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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in ironmatt's LiveJournal:

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    Thursday, April 10th, 2008
    6:30 pm
    Thursday
    Date: 04/10/2008
    Time: 18:30
    Duration: ~1.5 hours
    Location: Autobahn

    Sport: Cycling
    Workout: 8mi time trial
    Distance: 8mi x 3
    Cadence: 90ish
    RPE: 15
    Nutrition: 1 Gu, 28oz Gatorade Endurance

    Weather: Mild and sunny, winds from the north
    People: TxFe

    Comments:
    Result: 20:20. I'm not really happy with it. It felt much faster, or at least much harder. Ties my slowest time from last year.
    Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
    6:37 pm
    Tuesday
    Date: 04/08/2008
    Time: 18:40
    Duration: ~15 minutes
    Location: Barton Springs / Zilker

    Sport: Running
    Workout: not really
    Distance: insignificant
    Nutrition: None

    Weather: Hot, humid, sunny, oppressive-feeling
    People: TxFe

    Comments:
    I'm not sure whether it was the lingering infection, the tetanus shot, or the 1.5 hour crawl down Mopac on my motorcycle behind an old Chevy burning oil, but this was a Bad Run. I had no energy and felt like I'd aged 20 years. I was over 30 minutes late for the workout, so was given an abbreviated version by Jamie, but starting into it I knew it wasn't to be. I'm lucky if I even made it a full 15 minutes total.
    6:08 am
    Tuesday
    Date: 04/08/2008
    Time: 06:08
    Duration: 53:14
    Location: Barton Springs

    Sport: Swimming
    Workout: 60 minute swim
    Distance: 2400m (5 crack laps)

    Weather: Humid, mild, high 60s and dark at start
    People: [info]shublog, [info]teambaraka, [info]deankat, eventually [info]whyiron

    Comments:
    Yes, this really was my first workout in over a week. Crash recovery took longer than expected, and the thought of slipping on the wetsuit over newly-healed roadrash wasn't the most inviting, but it turned out OK. My fitness felt way off so I just kept it as easy as I could (and still keep forward momentum) and went with the mantra of "enjoy." My left-hand breathing is getting to feel more natural, and I'm slowly getting back my ability to sight, such that I for the most part followed straight lines across the pool.
    Sunday, March 30th, 2008
    9:27 am
    Sunday
    Date: 03/30/2008
    Time: 09:27
    Duration: 25:44
    Location: Neighborhood

    Sport: Running
    Workout: 2 hour run
    Distance: ?
    Cadence: Low
    RPE: Low
    Nutrition: None

    Weather: Warm, humid, drizzle/rain
    People: Alone

    Comments:
    I was supposed to do a 2 hour run, but after getting up and assessing things decided to cut it to an hour. Then, as I was getting ready to hop out the door realized I was feeling warm and not really that great. So, I applied the 20 minute rule.

    Due to the swelling under my right arm I didn't really have much arm throw, and it just felt bad, so I kept it slow.
    Saturday, March 29th, 2008
    8:39 am
    Saturday
    Date: 03/29/2008
    Time: 08:39
    Duration: 3:06:21
    Location: NE Austin

    Sport: Cycling
    Workout: Rosedale Ride
    Distance: 62 miles
    Cadence: 90
    RPE: 13
    Nutrition: 4 Gu, 6 Saltstick caps, 28oz Gatorade Endurance, 28oz Accelerade, 54oz water

    Weather: Cool and humid, mid-50s to mid-60s, overcast
    People: Amy, Pam, Jeff, Pam, Laura, many others

    Comments:
    I love this ride. This was the first year that we didn't have horrible winds that I can remember. Instead, this year only had 10-15mph winds from the north. This made the ride out (north) a bit of a grind, but they have improved so many of the roads out there it was hard to tell at times. I started at the front, but let the peloton drift off once we got onto Cameron, since my goal today was an informal time trial. My goal was to break three hours.

    Most of the ride was great. Once we started heading southward the miles were chewed up rapidly. I say "we" because I was in the continuous process of picking up people who had fallen off the peloton, and would pull them for several miles at a time. One group of three sat on my wheel for about 15 miles on the way back. While it's nice that I can do this to help guys who are struggling, it was my undoing. As we came flying up to New Sweden Rd, I began into the turn when I felt my rear wheel being pushed; the guy who had been right behind me hadn't slowed enough and clipped my wheel. Since I was already about 30° into the turn my wheels just went straight out, and I slid through the entirety of the intersection.

    None of the filthy begats of dogs riding my wheel stopped.

    Luckily, nothing broken, bike or rider. I did end up with a small pinch slit on the sidewall of my front tire, but other than a few scratches that was it. I engaged in a quick tire change and got moving again. I had been making excellent progress on my time goal, but after this I'd lost a bit of momentum. I have no idea how long my recovery and tire change took, but I guess I'm still happy with a 3:06 time. I should be happy to have been able to finish at all.

    Crossing under the finish arc I went to the first aid tent to have them remove some gravel/glass and do a quick wash of my wounds, went to the car to change into shoes for:

    Time: 12:15
    Duration: 1:01:03

    Sport: Run
    Workout: 1 hour run
    Distance: ?
    Cadence: 155-160
    RPE: 12
    Nutrition: 1 Gu, 20oz water

    Weather: Warmer, humid, overcast.
    People: Alone

    Comments:
    Since I didn't know the area at all, I just went back behind Samsung and ran through some of the neighborhoods for thirty minutes, and came back via the same path. Toward the end my upper arm / under arm area were pretty sore, so it didn't fret a 1 minute positive split.
    Friday, March 28th, 2008
    1:09 pm
    Friday
    Date: 03/28/2008
    Time: 13:09
    Duration: 44:09
    Location: BodyBusiness

    Sport: Swimming
    Workout: 60 minute swim
    Distance: 2133m

    Weather: Indoors
    People: Alone

    Comments:
    I arrived a bit late after running into most every variety of quality driving, and had to crawl out for a pool cleaning. Overall, it wasn't too bad. Progress.
    Thursday, March 27th, 2008
    6:00 pm
    Thursday
    Date: 03/27/2008
    Time: 18:00
    Duration: ?
    Location: Barton Springs / Zilker

    Sport: Bike / Run brick
    Workout: Transition practice
    Distance: N/A
    RPE: 13-14
    Nutrition: 1 Gu, 28oz Gatorade Endurance

    Weather: Warm, high 70s/low 80s, sunny
    People: TxFe

    Comments:
    We did 5x bike/run transitions. The bike and run loops were really short, so it was mostly about keeping your head together in transition and getting through ASAP. I managed to DQ myself my first time in off the bike by unclipping my helmet and taking it off before my bike was "racked" (propped against the curb.)

    Times (very roughly):
    1: 3:58/1:41
    2: 3:25/1:34
    3: 3:24/1:36
    4: 3:22/1:32
    5: 3:19/1:30
    Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
    4:00 pm
    Wednesday
    Date: 03/26/2008
    Time: 16:00
    Duration: 1:20:00
    Location: Garage

    Sport: Cycling
    Workout: 80 minute trainer workout

    Weather: Warm, humid
    People: Alone

    Comments:
    10min easy, 10min moderate, 10min strong
    3 x(4,2,1 min fast, 2min recover), 3 min recover between sets

    Watched 2.5 episodes of The Young Ones. Hurray for Lemmy and Madness.
    Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
    6:10 am
    Tuesday
    Date: 03/25/2008
    Time: 06:10
    Duration: ~30 minutes
    Location: Barton Springs

    Sport: Swimming
    Workout: 30 min swim
    Distance: 3 laps? I don't remember

    Weather: Cool and a bit muggy, around 50, dark and misty
    People: Amy, then [info]whyiron, [info]teambaraka, IMAZBarb, OtherMark

    Comments:
    Our first Barton Springs / wetsuit swim of the year. I've definitely got some slimming to do in order to get comfortable again. Practiced my left-side breathing, which caused me to veer all over the place. Fortunately the pool was lightly populated so didn't result in any collisions (though I hear I'm not alone!)

    On my last lap, the others jumped in and I sat on Barb's feet on the way down. Drafting is something I need to practice. Badly.

    ---

    Time: 18:00
    Duration: ~1.25 hours
    Location: Barton Springs / Zilker

    Sport: Running
    Workout: 6x .5mi
    Distance: ~4 mi, all told
    Cadence: 160
    RPE: 14-16
    Nutrition: 1 Gu prior

    Weather: Low 70s, sunny, windy
    People: TxFe

    Comments:
    Having just picked up a pair of Mizunos to take for a spin, we had to rush across downtown to Barton Springs in order to make it on time for the workout. Andrea told us it was going to be a quick workout. That always makes me nervous.

    Fortunately it didn't turn out to be the 1 minute sprints. Instead, it was half-mile repeats in Zilker. Since I wasn't racing this weekend, I was tasked with six of them.

    1: 3:02
    2: 3:02
    3: 3:03
    4: 3:02
    5: 3:03
    6: 3:05

    That last one nearly killed me.
    Sunday, March 23rd, 2008
    8:40 am
    Sunday
    Date: 03/23/2008
    Time: 08:40
    Duration: 59:11 (30:28 out, 28:43 back)
    Location: Mesa

    Sport: Running
    Workout: 60-90 minute run
    Distance: ~7 mi
    Cadence: 155
    RPE: 11
    Nutrition: 1 Gu

    Weather: Cool, mild, sunny
    People: Alone

    Comments:
    Just an easy run. Felt tired.

    --

    Went with Amy to Gregory gym to help her start a weight training schedule. We went through most of what I do and why, and figured out what machines she could use, and in which gym they were located. I did most of a single set myself, but it was definitely abbreviated.

    Afterwards we did a quick ten minute swim in the outdoor pool. It was very, very nice.
    Saturday, March 22nd, 2008
    8:23 am
    Saturday
    Date: 03/22/2008
    Time: 08:23
    Duration: 3:11:00
    Location: South Austin Safari, mostly

    Sport: Cycling
    Distance: ~62mi
    Cadence: 90
    RPE: 11-13
    Nutrition: 4x Gu, water, Gatorade Endurance

    Weather: Mild and sunny
    People: Dave for most

    Comments:
    I started the day acting like a dickbag, angry with myself for not getting up as early as I should have and forgetting several things at home, including my running shoes, and conspired to ruin everyones' day. The first hour riding burnt off most of my angst.

    We rode most of the Safari course, adding on some distance in a few places, and Dave peeled off in Buda so he could get home, and I had to make a detour due to construction south of the "animal ranch." Behind the ranch there was a cycling accident of some sort with two ambulances present. I didn't get the details, but only saw one person sitting with a possibly strained ankle. There were about 15 cyclst standing around, so just kept on moving.

    The winds were much more gentle this week, but picked up a bit once I got east of 35.
    Thursday, March 20th, 2008
    6:00 pm
    Thursday
    Date: 03/20/2008
    Time: 18:00
    Duration: ?
    Location: Northwest Park

    Sport: Brick
    Workout: 1x brick warmup, 3x bike/run transition bricks, 2x run loop cooldown
    Distance: ?
    RPE: 14-15
    Nutrition: Lots of water

    Weather: Cool, pleasant, mid 60s and a little breezy
    People: TxFe

    Comments:
    A good workout. Despite traffic on Great Northern by the ball field, my speed was ok. A bit rough in places, but I felt better than I expected. Donned the dork helmet just to get some transition practice with it, and I'm glad I did since it was somewhat less wieldy than I figured.
    Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
    3:00 pm
    Wednesday
    Date: 03/19/2008
    Time: 15:00
    Location: BodyBusiness
    Sport: Strangth Training
    Comments:

    Single sets of the usual. Bumped up a couple weights very slightly.

    ---

    Time: 17:30
    Duration: 1:00:00
    Location: Garage

    Sport: Cycling
    Workout: 60 min ride w/ 10 x 1min fast w/ 2min recovery
    Cadence: 80-100
    RPE: 11-15
    Nutrition: 1 Gu

    Weather: Garagy
    People: Amy

    Comments:
    Watched some Young Ones. Actually, half of one episode twice due to a broken remote. Regardless, it never gets old.
    Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
    11:54 am
    Tuesday
    Date: 03/18/2008
    Time: 06:00
    Duration: 30ish minutes
    Location: BodyBusiness

    Sport: Swimming
    Workout: 30 min swim
    Distance: don't remember
    People: Amy

    Comments:
    I need to find a swim picture.

    ---

    I missed the evening run workout to stay with the dog who had just come back from the Dr.
    Sunday, March 16th, 2008
    7:06 am
    Sunday
    Date: 03/16/2008
    Time: 07:06
    Duration: 2:04:24
    Location: Balcones / Scenic / TLT

    Sport: Running
    Workout: 2 hour base run
    Distance: 14.6mi
    Cadence: 160
    RPE: 12-13
    Nutrition: 4 Gu, 50oz water

    Weather: Cool, wonderful, high 50s, sunny
    People: Alone

    Comments:
    Amy and I had the grand plan of doing our run and then immediately getting our swim out of the way. Amy was to run the 10mi TLT loop with Leslie, so I thought I would start at the house and meet them at Deep Eddy at roughly the time of their finish.

    The run went really well. Arrived at Deep Eddy much earlier than I anticipated... and found that it was closed; it was ~8:30 and they open this time of year at 10. :(

    So, since the girls weren't back yet, and knowing that I wouldn't really be holding up the swimming, I jumped out on the trail and decided to do a short loop. At the creek bridge I saw the backs of [info]whyiron and [info]teambaraka, so sped up to say "hi!" At the other side of the birdge they turned left to run towards the pool, and I decided to join them for a bit since I was no longer in any particular rush to finish. At the main entrance I split off, and hit Stratford to jump on the bridge and get back to the pool.

    As I got back, Amy, Leslie and Steph were just stretching from their run, and we decided to just give the swim a miss, since we didn't want to deal with having to pay to park and to swim at BS, or wait around an hour. We had plans for brunch with [info]mhat at 11, so we even had time to go home and destinkerize.
    Saturday, March 15th, 2008
    8:06 am
    Saturday
    Date: 03/15/2008
    Time: 08:06
    Duration: 4:20:00 bike, 30:07 run
    Location: Ride out, straight back, run.

    Sport: Cycling + Run
    Workout: 4 hour ride, 30 minute run
    Distance: ~68mi bike, 3.7mi run
    Cadence: around 90, 160
    RPE: 11-13, 13
    Nutrition: 6 Gu, 28 oz Gatorade Endurance, 56oz Clif drink stuff, 56 oz Water™

    Weather: Pleasant, mid-50s to mid 70s, sunny, very windy
    People: Dave for bike

    Comments:
    AmyCo. were riding to San Marcos and back on the standard Old San Antonio route, and I wanted to get in a bit more distance, so threw in the loop over to Driftwood. Dave had called me the day before to see if I was riding, and was interested in joining in.

    With strong NW winds, we hit them pretty quick, as soon as we turned onto 1626. This meant we pretty much flew from Driftwood to San Marcos. I was trying to be conservative, but Dave was really enjoying the 33-35mph pace. He paid a bit for that, and upon turning around in San Marcos, directly back into that wind that had picked up to 20mph, he began to flag. The ride back was slower, and once back on Old SanAnton he gave me leave to peel off, since he knew I still had a run to complete, and that Amy would likely be nearly done and waiting for me.

    The run was decent. It had certainly warmed up, and that area sports pretty much zero shade. Still, my legs felt pretty good and I kept a decent pace.
    Friday, March 14th, 2008
    2:20 pm
    Friday
    Date: 03/14/2008
    Time: 14:20
    Duration: ?
    Location: Deep Eddy

    Sport: Swimming
    Distance: ?

    Weather: Beautiful, sunny, low 90s
    People: Spring Break

    Comments:
    I had a doctor's appointing first thing in the morning, so had to wait until the afternoon to get my swim in. I wanted to get my swim in as early as poossible, and BodyBusiness' pool wasn't available for lap swimming until 15:30. When I whined to Amy about it, she recommended Deep Eddy. Oh yeah! Unfortunately, I'd forgotten that it was Spring Break, so it was *packed*. I managed to get into a lane, one that was only three to a lane.

    It was a tough swim. I'm not sure what it was about it; maybe I was just tired. Breathing to my left was tough, and I ended up doing a lot more stopping (and coughing) than I had planned.

    I counted laps at the time, but I honestly can't remember how many I did.
    Thursday, March 13th, 2008
    6:10 am
    Thursday
    Date: 03/13/2008
    Time: 06:10
    Duration: 54:34
    Location: NW Austin

    Sport: Running
    Workout: 50 minute run
    Distance: ~7mi
    Cadence: Low
    RPE: 10-13
    Nutrition: 1 Gu

    Weather: Dark, humid, mid-50s
    People: Alone

    Comments:
    Continuing in the theme of not sleeping well, I woke every 10-15 minutes from 2:30 through 5:30, and decided to get up then and get started. Amy had started about 25 minutes before me, and I didn't want to keep her waiting, since she was giving me a ride to go pick up my cycle from the shop. Regardless of intentions, my run was really, really slow -- the first half, at least.

    I normally don't run with an mp3 player, but figured I'd listen to the news while running in the pitch dark. Well, as dark as it ever gets in central-ish Austin. I should probably not do this in the future for any run where I care about the time. I ended up getting to my turn-around point four minutes slower than I had planned. Woops. I guess the combination of tired, fatigued and distracted aren't a recipe for success.

    My way back, I picked it up a bit.
    Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
    1:00 pm
    Wednesday
    Date: 03/12/2008
    Time: 13:00
    Duration: 46:13
    Location: BodyBusiness

    Sport: Swimmin
    Workout: 60 minute swim workout
    Distance: ~2133m (20+80+40 lengths, 50ft pool)
    Nutrition: An orange

    Comments:
    Still working on form over speed or duration, but it seems to be slowly coming together. I started on 20 lengths to see how I'd feel at breaths every 3 strokes, alternating sides, and it was surprisingly OK. Feeling a little more with my positioning I went for 80, then a slightly faster 40, all 3-stroke.

    Got a bit of a cramp towards the end, but it was likely due to not having eaten anything recently, and a total lack of sodium in my system.

    ---

    Time: 14:10
    Duration: 34 minutes
    Location: BodyBusiness
    Sport: Strength training

    Comments:
    I Was tired after the swim so just did one circuit again. I did up a few things slightly. The pull-ups and bar dips were killers.

    Type reps/count weight
    Weighted pull up 1x10 10
    Bar dip 1x16 N/A
    Squat 1x16 225
    Leg press 1x16 280
    Bench 1x16 100
    Delt press 1x16 60
    Leg Extension 1x16 120
    Hamstring Curl 1x16 120
    Lat pull 1x16 105
    Tricep 1x16 22.5
    Hip Abductor 1x16 80
    Hip Adductor 1x16 80
    Back 1x16 N/A
    Weighted Abs 1x16 25
    Fly 1x16 12
    Y 1x16 12
    Oblique crunch 1x16 80
    Hip flexor 1x16 N/A
    Pull Back 1x100 12
    Tuesday, March 11th, 2008
    6:00 pm
    Tuesday
    Date: 03/11/2008
    Time: 18:00
    Duration: 1:45:00ish
    Location: Barton Springs

    Sport: Running
    Workout: ~1.5mi w/u, 8x400 decending 2s per 2 w/400 recover between each, ~1.5mi c/d
    Distance: ~7ishmi
    RPE: 11-15
    Nutrition: 48oz water

    Weather: mild, sunny, dry, mid 60s
    People: TxFe

    Comments:
    Track workout night. We did a warmup run over to Austin HS track, and I got to chat with [info]whyiron a bit. At the track, we did a warmup lap while waiting for everyone to arrive, and then did two sets of drills+strides. Then, we were told the workout: 8x400, decending two seconds every two. It had been quite a while since my last real speedwork so I wasn't really sure how my body would respond, and aimed my pace towards something safe, 1:40. Jamie asked the group to confer among itself and try to find 4-5 others around your pace, and to head out in single-file clumps. Milling about, I met Scott, Elizabeth(sp) and one other fellow (I really am horrible with names) who were all shooting for a start pace of 1:47, which would be just about right for my final laps. So, that decided, we set out.

    After finishing our first one at 1:35 we decided to change plans and use that for our basis, decending from there. We hovered around there for the next few, but then began to decend. For the last one, Scott and I decided to run the first 200 at our goal pace, and then throw what was left into the last 200.

    1: 1:35
    2: 1:36
    3: 1:35
    4: 1:36
    5: 1:32
    6: 1:29
    7: 1:29
    8: 1:18

    I definitely was overly-cautious in my pacing decision, but am glad I did; I got to meet several new TxFe peeps, and felt great doing it.
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