Today's workout

Rise and shine at 4:25 am.

60 minutes on the bike--that's inside, of course, on a trainer with a Spinerval DVD (Spinervals 2.0 to be exact). I like that DVD, it has some one legged drills that are great for building
the hip flexor.

Immediately after, I headed outside for a 45 minute run. The run included 5 acceleration sets where I speed up for a few minutes to get up to or above my anaerobic threshold of 164--unscientifically that is when you heart feels like it is beating outside your chest and will explode at any minute. A few moderate hills today, tiny bit of ice to watch out for, but all things considered a mild 33 degree day. I was pressed for time today so I'll have to hit my abs this evening.

Today's Workout

4:39 am rise and shine.

The day began with abs--200 situps, 390 crunches then off to the gym for some lower body weight lifting. When the pool openws at 6 am, 2500 meters of muscular endurance swim workout (300 swim, 400 pull, 300 swim, 200 kick, 10 x 100, 300 cool down).

It was a good swim today, my right shoulder hurt at the end of the swim but otherwise I felt well and my form was pretty good.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

You know what happens when you spend in excess of 3 weeks in temperatures below freezing? When it hits 39 you feel like wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

Today, I hit the road for a run--gladly shedding the treadmill which I have been trapped on for a few weeks. We still have a bit of ice but the roads have cleaned up nicely. This doesn't mean that I did not slip on my run, of course that happened in the first minute. I'm still unclear how that rapid contortionistic movement I endured to maintain my balance did not result in my throwing my back out. Nonetheless, I was determined to enjoy the balmy temperatures and breathe in the fresh city air.

I remember in my youth how warm the first above freezing day felt. It was always uplifting to ones winter-weathered spirit and it conjured up thoughts of swimming in lakes and picnics in the park. Today, I find hope that spring is just around the corner. The birds were chirping, the air smelled fresh, the sunrise was so welcoming, and yes, oh yes, it was warm......ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

Look what happens when you are sleeping?

Did you hear that daylight savings time is coming early this year? When lengthening daylight savings time was being considered by Congress last year as part of the energy bill I was furious that there was no opposition. Where was the outrage, where were the citizen activists excercising their first amendment rights, where were the advocacy groups who would argue on my behalf? No one cared, and frankly, few even noticed.

Notice you will in a few weeks--yes, that's right, a few weeks. Daylight savings starts on March 11 this year, a full month earlier then what we are accustomed to. Daylight savings has deep meaning in my life, it is when I start riding my bike to work. The sun is bright enough at 7 am when I leave my house and still lights my way home at 6 pm. I'm a little worried that it will still be chilly come daylight savings but because this is how I measure the start of my bike commuting season I will have to adjust.

I've never been a big believer in daylight savings time. It wrecks my sleep no matter when it happens and it is confusing when I call friends in AZ who don't follow daylight savings. It's easy to talk to them in the winter when they are 2 hours behind, much more difficult in the spring and summer when they are 3 hours behind. And just when you think that you have changed all of your clocks you find a watch in your drawer on the wrong time--better yet, if you are like me, you lose the directions to the watch and have to wait until the next change for your watch to have the correct time.

Daylight savings--my friend, my enemy--and this year a cruel hoax to those who fell asleep when Congress changed things up.

Who turned on the cold?

I was really enjoying winter, the 70 degree days mixed in with a few high 50 and low 60 degree days. What was not to love. A few weeks ago, it was as if someone flipped a switch--now I have had to redefine a good day as anything above 30.

I was on a business trip to Miami recently (yes, I know, a true hardship--but someone has to do it). When I left my house at 5 am it was 24 degrees, when I landed in Miami--at 10:30 am--it was 80. The biggest dilemma: what to do with all of the extra layers I needed when I left my house. They seemed awkward and made me stick out like a sore thumb amongst the natives. While there, I enjoyed an open ocean swim (just me and the man-o-wars) and a two hour oceanside run in shorts and a t-shirt.

Alas, I did have to return to the Mid-Atlantic, which might as well be the mid-Anatartic. Born and raised in the north country, a few clicks from the Canadian border, I should not by birthright complain about the cold. This must disappoint my people. I have realized as I get older that I much prefer dealing with extreme heat then the cold. Yesterday, for example, I rode my bike for an hour and ran for 45 minutes. The wind was howling all night and nothing changed when I was speedlacing my running shoes in the morning. I was reluctant to go outside, much like the reluctancy I experience knowing I'm about to jump into a cold lake. Fingers and toes frozen, I survived but the wind's brutality was miserable and I remained chilled all day.

I don't know who turned on the cold but if I catch them................