Internal Mono(b)log

Yup, yours truly. I made the cut to be a 2013 TrainingPeaks Ambassador.. what does it mean? Well, nothing different really, since I already tell everyone how amazing I think trainingpeaks is, I just keep on with the status quo 🙂 But I do get a little more insight into the scene behind the curtain and I get better informed of upcoming events, webinars, sales, etc. and I’ll do my best to make sure I pass that info on to you.

To start here are a few 🙂

1. All of the TrainingPeaks/Peaksware GPS apps (Walk Tracker Pro, Run Tracker Pro, and Cycle Tracker Pro) are FREE (normally $2.99) in the iTunes store through Monday.  This is almost old news if you’re on twitter because there’s already been a lot of hype there about them.
2. Anyone can upgrade to TrainingPeaks premium for 14 days for FREE using the code: BLKFRI14DAY through Monday.
3. TrainingPeaks has some upcoming webinars. The webinars are usually pretty good and interactive.  Worth trying to get to if you can to have your specific questions answered. They will be posted on the TrainingPeaks YouTube channel afterwards if you can’t make the live webinar.

Enjoy!

Time Versus Distance For Pacing and Training | Sweat Science.

Interesting study.

I’ve overcome the time based pacing issue by using programmed workouts either with my computrainer or with my 910xt.  I don’t look at the time, I just wait for the next alert and go at the proscribed level until it happens.  Seems to work ok.

You know, I’ve really wanted to believe that Lance didn’t dope, but realistically, esp in Pro-cycling, even today, doping has been and continues to be rampant.

USADA retest of Lance Armstrong blood samples proves positive, says French TV show | road.cc | Road cycling news, Bike reviews, Commuting, Leisure riding, Sportives and more.

If anything, Lance was historically just better at not getting caught.  Ok fine.  They all doped (or most did), but doping doesn’t make an average guy into a super-star.  It does eek out some more performance in the already elite athletes.

Ok fine.  Lets move on.  What happened a decade or more ago has nothing to do with anything anymore.  Put an asterisk beside Lance’s name for those Tours and be done with it.

Now then.  Lets now, work at getting sport today clean.  Randomly spot check all pros without warning.  Test the top 5 male and female pros and age-groupers in all age groups, and then randomly test 10% of the remaining field.

Want drug testing to be a deterrent then make testing real.

Also, lets just generally shut-up about drugs in sport.  Would I know about blood doping, EPO, steroids, etc. if the media wasn’t talking in detail about these substances?  No, I wouldn’t.  I can’t help but think that if performance enhancing substances weren’t talked about so widely there’d be much less of it in amateur sport.  I’m not no naive to think it wouldn’t exist, but I can’t help but think it’d be much less common.

Lance Armstrong vs. USADA: What are we to believe? – The Washington Post.

Couldn’t have said this better myself.

Took my GoPro with me on a shake-out ride on Hwy117 the Friday before IM MT.

Enjoy 🙂

Just a quick note as I have my breakfast and coffee prior to departing for Mont Tremblant for my 1st full Iron-distance event.

The excitement is definitely building within me, though I’m (so far) managing to keep it in check. Also building is my typical pre-race, taper-induced, short-temper and edginess. [I apologize in advance if I seem curt with you in the next few days. It’s not you, it’s me. Really. Please don’t take it personally.]

The training is done. The miles logged. The nutrition sorted. The game plan (much as there can ever really be a plan for a race of this nature) sorted. Now all that’s left is to go and race my race, have fun, roll with the punches and pop out the other side an Ironman 🙂

I’m number 1176 on Sunday. You can follow my progress on ironmanlive.com for the Mont Tremblant Ironman. If you have a smartphone, you can use the Irontrac application.

I’ll probably blog a couple of times yet before the race and will do a race report on Monday or Tuesday afterward it’s done.

For now… I have a lot of driving ahead. Cya from Tremblant!

Oh! And if you’re at Tremblant and see a cyclist on a Storck Aero2is, say “Hi!” I’m probably the only one there on a Storck, so it’s 99% probable that it’s me 🙂

» 20 Simple Strategies for Getting Healthy :zenhabits.

ElliptiGo is running a contest with the prize of a new ElliptiGO 8C valued at $2500.  Pretty sweet!

I’ve never tried an Elliptigo, but given that I HATE dreadmills and elliptical trainers in the gym (BORING!) this could be a great device for low-impact workouts post race/injury.

Here’s ElliptiGO’s press release on the contest.

Funny story. True story.

Yesterday when finishing my hills-repeats run, I’m running back home and in the distance I see a person wearing what appears to me to be a heart-rate monitor strap and a pair of black bib-style cycling shorts. I think to myself, “hrm.. I wonder where their bike is. Well they’re stopped at the light, maybe I’ll catch up.”

As I run and get closer, I realize that this person is a woman wearing a black backless dress and the strap I thought was a HRM strap was, in fact, her bra strap.

I actually laughed out loud at myself and continued on my run home 🙂

Vote here: Sports – CBC.ca.