Summer Pollutants Are Forcing Me To The Morning
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of heat index--and ozone--and carbon monoxide--
And why the air is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."
I was just getting acclimated to the heat. I had my NUUN tablets, the amount of water intake, the colder shower, the post-run Accelerade and potassium drinks working and getting me back to normal. Nooooooooooooooo. It's all gone. The friggin' ozone levels and the carbon monoxide levels are reading at unsafe levels for sensitive groups. It's not like it's a one day out of the week thing. It's forecasted for tomorrow too and with the way this weather pattern goes, so goes the air.
Get this. In my August Bicycling Magazine Dave Zabriskie says, "...but Zabriskie laughs when news shows characterize moderate air-quality days as unhealthy for "sensitive" people. 'It's unhealthy for everyone.' he says."
So rather do more damage to my body than the good I'm receiving by running, I'll just push the runs to the mornings again when the air is clean, or as clean as it's going to get.
Labels: carbon monoxide, ozone, pollution, Zabriskie
Bike Fit
I was reading Chris Carmichael's book the other night and it mentioned Greg LeMond's formula for seat height (inseam x .883). I took mine which came out to 28.25 and then went and ran the ruler on the three bikes. The fixxie was closest at 30" and that's after I kicked it up an inch last week. So it was really close. The tri bike and the road bike were both set to 33". The considerably over the 28.25 with the LeMond formula. I drug out my bike fit measurements that Jerry at Castle Hill Fitness did last year or the year before and it was 75.3 cm or 29.6". Crap. No wonder I have no power on the flats. I was overextending the legs big time.
Labels: bike fit, Chris Carmichael, Greg LeMond
Feeling Hot Hot Hot
We've been under a high pressure system for what seems like weeks now. I've tried to run in the mornings when it's cooler but it's just so humid. I forgot the woman I got this from but she said she wouldn't run when the temperature and humidity numbers summed were over 125. So if the temperature is 90 and the humidity is 36% she's at the point where she won't run. Her point was that once it got to that point, the body took too long to recover. Experimenting with this I find it's true for me as well.
The morning weather has seen temps in the high 70s with humidity in the 80% range. This combines for a total of 150 and clearly over the 125 threshold. I've included a few morning runs but the afternoon runs, even with temps at 100 degrees, are more comfortable. The humidity is around 17% and with a temp of 100, the combined total is below the 125 threshold. Comfortable, given I have electrolyte tablets with me, sunscreen, run at an easy pace and then cool off in Barton Springs or with the outdoor, cool water shower at the end of the trail.
I took the fixxie into work with me yesterday. At lunch I rode down to Mellow Johnny's, Lance Armstrong's new bike shop at 4th and Nueces. I expected all the merchandise to be expensive but was pleasantly surprised that their were ranges of prices. Yeah, you could spend $50 for a pair of gloves but I found a pair of Trek gloves for $12 that were just fine. Looking at the bikes the same range applied. There were entry-level Treks for around $700 while a Pinarello Prince for $8500 sat right next to it. They provide free showers for commuters and a coffee shop at the back of the shop.There are so many bike shops in Austin I don't know how they can all survive but I hope Mellow Johnny's is around for a long time to come.
Bad news for Da Fish. I saw him limping down the hall yesterday. It seems the same injury to his knee he felt while running six months ago, happened again while he was cycling the other day. He may be sidelined for some time. he said he's just going to swim for the next few weeks. I think he needs to get it scanned to see if he has a tear or worse and then get it fixed or rehabbed.
Labels: 125, da fish, heat, hot, humidity, Mellow Johnny's
June Workouts
Here are the June workouts, along with a revision to the Strength Workout #1.
Labels: workouts
Back
Everything would have worked if the service provider hadn't dropped my page every week or so. I'd come onto the page only to find it was 0 kilobytes, meaning there was nothing there. For those that don't know, I had dropped this blog for a free consolidation of all my Web properties. It was ok but lacked the simplicity that Blogger offers. So I'm back and blogging here again.
To catch up I've only really had one event since leaving. That was the CapTexTri, Olympic distance. Long race report short, it reflected my training to a tee. The swim was almost as good as the end of last season with only one or two swims before the event. The cycling, which is was I did most over the winter months, increased 3 mph over my best time last year. My run was horrible as by the time I got to the run, it was blistering hot. Overall I was pleased.
I took three weeks off of running after that event. It's the only time of the season where I can take that much time off. My knees thanked me. they feel much better now. They also feel better as a result of my Saturday yoga sessions. Yoga for runners every Saturday morning at 8 o'clock. It's amazing how much of a workout it entails and how much my hips, hams and quads get out of it. My legs feel much more rubbery afterwards.
Another change for this year is staying off the concrete and asphalt. It's only trails, grass or dirt from now on unless it's for a race. I've been cycling on the fixed gear bike to and from the trails. The legs aren't as stiff by staying on the trails.
I'll post the new schedule for the summer in the next day or so.
Labels: back, CapTexTri
