about mile eight. There are a couple false flats but that's what they are, false hope that the climbing is over. I know people think Old Stage at Boulder Peak is tough but Stagecoach at Evergreen is harder in my opinion. The average grade isn't as steep but it's averages eight percent and the climb is close to seven mile where Old Stage is less than one.

The descents at Evergreen are also a little more technical. Boulder Peak has nice long sweeping curves but the curves at Evergreen are shorter and sharper.

Just like Boulder Peak and Loveland, you have to be on the lookout for wild life. One the last descent coming back to transition, I saw three elk and one was right on the course. A little breaking and quick manuevering got me around the elk with no injuries to either one of us.

Before the race, I walked the first 200 - 300 meters of the run course. Most run courses go around the lake and Evergreen is no exception. It did go around the lake but it also took a little detour through a neighborhood which included a very long and steep hill. It also had two sets of stairs, one down and one up just in case your quads weren't sore yet.

Overall it's a very good course and as always, Racing Underground put on a great event. I continued to do well with second in my age group and top fifteen overall. The overall is slightly skewed since four of the people faster than me are professionals and one was a bronze medalist in Athens.

Computrainer 3D

A few weeks ago, I created a course map for the Evergreen Sprint Triathlon. When I rode it on my Computrainer, I thought, there is no way the course elevation and climbs are right. Well, I raced Evergreen last weekend and although the climbs might have been slightly easier, it was every bit as tough as the Computrainer course.

Computrainer - Vanishing Contest

Was it something I said? The blogging contest on the RacerMate site seems to have vanished. I wonder what happened. Several of there links seem a little dated too such as the one where you have to sign up for Coach Rob by January 29th.

Oh well, what's one to do but get on the Computrainer and ride.

Computrainer - Beating the Heat

They say if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen but when it heats up outside, I beat the heat with my Computrainer. We've been over ninety degrees for I don't know how long and with the smoke from the fires, it's easier and safer to train indoors on the Computrainer.

Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon Race Report

With fires outside of Ft Collins and road construction on the run course, L2L had some tough issues to overcome. The fires were burning near Horsetooth Reservoir and the road construction closed one lane of the run course. The race director really stepped up, developed new bike and run courses and put on a great race.

The swim course was slightly different than previous years but it was still a swim and 1500 meters. My goal was to try and swim with Chris who was slightly faster than me in Greeley. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find him before the start so I just picked a good line and set out on my own race. The swim went pretty well except for the sighting on the east-bound leg. There were two buoys but I couldn't see anything. I just had to swim with the group and hope the person out front went straight.

Out onto the bike course, I was trying a new wheelcover. Would it really make a difference? Would I be faster? Since the course is different from previous years, I wouldn't be able to compare bike splits so this one had to stand on its own. I was passed on the bike by a couple people in my age group but other than that, I held my own pretty well. On the bike, as we neared the foothills, you could feel and taste the smoke.

With temperatures expected to rise into the low hundreds, I was glad that the new bike course was shorter. I also carried two bottles on the bike loaded with Gu Electrolyte tabs. I wanted to make sure I was overhydrated on the bike so that I wouldn't get too dehydrated on the run. By the time I finished the bike leg, I had finished both bottles and didn't feel bloated.

At the start of the run, I knew there at least three people in my age group ahead of me, the two who passed me and Greg who's a former pro. I don't really have a chance to catch Greg so I had to focus on the others in my age group. At the start of the run, I passed the first person in my age group but he didn't look familiar so maybe I was farther down the leader board.

With the temperatures climbing and not exactly sure of the run distance, I took the strong and steady approach. I wanted to go hard but not too hard, leaving something for when I made it back around the course and knew I had only a couple miles to go. It turns out that the new run course wasn't the same as the really old course and was only 5.1 miles. I caught another age grouper with about half a mile to go and made a strong move so that he couldn't stay with me. Turns out that there was another two runners up the course.

Overall, I had a good run and good race. With the new course, smoke in the air and high temperatures, a lot of people had trouble racing. My hydration strategy worked really well and I didn't have any cramping issues off the bike. Even the next day, my legs still felt good and I didn't have the usual post race stiffness and headache. Lesson learned - more hydration with electrolyte replacement.

Computrainer to the Rescue

Due to the Hyde Park forest fire, the bike course for Loveland Lake to Lake had to be changed. Without a chance to preride the new course, I turned to my Computrainer. Taking the turn by turn directions and Map My Tri, I created a course layout. Using Cycling Peaks Real3D, I converted the layout into a 3D file and loaded that into my Computrainer.

It's not as good as riding the course but now I have an idea on where the hills and turns are.

Computrainer - Nutrition

During my first two triathlons, my nutrition has consisted of: one gel with water prior to the swim, one gel with water on the bike and water on the run. On the run I've been getting tight calves with some cramping. As near as I can tell, I think I'm low on electrolytes. The hydration is good and the energy levels seem fine but I think the cramps are electrolytes. Reading the labels of the gels and there isn't a lot of sodium or potassium.

For this week's race, I'm going to try something a little different. I'm trying Gu Electrolyte tabs on the Computrainer. They have a lot of sodium and a lot of potassium. The drink mix hasn't bothered my stomach on the Computrainer so it might work during racing.

Life is an experiment and triathlon is the lab.

Computrainer - PIG Improvement Comparison 2

I ran the numbers for Greeley and the bike portion was right where PIG predicts. I still don't know if the 10% improvement in power translates to 10% in speed but at Greeley it was pretty close. In 2011, the bike course took 26:34 and in 2012 only 24:19 which is a 2:15 improvement. That's an improvement of 9.25%. The run also improved from a 20:01 to 19:24, an improvement of 3%.

At a time when I should be slowing due to age, I'm improving with Computrainer.

Greeley Computrainer Impact

I was talking with Chris after Greeley and he said that my run at Pelican and Greeley had been really strong and surprised a lot of people He then said that I must have worked hard on my run. My reply was that I worked on my bike hard using my Computrainer and that had made my run so much faster.

The PIG progam helped me improve my bike by two minutes and my run by forty seconds. Overall, my total time went down just over 2:20 seconds. Not too bad for a sprint triathlon.

Greeley Triathlon

I chose the Greeley Triathlon for my second race of the year, just like last year. Greeley is a great sprint with a time trial type start and the regional championship for the juniors. It's a great chance to watch the potential of the young triathletes and always motivating.

Due to high winds the previous night and during the early morning hours, the race was on hold while a decision was made. After forty-five minutes, a decision was made and the race was on. The race director made the swim optional for anyone concerned but since the wind had died down, I thought the conditions were safe. I was concerned about the smoke from the forest fires but since they were far enough west and north, Greeley wasn't too impacted.

The swim is a time trial start in reverse age order with men and women starting together. I think mixing the men and women was a good improvement from last year when the women's field had to wait for all the men. I like the time trial start and had a good swim. At only 500 meters with two ninety degree turns, the swim is quick. I swam pretty straight and only had trouble sighting the exit. The rubber duckies were quite big enough for me to see. I remembered the exit from last year and knew to swim up the exit ramp as far as possible.

Coming out of the swim and into transition, I noticed a racer in my age group had caught me. From his number I knew I started before him so I lost fifteen to twenty seconds to him. I would have to close the gap on the bike. He had a faster transition since he didn't wear a wetsuit and that meant I had to get back even more seconds.

The bike course is similar to last year's course but the start had a new out and back with a round about. I thought we went to the second round about but we were supposed to u-turn at the first round about. Since I wasn't quite ready, I overcooked the turn, almost came to a complete stop and had to accelerate hard.

The major out and back was also moved to the front half which enabled me to get a good feel for how far back I was. At only ten miles, I would have to work hard to close the lead down. On the back half I finally caught my competition and made a hard pass. I didn't want him to think  he could pull me back so I jumped around and went hard. I was lucky because after my pass, there were a couple turns and then a climb. I pushed it and used the corners to hide. It worked out well because when I made it back to transition, my chaser was gone.

With two climbs and two u-turns, the run is tougher than Pelican but it's still only a 5-k.The run starts with a downhill so I let it fly. After the first climb and u-turn, I could see my competition and I knew I had a good gap. I kept the pace up knowing that based upon my Pelican performance I would have a good run.

Overall, the race went really well. I had good splits in all disciplines and held a good solid pace the whole way. Of the age groupers, I finished fifth and won the age group. My strategy for nutrition and pacing were both good and I think that Loveland will be a good test in a couple weeks.

Computrainer - Race Preparation

I'm finding that one big benefit of Computrainer is race preparation and course visualization. Prior to an event, most coaches will stress race visualization as one step in getting ready for a race. With Computrainer and the 3D software, the bike portion of a triathlon is easily visualized. During my taper before a race, I ride the bike course three or four times to learn where the turns and hills are. Which turns lead into hills, which hills have are short and steep or long and gradual. Everything helps prepare me so that when I arrive at the race, I'm already comfortable with the bike and I know where I have to make my move or the best place to react to a move.

It also works for the run but since most triathlon runs are short and flat, the benefit isn't as great.

Computrainer - Slowtwitch Discussion

An interesting discussion on Slowtwitch about the benefits of a Computrainer.

Computrainer Calorie Calculator

Perhaps one of the most overlooked numbers when training with a Computrainer is the calorie counter. Everyone knows their CP30, watts per zone, heart rates but does anyone pay attention to calories? I think more people should and I'll let you know why.

During a recent tempo ride, I decided to watch my calorie counter and determine how many calories I burned for a period of time. I recorded calories for several one minute intervals and for a couple ten minute intervals. All the intervals averaged out to thirteen calories per minute. Utilizing that information, for a thirty minute tempo ride, I would burn 390 calories and for an hour tempo, 780 calories.

Thirty and sixty minutes are important benchmarks since most triathlons I do are either twenty or forty kilometers which take under thirty or sixty minutes respectively. In a race situation, I can expect to burn at least 390 or 780 calories. Since triathlons start with a swim, by the end of the bike, I've burned at least 500 or 1000 calories.

Armed with this knowledge, at the Pelican Fest triathlon, I decided to have a gel on the bike. Even though a gel doesn't contain 500 calories, by taking on calories during the bike, I started the run with more calories available. I think this had a definite impact on my run which was one of the fastest I've had in a long time.

Without the calorie calculator, I wouldn't have know how many calories I was utililzing and would not have realized how important even during a sprint triathlon a gel was.

Someone once said that Ironman was an eating contest and I think that applies to triathlons of all distance. Consume calories when you can to maintain your speed as long as possible.

Pelican Fest Triathlon

After missing Pelican Fest last year due to a toe issue, I was anxious for the start of triathlon season. Pelican Fest is a great sprint triathlon and is a good way to start the season. A lot of fast age groupers show up to see how their fitness is going and to shake out the cobwebs. My running has been going really well and after working through the Computrainer PIG program, I was excited to see how I would do.

My plan for the race was simple, stay with Steven on the swim, limit my lose on the bike and then run hard. In the past at this race, Steven would put too much time into me on the bike which would make the run irrelevant. Today, I wanted to hold him on the bike and then out run him. I also wanted to try and prevent Neil from catching me on the bike. Neil's a very good cyclist and always catches me. If I could hold him off on the bike, I knew I could take him on the run.

The swim is point-to-point and only 800 meters in length. Even with the mild winter and warm spring, the water was still cold. With a nice grassy park and sandy beach, the swim start is really nice. The exit is a different story involving running up a grassy and sometimes muddy bank. After warming up for ten minutes and getting used to the water temperature, I lined up on the front right for the start. It was a little hectic at the start but I managed to get to the middle front by the turn buoy and I was right on Steven's hip.

The buoys didn't go straight to the swim exit rather they went straight  to keep swimmers from the shore. If you swam from the turn to the exit, you would have been about ten - twenty meters right of the buoys. Since I was in a good position to chase Steven, I stayed on his right. We drifted towards the buoys and I could have been a little faster if I swam straight but the draft was useful and saved a lot of effort.

Steven built up a ten second lead out of the water and added a few more through T1. He was already past the mounting line when I started to run my bike through transition.

The Pelican Fest bike course for some reason has always been hard for me. I really don't know why but I've never really had a good ride there. The first two miles are mostly uphill and that may be a factor. Other than being passed in the no-passing zone, the bike went pretty well. After the first climb, I settled in and held a pretty good pace. I kept thinking I could see Steven in the distance but I couldn't tell.

Off the bike and into transition two brought a couple of changes for this race. I'm running the Pearl Izumi Iso Transitions this year which is a departure from Asics. I almost bought the Asics Noosa triathlon shoe but it was heavier than the Pearl Izumis. The opening is a little tighter than I expected and it took a little longer to pull the shoes on. I used 2 Toms lubricating sheets instead of Body Glide and they worked really well. I think I need to practice pulling the shoes on a little more.

The Pelican Fest run course is about as flat as you can get around here. I set out with a hard pace and was determined to pull Steven back. At the turn, Steven still had a twenty second lead and there was less than two miles to run. By the two mile marker, his lead was down to ten seconds and coming down. I finally caught him with a kilometer to go and pushed hard to make it stick.

As I entered the park, I took a quick glance back on the turn and I knew I would finish ahead of Steven. I got nicked at the line by Travis who I had been pulling along during the run. Fortunately he had started five minutes before me.

Overall, the race went really well. My bike split was the fastest its ever been at Pelican Fest even though I thought it was slow. My run leg was also very good, finishing the run in 19:01. It's been a few years since I've been that fast in a 5k let alone in a triathlon 5k. In addition to finishing ahead of Steven, I finished third in my age group and finished ahead of Neal.

Computrainer Contest Conundrum

Marketing is always a finicky proposition at best. Will this idea increase exposure and drive sales or at least help retain current customers? How to best reach new customers? How to reward existing customers? Will the idea be so successful that we can't keep up with the new demand?

I think the Computrainer blogging contest has reached that point? Brad.sweat365 won the January round but it appears that no one has won February - May. Did the contest generate too much interest, not enough? Is the contest still on? Was it ended? Will we ever know?

Computrainer - PIG Improvement Review

The PIG training plan guarantees to improve your performance by ten - twenty percent. The improvement is based upon the amount of watts that you can produce during the CP30 test. While it may be one way to measure performance, how does it translate to performance on the road?

To determine how my improvement went, I competed in the Pelican Fest triathlon that I've done three times with a ten mile bike course. Checking my training logs, the race conditions were relatively the same so it should be a close comparison.

2009 Time: 26:29, Pace: 2:38.9, MPH: 22.66
2010 Time: 26:26, Pace: 2:38.6, MPH: 22.70
2012 Time: 25:42, Pace: 2:34.2, MPH: 23.35

2012 is a three percent improvement over 2011. While this is short of the ten percent quarantee, I think this validates the PIG program.

There is also one other impact that should be reviewed and for a triathlete that is the run. Part of the bike leg is to get to the run leg with something left. If you finish the bike and you can't run, you went too hard on the bike. The Pelican Fest triathlon has a five kilometer run which I used for comparison.

2009 Time: 19:34, Pace: 6:18
2010 Time: 20:38, Pace: 6:39
2012 Time: 19:01, Pace: 6:08

The 2012 run was approximately 8.5% faster than 2010. Reviewing my training logs again, my run training has been realatively the same as 2010 so I believe the run improvement is a result of finishing the bike with fresher legs. I think that the PIG program improved my cycling performance more than the increase at the race because I still had enough in the legs to improve the run leg by over eight percent.

If your a triathete and you haven't tried PIG, your run is suffering.

Computrainer Taper Control

One of the many advantages of using a Computrainer is the ability to enforce a taper. By setting the power for the pacer or by building an ERG workout, you can control the intensity and make sure you don't go too hard while tapering. Of course you have to do the workout but at least with the Computrainer, you'll see if you're going too hard.

Computrainer vs Rain

This morning was supposed to be a two hour endurance ride outside. I got up, look outside and the weather looked pretty promising. By the time I got dressed and out the door, it had started to rain. Time for plan C, put the bike on the Computrainer and find a nice course.

It's good to have options.

Computrainer - The Exercise Effect

One of the benefits of a Computrainer is the ability to ride and not worry about traffic and road conditions. While cycling, one has to think about cadence, balance, handling, traffic and road conditions. With the Computrainer, balance and handling are pretty much eliminated. For me that allow the chance to just clear my mind and let my mind wander where it will. This morning, I identified two risk to my project at work and a new product idea. Let's see if I can implement the product over the course of the summer.

Computrainer - PIG 2, WK2, S2 Tempo

I've been up and down with motivation for working out and it seems whenever I have trouble getting workouts in, I always try to get the tempo workouts in. Today was no different. I haven't finished week 2 yet and so it when this morning rolled around, it was tempo time. It did give me a good change to capture some biometric feedback which has started some thoughts rolling around in my mind. More on that later for now, it's time for breakfast.

Computrainer - Smoking Workout

Ok, the workout was smoking tough but it wasn't just the workout. I was smoking ribs all day yesterday and when I started to workout, the smoke came off the hair.

Computrainer - Athlete Results

I noticed that the RacerMate website has the results of the Computrainer sponsored results. I think there should be a section or link where the age group results could be posted. The market is the age group athlete and showing age groupers how well their peers do with Computrainer would be good advertising.

Computrainer Slogan Contest - Entry 2

Computrainer, helping you manage your most important asset, your health.

Computrainer PIG 2 Wk 2.1 S3 Tempo

It's like deja vu all over again. Since I didn't finish week 2, I'm going to try it again. Once again, I had a long run on Sunday so the legs are still recovering. The legs don't feel as bad this week as last week which is a good sign. The tempo session was easier this week than last so that's a good sign. I plan on trying the interval session before the run intervals which should help.

I think the Computrainer session have helped with my endurance on the run. I don't know about 5k speed but the endurance is definitely better.

Computrainer PIG 2 Wk 2 Endurance Session

How come the endurance session doesn't have a number like session 4 - endurance? How come the title is Road Ride but it says load the course of your choice? If it's a road ride, shouldn't you be riding outside on the road?

See what thoughts float through your mind after two plus hours on the Computrainer? If the weather was good, two hours on the road would be great but it's in the low forties with very gusty wind. Definitely a Computrainer day.

Computrainer PIG 2 Wk 2 S 1 - Not

This morning was supposed to be session 1 intervals for week 2 but a funny thing happened on the way to the workout. I guess running intervals on Wednesday and swimming intervals on Thursday left nothing for the legs on Friday. Funny how that works.

Not one to waste a set of wasted legs, I switched over to spin scan and worked on keeping the bar even and level.

Computrainer PIG 2 Wk 2 S2, 3 Tempo

I know session 1 is supposed to be done first, that's why it's session 1 and not session 4 but when you don't have enough time, you have to juggle the schedule or don't do anything. I was going to do session 1 on Tuesday but when I woke up, my head felt like I had been out drinking so instead of Miller Time, it was tempo time. Wednesday just didn't have enough time. Maybe Thursday or definitely Friday.

Computrainer PIG 2 Wk 1 S2, 3 Tempo

The first time I did the PIG training program, I wondered why each week had two tempo sessions. I still wonder since I never did figure it out. The only reason I could come up with was that they needed another workout and although tempo workouts are hard, they usually don't leave you dead for a few days.

Week 1 has two tempo workouts and they are very close. Both are forty-five minutes in duration with a watt difference of only fifteen watts. What that means is that if you can successfully complete session 2, session 3 will be easy.

Computrainer PIG 2 Wk 1 S1 Interval

Vizzini said if you got lost go back to the beginning so it's back to the PIG. The first triathlon is in about seven weeks so I figured that running the first five weeks of PIG with a couple of strategic recovery weeks would set me up just about right.

Instead of taking the CP30, I decided to use the final CP30 from the first PIG. The interval session was tough but I've been it through before so that helps with the confidence. It's like a race that you've ridden before, it allows you to focus on your effort.

Computrainer Weather

Just when you thought it was warm enough to ride outside, winter makes a return for the week-end. Highs in the 40s and rain mixed with snow. Looks like this will be a Computrainer weekend.

Computrainer and Spring

Spring has arrived early this year and it's tempting to start riding outdoors again. I'm going to keep riding the Computrainer during the week for a couple reasons. It lets me control my workouts and hit specific targets without having to worry about traffic, stop signs and pot holes. It also fits well in my schedule. The road will be used for the endurance rides on the weekends where time is more important than holding specific power outputs.

Computrainer - Mont Tremblant

Started riding the new Mont Tremblant course and it looks to be a fun course. A quick downhill near the start and then a couple steady climbs in the first ten miles.

Computrainer - Intervals

Finally feeling better but not perfect from my toothache, it's time to get back on the Computrainer. It's funny in a strange sort of way that my tooth feels better when I'm working hard and it really hurts when just sitting on the couch. I guess that means that exercise is better than sitting around.

This morning's workout was a shorter interval session since I'm still getting back into getting up early. I'm still suffering from a little medicine head which doesn't make getting up easy. The two main sets were five by sixty seconds at 325 with sixty recovery, five by forty-five at 350 with forty-five recovery.

I still haven't decided about the half marathon this weekend. I think I'll see how my head clears today before making a decision.

Computrainer - 40 Minute Intervals

Sometimes I don't have a lot of time to do a longer workout so I came up with a shorter interval workout. It's based upon the Spinervals 3.0 workout but I eliminated the middle tempo work and the last two sets. The warm up is the modified warm up from PIG: seven minutes progressive build, two minutes recovery, five by thirty seconds at CP30 with thirty seconds recovery with an additional sixty seconds recovery after the last interval. The first set is five by sixty at 130% of CP30 with sixty seconds recovery. Three total minutes recovery after the last interval followed by forty-five @ 140% of CP30 with forty-five seconds recovery. Soft pedal for six minutes to make it forty minutes.

The Corner

Two days back-to-back. Maybe I'm finally turning the corner that began with daylights shifting time, new kittens and Houdini getting sick. Time will tell but things are looking better and Spring has arrived so it's time to kick up the riding.

Life Gets in the Way

Life got in the way of the Computrainer this week. I guess it happens and you just roll with it. Tuesday Houdini wasn't feeling too well so after watching him for a while and talking to a vet on the phone, it was off to the clinic. A few hours later it was midnight and neither one of us was happy. Losing three hours of sleep does not make for a pleasant rest of the week. I didn't really get my sleep back until Friday so there were a few missed morning sessions. Hopefully everyone stays healthy and happy next week.

Building a Computrainer Interval Workout

For my first interval workout, I borrowed from Coach Troy and one of my favorites, Suffer-O-Rama. It's an intense workout designed to increase anerobic capacity. As always, there were some minor things I didn't like so I made a couple tweaks along the way. The workout begins with the warm up I explained a couple days ago.

The first set is five killer minutes, one minute hard followed by a one minute recovery. Using Coggan's calculations and based upon my CP30, I estimated the wattage at 325 with recovery at 125.

The second and fourth sets were steady state tempo sets of five and four minutes respectively. Using Coggan and PIG feedback, I set the wattage of these to 225.

Set three was the first set I changed from Coach Troy. In Suffer-O-Rama, the set is 45 seconds hard, 30 seconds recovery. I lengthened the recover to 45 seconds based upon my reading of Coach Daniels where recovery is the same as effort. The set is now 45 seconds at 350 and 45 seconds at 125. Likewise set five was also changed to be five intervals, 30 seconds at 375 and 30 seconds at 125.

The last set is five intervals 20 seconds at 400 and 40 seconds recovery. Since this set is pushing the limits, the recovery is just a little longer. Warm down is at least ten minutes since this is a very intense workout.

Computrainer - Training Levels

Before building any training plan, you have to determine your level of intensity. Using the PIG numbers and Coggan's power zones, I came up with the following.

They line up very well with the PIG workouts and descriptions. The active recovery is a little more conservative and PIG didn't really have anaerobic capacity they don't match up exactly. You can find more information about Coggan and power zones at Coggan Power Zones.

Daylight Shifting Time

Yes I know it's called daylight savings time but we're not really saving daylight, only shifting it from the morning to the evening. Whatever you want to call it, I'm still struggling making the adjustment. The mornings are hard to get up and I feel totally drained. Hopefully this weekend will finally reset everything.

Computrainer - Building a Workout

One thing I liked from the PIG was the warm up. One thing I didn't like about the warm up was that there wasn't much time between the 5 x 30 warm up intervals and the start of the main set.

When I started to build my own workouts, I decided to start with the PIG warm up and tweak it a little. I kept the progressive warm up but shortened it by two minutes to eight minutes. With the extra two minutes, I put one before the start of five intervals. The other spare minute went after the five intervals. Here's how the results look:

Computrainer - Intervals

With a nod to Coach Troy, I created my first interval workout. The difficulty with Spinervals on a trainer is that you have control over the intensity. By creating an ERG file based upon my CP30, I'm able to define the workout and then work to hit the intensity. The result, a tough workout with a variety of different interval sets.

Computrainer Silver Cyclist

The silver cyclist must be related to the silver surfer. To just stay even I have to ride at least ten percent harder and don't even try to stay close on the downhills.

Computrainer Slogan Contest

If you're not on a Computrainer, you're just spinning your wheel.

Computrainer PIG Review

It's been twenty-two weeks since I took the first CP30 test (I know, the program is only twenty weeks long but there were some hiccups along the way) and I thought I would look back and see how it went.

First, the program is hard. If you're not going to be serious and committed, you shouldn't start.

Second, I think I did pretty good. In my first CP30 test, I averaged 193 but not satisfied with the effort, I retested a day later and achieved 224. My best CP30 test was 255 which represents an increase of 13.8 percent. The program promises a ten to twenty percent improvement so I guess it worked for me. Would I have like to been better, of course, but I know as a triathlete and with a full-time job, twenty percent is going to be hard.

The interval sessions were the hardest for me, especially when the interval was longer than five minutes. I struggled with maintaining the intensity for the longer durations. Under five minutes was just fine.

The tempo sets, both the long intervals in the last weeks and the long steady tempo sets were perhaps my best sets. I had the ability to get into a rhythm and just ride.

If you're a trithlete and attempting the PIG, I recommend doing it during the off season when you can reduce your running to maintenance levels. If you try to maintain high intensity running and PIG, I think you will get injured or either the PIG or run training will suffer.

Over the next couple days, I will be working on a modified PIG to use during the season as I build up my running and swimming. My goal is to incorporate so workouts based upon Daniel's, Coach Troy and Progressive Power. The goal is to continue to improve during the season and then try for another ten to thirteen percent improvement next winter.

Computrainer Week 20 PIG Test

Time for the last PIG test to measure how much I improved over the last twenty-three weeks. Ok, I know PIG is twenty weeks but it took me twenty-three to complete it.

The goal was to go out easy and smooth, increasing the wattage every five minutes. The targets were to start at 240, increase each five by five and finish at 265. The first five went by at 251 so I tried to easy back a little, not explode and begin the increases at fifteen. The second five came in at 250 which was just about perfect. I went through fifteen at 252 which was still looking good. I tried to increase over the next five and actually slipped back to 251. Definitely not the direction to be going. Over the next five, I tried to lift the wattage and get back to where I wanted to be. I held the output even from twenty to twenty-five but that wasn't the goal.

Did the test come out the way I expected? Not by a long shot but what can you do?

Computrainer Tip

For the last few weeks, I've been having trouble tightening and loosening the tension on my Computrainer. If you're having the same problem, try a little grease on the trainer frame where the tension bolt hits the frame.

Computrainer PIG Week 20 Recovery

I've made it to the last recovery week and the last test set. It's a time for rest, easy spinning and mental recovery. The previous weeks have been some of the toughest I've had on the bike. In a few days, I'll see how much it's been worth.

Smoking Green Chili

Yesterday I smoked a pork butt. Two hours of hickory and eight more of slow cooking. Today it's into the slow cooker with chilies, onions, tomatillos, and tomatoes. Tomorrow will be the big tasting.

Computrainer PIG Week 19 Session 2 Tempo

Rocking hard set: twenty minutes at 255, five minutes recovery and then do it again. 255 is my CP30 so back to back makes this a rocking hard set. This also marks the last tough workout of the PIG program, just a long cruising endurance workout, a recovery week and then one last CP30.

Computrainer PIG Week 19 Session 3 Tempo

After a couple glasses of Remy Pannier Vouvray, I decided that this morning's workout should be the long continuous tempo as opposed to session two which is the two shorter, harder tempo intervals. It was a good workout and the wine was even better.

Computrainer PIG Week 19

Most people don't appreciate recovery days in a training plan. The recovery day should really be called an improvement day since it's when your muscles are rebuilding from the hard work and becoming stronger and more efficient.

Computrainer PIG Week 19 Session 1 Intervals

The final interval session and it's not a workout too soon. The recovery interval is down to only two minutes and if you've ever tried to recover in two minutes, you know that's not enough time for anything. I have to not make the mistake and start thinking about how many workouts are left before the final recovery week and last test. If I do that, I think I'll explode on the last sets and not finish as strong as I should.

Focus will be key this last hard week.

Computrainer vs Beer

Fortunately today is  a recovery day so the vanilla porter didn't have an impact on the workout. I don't think I would have too many beers before an interval session, I don't know if beer legs could handle the stress.

Computrainer PIG Week 18 Session 3 Tempo

I know, you're supposed to do session two before session three but with the lingering effects of the half marathon, I thought I would do the longer continuous tempo session before the more intense, shorter two part tempo session. I know session two is tougher than three so this gave me another day to rest and recover.

As it was session three was pretty good. I held a few watts above the target watts and it felt good all the way through.

Computrainer vs Tami

This morning's workout was shorter than planned but that's because of Tami. When the alarm went off, she didn't want me to get up. What's a person supposed to do? Sleep another twenty minutes and shorten the workout by a couple reps. Hopefully tomorrow, she sleeps in when I get up.

Computrainter PIG Week 18 Session 1 Intervals

Whether the quads were ready or not, it was time for the PIG to start back. This morning's session was intervals and during this five week block, the intensity and duration have remanded constant with the recovery interval decreasing. This weeks recovery interval was only 2:20 and it was just long enough to think you had recovered and just short enough to punish you.

The quads are not quite recovered so I'll have to see how the morning goes.

Computrainer PIG Week 18

It's time to get back on PIG but with the legs still feeling the effects of the half on Sunday, I'm starting this week with the recovery ride. I know it's not the way to start the week but the quads are still feeling the downhill effort so I'll take the saddle time and start the hard work tomorrow.

Ralston Creek Half Marathon

After a week of recovery from the PIG, it was time for the in inaugural Ralston Creek Half Marathon. The race season for me usually waits until the end of April but this year, Racing Underground started a new half marathon in Arvada on the Ralston Creek bike path. The course runs west, around Arvada Reservoir and up the switchbacks.

I was worried with all the snow we've had the last couple weeks that the path would be covered in snow but early reports have the path as mostly clear with patches of snow and ice. Race morning and the temperature was around fifteen degrees and it wasn't supposed to get much higher.

After trying to say warm at the start, everyone was off. To make the temperature a little more bareable, the race had a late, 9:45, start time. The first mile was down a closed road to the path. Not wanting to start too fast, I picked someone I thought would be a good pacer and settled in. The first few cruised by and around mile five, I caught up to the first of the early starters. Up the southern hills of Arvada Reservior I met my pacer who was a two time CDA Ironman. I was going to make a move on the switchbacks, but I felt good on the descent so I decided to stretch it out.

I've ridden the switchbacks and they are about a mile long, five switchbacks and 4.5% grade. I like hills so I kept the cadence high and began to climb. By the time I was at the top, I had caught several people and was feeling good. The descent was long so I took it easy to not beat up the quads too much.

After looping all the way around the reservoir, the course joined back up with Ralston Creek and it was time to head for home. I was caught by one runner I passed going up the hill but I caught a couple more runners from my wave. Off the path and the last mile was back on the road with a slight uphill.

Overall the race went better than expected. I knew my fitness was good but I expected it to be my cycling that was improved. Even on the hard course with the rolling hills and switchbacks, I managed a PR with a 1:31:41, an improvement of about twenty seconds over last year's Westminster 13.1.

Computrainer PIG Week 18 Interrupted

Week eighteen of the PIG has been interrupted by a half marathon this upcoming weekend. All this training with no racing has me feeling flat so I'm taking this week as a recovery week so that I'll be somewhat fresh for the race on Sunday.

Sometimes I think with all the training and no racing you get flat and stale. Since most of my training has focused on the bike, I don't know how I'll do on the run but that's alright. It will be fun getting out and racing for a morning.

Computrainer versus Snow

Today's tempo session has been snowed out. Shoveling snow for over an hour wiped me out.

Seven inches of snow and still falling.

Computrainer PIG Week 17 Session 2 Tempo

The workout's been done for six hours and the legs still feel fuzzy. I'm sure glad I'm swimming at lunch.

Computrainer PIG Week 17 Tempo

Last week when this workout had ten minutes between the twenty minute efforts, it was called long intervals, today with only five between the twenties, it was called tempo. Whatever you call it, two twenty minute efforts at 98% of CP30 is tough. 

I don't think the hardest part is the physical although it's definitely not easy. I think the harder component is the mental aspect. Not only are you on a trainer but you have to stay mentally engage. If your mind starts to wander, your cadence drops and then you have to push the envelope to get back in the zone.

Last week, I was still feeling this workout five hours later. Let's see how long it stays in the legs today.

Computrainer PIG Week 16

I'm glad that the PIG program has recovery days built in. After yesterday's interval session, five mile run at lunch and four mile run in the evening, I don't think I could have don't a hard session this morning. This PIG program might be easier if I didn't try to keep up my running. Time for work and some rest.

Computrainer PIG Week 17 Session 1 Intervals

After another good weekend of skiing and recovery Monday, it's time to get back in the saddle with intervals. This week's main set is almost identical to last week's set except the recovery interval is twenty seconds shorter. If you think twenty seconds isn't a lot of time, try holding your breath.

Interval sets are definitely tough. Don't go out too hard on any particular interval and don't go out to hard on the early intervals or you'll crack on the last ones.

Computrainer PIG Week 16 Session 3 Tempo

The session 2 long interval set really did a number on my legs. I finished the workout around 5 am and my legs were still numb at 11 am. I slogged through a five mile run but it was all I could do.

The tempo set this week, after an extra day of rest felt real good. The nice thing was that I was holding a tempo just below my initial CP30. I still have a few weeks to go but this training program really does work.

Computrainer PIG Week 16 Session 2 Long Intervals

Pain is temporary but when each rep is twenty minutes long at 98% of your critical power, it seems pretty permanent. I just hope I left enough to climb the stairs out of the basement.

This morning's set was two by twenty at 250 watts with ten minutes recovery. The first twenty seems to take forever and the last twenty felt like thirty. To think that just sixteen weeks ago, I was struggling through 225 watts for thirty minutes.

Computrainer vs Subway

Subway breakfast sandwich: 200 calories
Computrainer interval workout: 872 calories

I guess if you want to lose weight, Computrainer is four times better than Subway.

Computrainer PIG Week 16 Session 1 Intervals

Time to step up for one last four week cycle starting with intervals. The second set was six by six minutes at 275 with three minutes recovery. At the five minute mark of rep one, I adjusted the set to six by five minutes. I wanted to make sure I finished all six reps and I was cracking at the five minute mark. The adjusted reps were tough.

Whoever developed the PIG program knew how to make it just hard enough to introduce doubt but not too hard.

Computrainer Critical Power Test Week 15

It's that time again in the training plan, another critical power test to see how I'm improving. As you may recall, the critical power test in week 10 was a flop. Maybe I didn't improve, maybe I didn't get enough rest, who knows.

Going into this morning's test, the plan was to average 240 watts for the first ten minutes, then raise the average five watts over each of the next ten minutes for a target average watts of 250.

I started out and tried to keep the pace even, trying for a hard even pace. I went through the first five minutes averaging 243 watts which was a little high but it felt pretty good. At this point I decided to hold this pace and see how I felt at ten minutes.

The ten minute average was up three watts to 246 and I still felt pretty good. Trying to relax and control your breathing while pushing 246 watts isn't easy for me but that's what I was trying to do.

At fifteen minutes I was averaging 249 watts which was my target for thirty minutes. Now all I had to do is not explode and I should make my goal. Relax, take a drink from the water bottle and try not to lose focus.

With twenty minutes completed and only ten to go, I was averaging 252 watts which is new territory for me with a duration of twenty. If I didn't explode, I would meet my goal and probably beat it by a little.

Increasing by three watts every five minutes was also looking great. Trying to do math while working this hard, I think it meant that I would finish around 258.

Things started to get tough between minutes 20 and 25. My wattage increased to 253 so I was still improving but the three watt gains had stopped. Time to refocus and finish the test.

The last five minutes were tough. I wanted to get to 255 but that would require a solid effort over the last five minutes, especially considering minutes 20 through 25. The new plan was to hold 253 until twenty-eight minutes and then try to lift the wattage one watt per minute. I jumped up on the pedals at twenty-eight for a short sprint and raised the wattage to 254 and then at twenty-nine, I just buried it, getting to 255 before time ran out.

Now the question is, what's the next set of workouts going to be like since I increased my watts by fifteen? I hope I can make it through the next four weeks.

Computrainer PIG Week 15

Yea, I made it to the third recovery week and not a day too soon. The mornings are still just as early but it's nice to not have to hammer every day. Hopefully with enough rest the test set will go better than the third test set where my improvement flat lined.

Computrainer PIG Week 14 Session 3 Tempo

Today had to be the hardest workout of the week due to yesterday. Yesterday started with a hard interval set on the Computrainer followed by a four mile run at lunch and a three and a half mile run after dinner.

That left about nothing in the legs for this morning's tempo workout. The good news is that longer tempo workouts seem to be my strength and I was able to get through the workout without a lot of trouble. I ran into a little trouble around the seventy minute mark but with only five minutes to go, it wasn't too much of an issue.

Now it's time to start refueling and getting ready for the rest of the day.

Computrainer Week 14 PIG Session 1 Intervals

The weekly difficulties continue with this morning's episode of rebooting the computer. Nothing like having a hard workout and only just enough time and then having to reboot. If I had a really fast computer it might not be an issue by mine takes about five minutes to reboot and there just isn't that type of time cushion on work days.

So what do you do? I shortened the number of intervals from six to four. Four by six minutes at 265 with a three minute recovery interval. I held the first three without any issues and after finishing number four, thought about trying for all six. And then I realized I would be late the rest of the day so I stopped with the success I had.

Take the win, be content and don't add any additional stress to the day.

Computrainer PIG Week 14 Session 2 Tempo

This week was a hard one to start, at least the morning workouts. Monday morning was skipped in favor of sleeping after a hard day skiing on Sunday and Tuesday morning was skipped in favor of sleeping after Monday night's meeting didn't end until 9 and I didn't get home until 10.

The rest of the week is going to be crowded. I only have five days to get in four workouts and I'm hoping one of those days is skiing. To start the morning sessions, I decided to do session 2 Tempo instead of session 1 Intervals. I think tempo workouts are my strength and I wanted a solid start. The workout was tough but it was so close to the last two session 2 tempo workouts that it was easily accomplished. Now it's time to recover and get ready for session 1.

Computrainer PIG Week 13 Session 2

I finished session 2 - tempo finally after not being motivated for two mornings in a row. It's interesting how I wasn't motivated earlier but on Friday morning after running five miles Thursday night I was.

Maybe it was because I had to get up early to start smoking a brisket or maybe it was because I had two days left to complete two workouts. Either way, I got it done.

Computrainer PIG Week 13 Sleepy

This morning was the hardest so far in terms of waking up. It takes a few weeks to get back in the early morning workout mode and today was the closest to sleeping in. I took another recovery ride as opposed to the harder tempo workout since I slept through half of the workout time.

Computrainer PIG Week 13 Session 4 Recovery

I planned session four for the second work morning this week. I find that getting up early the first day is easy but the second day is much harder. With an easy recovery day planned, if I had slept in, it wouldn't have mattered too much.

Computrainer PIG Week 13 Session 3 Tempo

I opted for session three before session two for a couple reasons. This is the first workout at oh-dark thirty in a couple weeks and if it didn't go well, I could always just make it a recovery ride. I also wasn't sure if I would even get up this early so if I missed something I would rather miss workout three than two.

As it was, oh-dark thirty wasn't too early and the workout went pretty well. Now I just have to hustle for the work thing and the rest of the day.

Computrainer Week 13 Session 1 Intervals

Today's main set was six by six minutes with three minutes rest. The six minute reps were at 265 watts and the three were at 125. From past experience, the 265 was a tough number for me. I started to reach failure on rep one at five minutes so I altered the six minute reps to five minute reps. I didn't want to not be able to finish the last reps and if I tried to hold six, I might have failed around rep four. I stretched the five minutes to five-ten, five-twenty and five-ten on reps two, three and four. Rep five was a fractured into two pieces but I recovered it on rep six.

One thing is for sure, the PIG program is tough.

2011 - The Good

Where to start on what went right and was good? Family are all relatively healthy, I'm employed, completed my eighteenth year on the ski patrol, help remodel an animal shelter, got to race a lot, went cycling with an old friend, didn't have to travel too much for work, got to build some cat shelters for a feral colony, was sponsored by Wheaties Fuel, won several races, had a few seconds, and a few thirds, got paid to go to the gym.

Ok, I didn't win Powerball or MegaMillions but the odds are pretty high against that.

On the 0 - 10 scale with 10 being great, 2011 was probably an 8. I don't know how it could get better but there can always be improvement.

2011 - The Bad

They say in every life a little rain must fall but looking back at 2011, I think most days were clear with lots of sunshine. I am trying to think of anything really bad that happened and I can't really think of anything too bad.

There might have been a race or two I wanted to do but I really can't think of one and even if I did miss one I wanted to do, is that really that bad? I did at least ten races and that's quite a bit.

Ok, there were a couple tough workouts that I suffered through and didn't do as well as I would have liked. Is that really bad or just life and tough workouts?

On a scale of 0 - 10 with 10 being Sith Lord bad, 2011 was probably a 0.

2011 - The Ugly

Looking back at 2011, I don't think anything went truly ugly. I learned that Clif Bar is no longer making my favorite recovery drink but when I contacted them, they sent me sample Clif Roks which are now one of my favorites.

The closest thing to ugly was the water in the Potomac when I went to do the Nation's Triathlon in DC. After torrential rains and a hurricane, the Potomac was muddy with a lot of debris. To their credit, the race cancelled the swim and other than running through the muddy transition area, everything else was perfect.

About the only ugly thing was the case of distemper that attacked the kittens we were fostering. Without the valiant efforts of a few people thinks could have been horrible. As it was a few kittens didn't survive but it could have been so much worse.

On a scale of 0 - 10 with 10 being Cthulhu ugly, 2011 was a 3.

Computrainer PIG Week 12

I love completing all the workouts in a week with a day to spare. Since everything was done, I could do whatever I wanted today so I'm starting the new year off with another recovery workout. Don't want to over do it on the first day of the year and tomorrow is the dreaded interval workout.

Happy New Year to all.

Ps. The title now has Computrainer in it because they are running a contest for course videos and a free trainer.