Headwind = Tailwind

The weekend plan was to do a hefty workout on Saturday since it was supposed to be dry. They had predicted that today(Sunday) was going to be wet. With that in mind, I had scheduled some swimming help from Don at noon Sunday. He's an awesome swimmer and has coached swimming in the past. He was gonna watch my pathetic technique and give some drills to work on.

I woke up Saturday morning all nice and carbed up from the Olive Garden. I went out to eat with Emily, Andrew, Kyle and Anne. I had the all you can eat pasta bowl. Based on my last experience with the bowl I was bound to top my measly 5 bowls of pasta this time. I stuck with simple angel hair with marinara pasta. I finished 7 bowls and was quite full.

I hit the pool and my swimming still was stinking. I just didn't have a good feeling. I suffered through a short workout and got my biking gear ready. The plan was to stop by and get Ernie in Wilsonville. He was going to come with me and basically just get some miles in the draft. The main problem with that plan was a 20mph wind out of the south. My route basically takes me directly south just past Salem and back.

The headwind was brutal. There were parts where I was just trying to maintain forward progress at a measly 16mph. Ernie wasn't having much fun because I was in full aero position and he wasn't getting much shelter. I was trying out different nutrition for the ride. I was going solely with Clif Blocs Coke flavored for my additional calories on top of my cytomax. They were not sitting well at all.

I was a little worried on the way out I wasn't able to consume as many calories as I needed because of my stomach issues. It was colder so I had a vest and gloves which made reaching into my pockets for food difficult. Just sitting up to get food was painful because of the huge headwind.

Ernie stuck it out til the turnaround like a trooper even though his legs were sore and he was having back trouble. With the little jaunt to pick up Ernie, I had 50 miles to the turnaround point.

Luckily the wind did not let up as we made the turn. I was barely pedaling and cruising along at 25mph in certain sections and 27 in others. It was great. Ernie decided to head straight back home. I kept going my usual way and was really feeling good with the tailwind. I forced myself to consume more Clif Blocs in order to be able to do my planned run afterwards.

The tailwind really helped revitalize my legs so I made it back to 24 hour Fitness with a decent amount of energy. I had completed the ride in 5 hours with probably a 17.5 avg on the way out and 22 avg on the way back. My plan was to attempt my 7.5 mile loop this time. I went out at a nice easy pace and the plan was to push it for the last couple of miles.

I made it to Hall Blvd and started to push the pace. I felt really great again on the run. It felt like a normal 7.5 mile run. It was like I hadn't even been on the bike. I'm hoping this feeling I can keep and maintain throughout my training. So far it really has boosted my confidence. I finished the run at just under a 7 minute pace average. Perfect...I figure I was doing 7:30s for the first 5 miles and ran 6:30ish for the last couple.

My legs were a little tired at the end of the run but not totally wiped out. Overall I was tried as I started my workout at about 7:30 in the morning and didn't finish until 3pm. I came home and showered, cooked dinner and then high-tailed it to my friend Andrew's poker game. This was a money game. $10 entry fee with top 3 taking money. He had moved the game to 5pm instead of later so I could play.

The game finished at about 9:30 as the top chip stack decided just to split the pot 3 ways rather than grind it out against Emily and I. It was really cool as I had been 2nd too shortest and shortest stack almost the entire night. I skimped and made my way to the final 3. I finally started to get some cards in the final 3 and started to come back from the dead. I might have gotten 2nd because the chip stack leader was so good there was no way I would be able to beat him. I made $10 and had some fun.

It rained as predicted today. It basically looks like fall is here so the trainer is gonna get a lot of work for me. I did go for an easy run after all the swim drills today. My arms are sore and so are my legs. I found out that my entire stroke was wrong. So I have a lot to do but hopefully with practice I'll get faster and more comfortable. The swim help was great. I can't wait to really start swimming correctly.

Bee: 1 Al: 0

Yep, it was just a matter of time. Every ride I've done in the past 2 months I've been hit by at least one bug/bee. I've even had a bug *splat* onto my sunglasses while riding.

Yesterday, I was in the front of the group just spinning away when I get hit on the left side of my face. Everything would've been fine except the bee gets caught under my helmet strap. I immediately try to get him out but the little bugger was pissed and quick. Whammo!! He stings me. I reach up and by luck as I'm still in the front riding pull out the stinger. You have to wonder when the bee stings if he knows that hey wait a minute that leaves me a big hole in my ass. It's kindof like when some people get pissed and punch a wall only to break their hand. I wonder what the world would be like if you couldn't control your anger got pissed, punched a wall, then about 2 minutes later died. People probably would think a lot more before flying off the handle.

I finished my ride but I can feel my left side of my face swelling. It's amazing what just a little bee sting venom can do. I can't imagine getting attacked by an entire colony of bees. Can you say Michelin Man?

Today's swim was somewhat painful because my goggle strap happens to go right across my swollen face. Now my after swim goggle indentation is much more pronounced and really makes my face look deformed. Just call me Igor!! I could blame my crappy pathetic swim on my swollen face but I won't. Just not my day today. I swam 22 minutes but that was a chore and I didn't do my usual continuous Friday swim as I just sucked. Oh well, there are always bad workout days.

Olive Garden's All-you-can-eat Pasta Bowl is up for tonight and the last time I did that I had a super fast Saturday workout so I'm stoked for a repeat performance. There is a slight problem it started to pour down rain last night so a long 90 mile ride Saturday morning might not be happening.

Pray for sun!

Training & Work Stress

I guess I've been more on edge the past week than usual as seen by flying off the handle and misinterpreting two people's fine wisdom(Tri-Rob & Garren). They've been there and done it and I need to pull my head out of my ass and listen.

My swim sucked this morning but Sunday's swim was good. Go figure. I think it has to do with 5AM swimming vs. 8AM swimming. It seems I go real fast on my weekend swims and not so much during the early weekdays. I've been working on trying to get as comfortable as possible with bi-lateral breathing. I think that's what real swimmers call it. I can go faster for less energy doing this type of swimming. Of course, I swollen a ton more water and drowning is a real possibility. Form also is tough to manage because I'm so focused on breathing in and out. I think I'm gonna focus exclusively on this so I can get faster and build it as a habit. That way if all else I can breathe every stroke if bad things happen.

My running is still feeling really good. I'm definitely getting back in the groove. I can feel my mental side coming around finally. The bike well is the bike. I can't seem to get a nice feel on it just yet but it's all base right now so I'm sure it will come around when I start really doing focused workouts. Just trying to get the miles in without too much worry on fast or slow.

I'm still planning on a rest week next week. I figure even with base it's probably good to take an easy week every 4th week. Basically, I'll cut back the cycling and swimming and leave the running alone since I'm not putting any big running base in at all. Based on the Going Long book, you just maintain your strength and really train the crap out of your weakness. My current weekly mileage of just over 25 a week will get me through the winter no problem. The hard part is I can easily run in super crappy weather but sitting on the trainer for 90 minutes 3 days a week and a 3-4 hour weekend ride is gonna be tough.

Next time I'll think before I insert my foot in my mouth...

Base is for wussies...

Okay that's not all true. I am working on building base in all the events right now. I'm not doing really anything super hard or structured. For instance, today I worked on some more form during my swimming and it wasn't harder but I was faster. I went for a 7.5 mile run at a nice easy pace. I'm really trying to build as much confidence right now so when I really start to focus come January I'll be able to get through those winter/spring months.

On Thursday during the lunch ride, we were joined by a person who had just did Ironman Brazil this year in 10hrs. Fricking amazing. I chatted with him about all the stuff I could. He said his swim split was 56 but he didn't feel so hot on the bike because he was just coming off a cold he got while down there. His marathon split was 3:50. I told him that my swim sucked but I would make it up on the run as my goal for the run is 3:15ish. He practically laughed at me. It sortof pissed me off a little.

I was telling that basically I can run 7:30s all day every day and if the nutrition went good and I was on for the event I could bust it out. I haven't even started really training my bike/run combo yet and I feel pretty good about my chances especially since I put in a 90 mile ride last weekend with a 5ish mile run afterwards. Sure 5 miles is nothing but I really wasn't even tired at the end of the run. Again this is with no base or structured training yet. Just plain endurance stuff right now. Oh well, it will just give some motivation come race day if it's starts to hurt about mile 18 of the marathon to really push past it.

It's not like I'm gonna set the bike course on fire so I'm planning to have a lot left for that marathon.

Soon enough fall will be in full swing and those 5 hour bike rides won't be 5 hours on the trainer. I figured if I can successfully do a weekly easy 3 hour spin on the trainer during the crappy months I'll have enough base. I also just plan on keep running at least one run of about an hour or so as well through the winter. I will continue to swim everyday just to build confidence and good habits. Swimming really doesn't break down the body it seems so I could see definitely swimming for an hour once a week during the winter when I get strong enough to do that.

Swim workouts = OUCH!

On my trip to sign up for Ironman Canada, I met a couple of really fast swimmers from the Portland Tri-club. They were predicting just under an hour for the Ironman swim. Fricking fast but they have had trouble with their running. So I told them if they'd help me swim, I'd help them get faster on the run.

So yesterday, my swimming had basically come to a standstill so I figured I'd drop Don an email to beg for some help. He responded that he'd be able to give me some technique drills and look at my stroke. He suggested I do the following workout to get an idea of where I'm at. Basically you warm up for 200-300 yards and then proceed to 10 100yd intervals. An all-out fast one followed by 30 seconds rest and then a slow one followed by 30 seconds rest. Odds are fast and evens are slow. I figured I'd just do a couple of those intervals to get my body ready for the full on 10.

I ended up doing 6 in the pool this morning an almost puked into the pull. What was totally sad was during my fast ones, this other swimmer in a couple lanes over was basically just cruising and still going faster than me. How sad is that! I did however but out my fastest 100 yards times yet but what's funny is my "slow" ones were only 20 seconds slower. I'm thinking I'm pretty much gonna be a slow swimmer.

Today's run didn't go much better as my running partners decided to hammer the last 1200 or so meters at the end of the 7 mile run. We were in what I felt like a full on sprint by the last 100 yards and they were pulling away from me. Ouch....I'm sure my legs tomorrow on the bike on the hills are not going to be happy.

We'll see how the body feels tomorrow...

Always hungry

Man, I don't know what it is but swimming in the morning makes me really hungry. I've been eating a bagel with peanut butter after getting to work but man I'm usually still hungry after that. I gained a pound over the weekend which probably had to do with that large chocolate milkshake I had on Saturday night. Oh well, it will come back off as I think my body has settled at 142 for now. This is 5 lbs lighter than my cycling only weight from a couple of years ago when I was tearing it up on the bike. I think it's mostly 5 lbs of muscle that I've lost and little here and there from my belly.

I think I'm stuck in the water. I haven't been able to feel as good as I did Saturday and my arms hurt with this latest change to my technique. I was able to swim a 2 flat this morning with the technique but was super tired just for those 12 or so seconds faster than my usual these days. I keep feeling like I'm sinking in the water. My floating isn't the greatest.

I booked my hotel for the upcoming Florida Half Ironman a couple of days ago. I decided to stay at the Wilderness Lodge for a couple of days. It's right at the race site. I'm gonna stay with Orion for the rest of the time but I'm not sure exactly when I'm gonna fly in and leave.

Well that's about it, tired as usual so I better get to it...

Dead arms

So after Saturday's great workouts, I tried to duplicate my swim technique on Sunday morning without much luck. My arms were just sore and tired. Practice, practice, practice or as Dora says, "just keep swimming, swimming."

I did have a great 7.5 mile run afterwards with my new running shoes. They felt nice and comfy. I decided to run because I had to pick Elena up to attend Akua's birthday party at 11am. It was okay because the weather was sucky. Elena had a great time at Akua's as usual and got to ride a horse. I got eat a nice lunch as did Elena which made the event quite nice.

However, I didn't get to take a nap again and now I feel like I'm trying to get sick. Can you say Airborne? Yep, I gonna pound one of those cocktails this morning.

Brickilicious

That's how I describe yesterday's workout. It was amazing. On Friday, I decided that I was gonna work on form in the pool, do my 91 mile loop on the bike and then immediately hit up a 5.2 mile run after the bike. In multisport, a brick workout usually consists of bike-run together.

So after additional reading, I actually kindof figured out how I'm suppose to do the "catch/pull" with my arms during the swim stroke. I decided to really try to focus on this during the swim and just go for a bit. It was amazing as I was busting out 100 yard segments about 10 seconds faster than my usual. Excellent!!

Finished up the swim, and proceeded to get on the bike. I had done this route a couple of weeks ago and with the headwind on the way home it was painful. I wondered how my legs would feel as I put in a fair number of miles this week plus I had a different nutrition plan. Gels and cytomax..There was a nice tailwind going towards Salem. I was spinning away and trying to stay with a decent nutrition plan. I made it to the turn around and didn't feel too bad. My butt didn't hurt too much so I was feeling like this would be a good day. Well, I turned into that headwind and the first mile was fine. After that it was a struggle. I was trying my best to find a gear that was comfortable on my legs but really didn't have any luck. I was slogging through the miles. I could feel my legs fatiguing. I was wonder how the run was going to go. I figured if I was totally dead I would just cut the run short. I finally made it to Wilsonville which starts the nice downhill into Tualatin during the last 5 miles. I just tried to recover the legs but they felt bad. I was dreaming of getting off the bike but had no idea how the run would go.

I got to the parking lot and put the bike in the car. I drank some more Cytomax and took off the cycling jersey and helmet. I got my running shoes on and put on a baseball cap. I clicked my watch and took off. OMG!! I couldn't believe how good my legs felt to run. They completely sucked on the end of the bike but now they felt totally fresh. For some reason, my knees were sore and my right IT band was bugging out of the gate. This was weird as I've never had the bike hurt either of those. I was worried but after about 5 minutes all that went away and I was cruising. I was focused on having a nice efficient stride and being smooth. I was clicking. It was amazing at how good it felt to run. I slowly started to up the pace a little bit. During the last 2 miles or so I really decided to push the pace. I finsished strong.

I got home and punched in the numbers. For the last 4 miles of the run, I averaged roughly 6:30 pace. Frickin amazing. My run is really coming along and now I feel totally confident in being able to kick major ass in the marathon leg of the ironman. I'll definitely have the gauge the first half effort in order to finish strong. The marathon is where I'm gonna put the hurt on.

I'm totally stoked!

So full

I'm really full right now. I just got back from the Olive Garden with my good friend Andrew and his wife Emily. They have the "never ending pasta bowl" promo running right now. For $8.95, I was able to eat 5 bowls of pasta. Not complete demolition but decent. The place got super busy so there was a lull between my 2nd and 3rd bowls of about 10 minutes. This was all my stomach needed to get full on me. I did manage to put away another 2 after that but I was pretty full. All in all not too bad and I'll be ready for tomorrow's brick(swim+bike+run) workout.

Today's long swim went quite well. At least I can tell I improved. I swam the exact same time as two weeks ago to the second but went 100 yards further. Wild stuff...I keep working on technique that I keep reading about on various websites and forums. I'm still a long ways off from my goal time but I still have time.

I'm keeping my bike mileage up so I can carry a nice base into the winter months where all my mileage will be on the trainer inside sweating to death.

I'm hopeful tomorrow's workout goes well. It will be interesting to attempt a 5 mile run right after the 90 mile bike. I'm hopefully my legs will be good as the whole goal of the bike is to stay within my limits so they are not toast.

The weekend is here so naps are on the agenda and just more sleep in general. Excellent!

One of the funniest things on the Internet

Check this out it's frickin hilarious:



Well, the weather has totally turned fall all of a sudden. It's 95 on Monday at noon and today it was 55 with cloudy skies and a light drizzle. Nice...of course I was an idiot and didn't bring my fall cycling clothes so I was quite cold. My legs are feeling tired and fatigued. I assume it's the running and all the cycling. I'm sure it will slowly adapt as I cut back on the intensity and just keep the same mileage.

Tomorrow's a big swim day. I'm planning on at least 30 minutes continuous while trying my best at body position in the water. My arms were killing during the Wednesday morning swim. They haven't felt as sore since I first started but today was an off day. My hope is tomorrow goes well.

I've been keeping my diet in check and still haven't indulged in any chips/popcorn type junk food. It's been hard because we have lots of chips at work just waiting to be eaten but luckily my willpower has held up.

Summer is finally here

Well, we actually had a hot day. It was mid 90s with a lot of wind out of the east. I had fun on the bike in the warm weather. I went a nice even pace but my right quad was actually bugging me here and there. It was weird because I've never had muscle pain while on the bike. It might have to do with my two 8 mile runs this past weekend catching up with me.

The morning swim went well even though I ended up swimming longer than I had planned. I couldn't sleep so I woke up at 4:30AM. I tried more form stuff and managed to make my back a little sore.

The NFL is in full blast and pretty soon fall TV will start. I'm sure I'm not gonna be able to watch as much TV this year as I did last year due to more sleep and training. My fantasy football team is stinking and I already lost out on the Eliminator. So sad...but those are the breaks. My Raiders thoroughly stink because they can't even beat the Lions at home. Ugh...I guess we'll get another 1st overall pick that we won't sign next offseason. Joy! It's sad because even the lowly Vikings won and they have no offense.

My daughter went to her first day of school. She called to tell me and started by kidding that she didn't eat lunch or do anything. She had me going and then told me the truth. She really didn't like the craft they did today but that's my daughter way into her crafts. It was up to her high craft standards. I hope they actually teach her something but the key years are high school when it comes to getting scholarships for college so I can retire early. :D

Today was a long day, hopefully tomorrow will go faster.

The weekend's over

So it's Sunday night and the end of another weekend. That's one more week closer to the Ironman. I got in a decent treadmill run and a nice easy swim. All in all a good set of workouts.

Elena went home tonight because Amber wants to take her to the official first day of school. She's excited. Only 13 more years til she's off to college...pretty crazy as that doesn't seem like a lot of time.

I watched Tiger whoop up on the competition in golf via DVR just now. He's was kicking some major ass. Next week's tournament for the overall FedEx cup win is gonna be a big showdown with Tiger and Phil. I didn't really watch any football but noticed that my Raiders got crushed at home by Detroit. I saw Philly lose and therefore I'm out of the Eliminator in the first week and my key running back on my fantasy team, Brandon Jacobs got injured in the first quarter. I'm gonna lose my fantasy game most likely. Ugh...another tough sports year is already shaping up especially with the Beavers getting embarrassed on national TV on Thursday.

I'm starting another hardish week of training since last week was just easy all the way around. We'll see how it goes...

Lightening Slow

So I was able to swim a 100 yds in 2 minutes today. Woohoo, I tried to go fast and I wasn't totally wiped out afterwards. I warmed down with a 2:16 so I'm getting faster in the pool which is all relative. Who knows maybe my arms/shoulders are getting stronger.

I decided to mess with my blog template again to see about a little bit more customization so it could change.

After the swim, I ran an hour on the treadmill. The first 30 minutes was at 7:30 pace and then the last 30 minutes was at 7:08. It seemed pretty easy and I definitely wasn't breathing hard but my legs started to get tired towards the end. This is what I'll have to focus on getting them to just clip off of the miles without fatigue at that kindof pace.

My stomach was fine during the run which was good as I was a little worried because we had mexican food for our Friday afternoon snack at work. I ate a ton of carnitas, carne asada, refried beans, spanish rice and corn tortillas. I was so full that I was able to easily resist eating movie popcorn at the movies last night.

I went to see Stardust with Andrew and his wife. The movie was a good fantasy movie with a unique fantasy world and plenty of comedy throughout and even some decent action. I thought the movie would never start though because it seemed we sat through at least 10 previews. I think it was most ever.

The movie was in a smaller theater at Bridgeport but it was quite full considering it's been out for awhile and it wasn't that high up in overall top 10 last week. I'm sure Andrew will review it on his movie blog.

Tomorrow more of the same for the workout...

Sore foot

So, my left foot is bugging me. It feels like planar fasciitis. It's weird as it just twinged walking in the hallway at work. I think my shoes are starting to fail so I probably need to get a new pair.

I'm gonna ride tomorrow instead of my usual run to see if I can get it to feel better. I'll run this weekend as I have Elena so it's easier to run than go for a long bike ride. It would've been fun to do the Pints to Pasta 10K but oh well maybe next time.

Elena starts her first official day of public school on Monday. This week she has been going to the school and attending their before/after program. They are having kindergarten orientation this week so no official classes. This is a good step to getting her used to the school. She had trouble saying goodbye to mom on the first day but today I dropped her off without any issues. I hope she doesn't get picked on and is able to make a few friends.

I finished reading Going Long and the Triathletes Training Bible. The Training Bible was a total disappointment as it didn't have any details on how to build a program. The Going Long book had better example programs and details around that than the Bible. I was quite disappointed. I must've misread what the book was about. I think I have enough workout ideas to really dial in the training from the Going Long book.

Another weekend is almost here and luckily it's gonna be nice.

Officially Registered

So today was the first day we were allowed to actually go out to Active.com and register for Ironman Canada. I went out there to fill out all the details for registering for an Ironman. The specific questions they ask is how the announcer ends up knowing so much about each individual. This is cool as it gives that personal touch to them announcing your name as you cross that oh so important finish line.

Now let's talk about the Active.com service charge. OMG!! It's total robbery. It cost $25 just to give to them. That's totally crazy as they have a large website with ads everywhere. The funniest or saddiest part was that for $50 you could become an Active.com member which allows you to deduct $2 from your entry fee. Fricking amazing...

I remember running races back in the early days of websites and wondering when you would be able to register online. I guess I need to get off my lazy slacking ass and actually go do something. I just sit and watch someone else do it and think what could've been.

Well, I'm registered and slowly preparing myself. This week is still going quite well as every workout is all about recovery. I ran an easy 7 miles today and swam 600 yards. The pool is becoming more and more second nature. Next week I'll start going even longer to really get my focus down. Each time I mess around with my stroke and really try to maintain good form. It's hard as I really don't have a perfect swimmer to go watch. I keep reading and watching YouTube videos but they can only take you so far.

Pretty soon I'm gonna bite the bullet and get some actual swimming lessons. Probably sooner than later so I don't develop bad habits.

Vera's BBQ

I'm still full from Vera's BBQ yesterday. At first, it was gonna be a typical BBQ with hotdogs, hamburgers and various other Costco food. I show up and they are putting what look like steaks onto the grill. A brand spanking new fancy grill that was having it's first meat laid on it. I didn't think much of it and kept munching chips and 7 layer bean dip.

I look a little closer and I see enchiladas and the steak is really carne asada. This isn't your typical Labor Day BBQ, this a real fiesta. Woohoo....the enchiladas were the bomb and the carne asada was perfect. Laura, Ernie's wife, brought homemade tamales which were just as scrumpious. I gorge myself but I deserved it as I rode a nice easy 60 miles with Eddie and the gang that morning after swimming 700 yards.

The swim was funny as I was just messing with my stroke sum and really didn't feel like going too far. 700 yards isn't a big deal anymore. Maybe I'll be able to swim that 2.4 miles in a year afterall but the key is to get faster. I have been shaving seconds off my hundred yard splits by trying new stroke techniques. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna hit up some lessons to really dial in my stroke.

So that ended a 3 week push and this week, I'm gonna just take it easy and start up another 3 week push next week.

Tooth Fairy Inflation

So I get a call from Elena yesterday to report that she has a loose tooth. She starts going to public school kindergarten on Sept. 10th. She's growing up. We went to the class orientation on Wednesday and it was interesting how un-organized it was. Hmm....I guess not everyone plans out everything.

She has a bus stop just down the street but mostly Amber and Joe will take and pick her up. There are 25 kids in the class and the room looks quite small for so many. I can't complain though because it's full-time kindergarten. They also have a part-time class as well.

They also have before and after care right at the school. It's cheaper compared to the day care at Mentor. I'm gonna be able to save additional money.

I think I might be the ultimate embarrassing nerd dad and video tape her going to school her first day. It would be cool to look back on and use it as leverage in case she brings home a psycho boyfriend when she's in high school.

So as of right now Elena doesn't know there is a tooth fairy and I'm hoping to keep it that way. It could save me lots of money based on what I heard the going rate for teeth being $5. Ouch...what happened to the 25 cents. The tooth fairy must've gotten all kinds of tax breaks during republican administration. At that rate, it could be over $100 sitting inside Elena's mouth. Of course I don't know the exact number even though I saw that question on "I'm smarter than a 5th grader".

I'm a little peppy because I just woke from a nice 90 minute nap. I feel refreshed after the swim this morning and 90 mile ride. My arms were still tired from yesterday's all time long swim of 1200yds but I tried a different technique and took 10 seconds off my 100 yard times without more effort. Sweet. I went out for the mostly flat 90 miles and had a cross tailwind on the way out and cross headwind on the way home. I tried some new nutrition which actually worked quite well. It's called Infinit. I bought a variety pack and ended up liking the fruit punch flavor. My legs were complete garbage when I started the ride but around 20 miles in I started feeling better.

I didn't know exactly how far in because my Polar 710 has decided it won't register speed anymore. I have no idea but my guess is the speed sensor battery is dying. Replacing it is a pain in the ass because you actually have to detach the sensor to get at the battery. Polar have a pathetic design. If that doesn't help, I'm gonna drop the hammer on purchasing a Garmin Forerunner 305. The only concern is I don't think it fits on my wrist. Luckily a couple of people I run with at work have them so I'm gonna try it.

Now off to relax the rest of the day...