2009 General Principles

Since New Years is coming up, and January 4th is the start of our IM CDA training plan, I thought I'd take a minute to think about 2009 and how it will be different from the past year.

This year I'll be doing Matt Fitzgerald's level 4 Ironman training plan from the secret book (aka "Essential week-by-week Triathlon Training"). I did level 4 last year in prep for Beach 2 Battleship, and I really liked it. Of course I deviated from the plan a bit, mostly because of life getting in the way (and my contempt of staring at the back line/swimming laps), but overall it was a good starting point, and helped me stick to a structured routine. I picked level 4 since the book said levels 1-3 were for first timers, levels 4-6 were for those ready to take it to the next level, and levels 7-10 were for pro triathletes. Because last year I wasn't able to do the hardest weeks in the level 4 plan, I thought that trying it again this year, with a renewed effort to do as many of the workouts as possible (and hopefully more than last year), would be a good idea. Given that, I came up with three other goals for how to train differently in 09.

1. Volume through Frequency: I had decent volume in 08 (for me anyway), but I think this was in large part by doing big weekends, as in 50-60% of my volume on Saturday and Sunday. My goal for 2009 is to have even bigger volumes than 2008, but achieve this by doing many more workouts per week of shorter duration. I've got a plan (see #2).

2. Commute to work on foot or two wheels as often as is possible. Exceptions to include weather (snow and ice, but not cold) and days when I can't wear wrinkly clothes pulled out of a backpack (shouldn't be too many of these, maybe I can buy an iron and keep it at my desk). As I have mentioned before, our little family is moving to the King of Prussia, PA area in the next couple months. We are going to try to buy a place where I can run to work (no farther than 6 miles one way), and possibly bike if the roads are safe enough. By eliminating my current commute time of 1-1.5hrs a day, and substituting in running or biking during this time, I'll have a ton of extra time in my schedule. I spend 5-10hrs a week in the car right now, all on I-40, and I simply can't wait until running is an option. I've already started getting my body ready for the run commute (blog post to come).

3. Train in the Zones. In talking with somebody who really knows what he's talking about, I came to realize I should be monitoring my intensities more. I own a HR monitor from several years ago, a nice one in fact (Polar 725x), but it was more of an amusing toy than anything else. If you read Joe Friel's blog, you could say I was more the accountant than the scientist, which is ironic given my career. So, this year, Becca and I have done pre-season LT testing on both the bike and run, and are going to stay in the right zones, as prescribed by our plan. In the past I've always done RPE, but I think I slacked too much. Now that I am keeping tabs on my HR during runs and rides, it really makes you work.

And above all else in 09, I am going to have fun. Triathlon has always been about fun to me, and just because I am trying really hard to rock the house at IMCDA, I won't lose sight of the fact that I got into triathlon as really fun way to spend my time, make new friends, and hang out with my wife.

3.5 weeks left, then training BEGINS

It just occurred to me today that there's only 3 and a half weeks left in the off season. That's right, Becca and I start our 24 week training plan for IM CDA on January 4th. It's been a good yet short off season break, but I am looking forward to getting back to some regimented training again. Since Nov 1, all I have done is recovery (first two weeks), then run 2-3 times a week, and bike twice a week (oh, and I went to the pool once and swam 800m to put aside fears that I forgot how to swim). I think the reduced training volume is allowing me to have higher output at each workout though, since my run times are coming down under 7min/mi for traning runs and my bike wattages have been great. And I set a new PR at 5 miles over Thanksgiving for no good reason (I accused Rebecca of injecting me with EPO while I sleep, but she denys this).

On another note, I'm toying with the idea of posting all my workouts on the blog. I haven't ever done this in the past. It's not that I have some secret formula I need to protect, I just generally like to write about things more entertaining/interesting than that. But, as I prepare for my third ironman at IMCDA, I thought it might be cool for readers to see exactly what I've been up to training-wise. After all, the subtitle of the blog is "an amateur athelte with a job and a family who races triathlons" so perhaps it would be interesting to see how I balance training hard with everything else of the next few months. I know I would be SO curious to see what somebody in my situation did day in-day out.

2009 Race Schedule - Tentative

As I have mentioned in previous posts, my family and I are moving to Pennsylvania very soon. It's sure tough to choose races in a new state. So, I can't fill in all the little races just yet, but here's the big ones I'm trying to get on the schedule for next year. The only one I am actually signed up for is IM CDA, so everything is subject to change based on how the training is going and what Rebecca (the real star of Team DeWire!) wants to do.

March 1 - E. Murray Todd Half Marathon, Lincroft, NJ

May 3 - Broad Street 10 miler, Philly, PA

May 17 - Harriman Half Iron, Harriman, NY
OR
May 31 - Black Bear Half Iron, Lehighton, PA

June 21 - Ironman Coeur D'Alene, Idaho

Sept 13 - FirmMan Half Iron, Narragansett, RI

November 23 - Philly Marathon, Philly, PA

Adamo Saddle, Part II

Last December I wrote a post about the Adamo Saddle I had just purchased. I always meant to write another one after I had ridden it awhile. Well, better late than never, so here's my experiences with it over the last year.

This all began because I was getting numbness in my groin, specifically my johnson, while racing in halfs or longer. It never happened in training because I sit up every now and then at stop signs and such. And I think olympics are just too short for it to go numb. I had a typical tri seat with a big fat nose on it. And like any triathlete aspiring to get better, I sat just like the pros do, way out on the tip supporting my 170lbs on the narrow strip of perineum known commonly as the taint. By the end of the '07 tri season, I had had enough. Each race the number of days the numbness lasted would increase (1 day at WLH in '06, 3 days at IMFL '06, 5 days at WLH '07, and 9 days at Duke Half '07). Something had to give, so I bought this funny looking saddle and gave it a try.

First of all, after racing on the Adamo a full season, I can say the numbness is GONE! Entirely, completely, gone. If for no other reason than this, you should buy this saddle. I distinctly remember racing at the White Lake Half this year, reaching down for an, eh-hem, adjustment so to speak, and I could actually feel the adjusting that was taking place. Usually by this point in a long race I am so numb its like I am adjusting somebody else's equipment. Anyway, two half irons and a full iron this year, and not a single second of numbness anywhere.

As for how it has impacted my riding in ways other than how my crotch is feeling...well, there's not much difference. It's a heck of a lot harder than an ordinary road saddle for sure, and I find sitting up on it is not comfortable. I guess this is added motivation to stay down in the aero all the time. And my only other complaint is how stubby it is. I had to move it all the way past the recommended forward adjustment to get the tip over the bottom bracket the way my old "taint-killer" saddle was positioned. And even then I didn't quite make it far enough (I am scoping seat posts this winter to get more forward again). But other than those two points, its been a perfect addition to my bike.

So there you have it. If you are suffering out there in silence...you don't have to have numb junk after racing! Buy an Adamo! I am directly responsible for the sale of at least 5 of these in my tri club. Adamo owes me a commision. By the way, Blackwell lost their funding. So, hopefully somebody else will distribute these saddles in the future.

Ok, now I am going to throw some words on here so people who have this problem land on this page by searching google. Disregard them, or read them for amusement.

numb penis dick racing triathlon balls hurt erectile dysfunction seat saddle cycling biking can't feel pecker