We were out of town this past weekend in Southlake, TX, which is where we moved to San Antonio from a few years ago. Two work associates and I had a great 24 mile ride on Saturday in some rolling hills of Tarrant County averaging about 17 miles an hour. Then after about a hour break it was into Lake Grapevine for my first open water swim with another work friend. It was really cool to train with two guys who are virtual training partners all the time and we got to work out together for real. I think, while triathlon is definitely a singular, sometimes lonely sport, training with someone from time to time really is great. Ray and Mark and I ran last year in Chicago on the shore of Lake Michigan, we ran the Austin Half Marathon together (sort of...us and 12000 friends...) and now have ridden and swam together too.
I think the tri community is really cohesive online and I really like the camaraderie. It is even a stronger bind when friends tri together. Urge your friends and/or family to join in. I cannot wait until June when my wife and our daughter complete their first sprint. What a deal!
I was interested in how the OWS would go. I really liked swimming in the lake. No line on the bottom of the pool didn't bother me. Not seeing very far didn't bother me, wondering what was swimming with me didn't bother me...I was pretty surprised. I thought there could be some issues, at least at some level. There really weren't. Now, that said, my next OWS could be freak out city but at least my first one is over. I don't have to ever do another first OWS.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Swim Milestone
This week included a milestone swim for me.
I was to swim a mile non-stop. In June of last year when I started this journey, I couldn't hardly swim 25 yards non-stop and my first swim workout was a total of 37.5 yards. Yes, that said 37 point 5 yards. Halfway up that second length I stood up to avoid a drowning in our club pool. I had "played in the water" for years and loved it, but I had NEVER swam more than one length of a pool and that had been about 30 years ago.
So while I have swam many many laps since and some long swims - 1250 yards or so - I hadn't swam, swum, swimmed (I never know which to use) 1760 yards non-stop. I told myself I was going to swim 36 50s, with a 0 rest interval. That seemed a little more achievable.
I started the workout with a 5 minute warmup - which for me is a 250. Then after a couple of minutes of telling my brain I would be okay, off I went. I did my best to relax and just extend and enjoy the water. Each 50 moved my water bottle or ear plug holder closer to finish. I must explain....I CANNOT keep count of my laps. If I try, I miss laps, forget the number, or convince myself I am really, really tired and must stop so I designed a very high tech, dual purpose, water proof, lap counter and hydration receptacle. I simply place a water bottle on a designated 2x2 tile on the deck and slide it over one tile per lap. Hey, it's not sophisticated but it works for me. Well, 36 tiles looked like a long way to move that bottle so I placed it at tile 18 and then placed the little plastic deal that holds ear plugs on the row of tiles below it...presto, the swim didn't look as long. I glanced at the pace clock and said, ok, swim 10 minutes straight and see how you feel, then it became 15, then 20, then 5 more, at 33 and change I was at 1500 which is the CapTexTri distance and I knew I would be able to roll another 300 with no problem. I finished the 1800 yards at 39:40...not the fastest by far but I made it....with fewer difficulties than I could have imagined.
There is NO way I would have dreamed of swimming a mile one year ago. I say that to reinforce that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU DECIDE YOU ARE GOING TO DO!
See you at the finish line,
B
I was to swim a mile non-stop. In June of last year when I started this journey, I couldn't hardly swim 25 yards non-stop and my first swim workout was a total of 37.5 yards. Yes, that said 37 point 5 yards. Halfway up that second length I stood up to avoid a drowning in our club pool. I had "played in the water" for years and loved it, but I had NEVER swam more than one length of a pool and that had been about 30 years ago.
So while I have swam many many laps since and some long swims - 1250 yards or so - I hadn't swam, swum, swimmed (I never know which to use) 1760 yards non-stop. I told myself I was going to swim 36 50s, with a 0 rest interval. That seemed a little more achievable.
I started the workout with a 5 minute warmup - which for me is a 250. Then after a couple of minutes of telling my brain I would be okay, off I went. I did my best to relax and just extend and enjoy the water. Each 50 moved my water bottle or ear plug holder closer to finish. I must explain....I CANNOT keep count of my laps. If I try, I miss laps, forget the number, or convince myself I am really, really tired and must stop so I designed a very high tech, dual purpose, water proof, lap counter and hydration receptacle. I simply place a water bottle on a designated 2x2 tile on the deck and slide it over one tile per lap. Hey, it's not sophisticated but it works for me. Well, 36 tiles looked like a long way to move that bottle so I placed it at tile 18 and then placed the little plastic deal that holds ear plugs on the row of tiles below it...presto, the swim didn't look as long. I glanced at the pace clock and said, ok, swim 10 minutes straight and see how you feel, then it became 15, then 20, then 5 more, at 33 and change I was at 1500 which is the CapTexTri distance and I knew I would be able to roll another 300 with no problem. I finished the 1800 yards at 39:40...not the fastest by far but I made it....with fewer difficulties than I could have imagined.
There is NO way I would have dreamed of swimming a mile one year ago. I say that to reinforce that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU DECIDE YOU ARE GOING TO DO!
See you at the finish line,
B
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
2008 Fiesta Wildflower Ride
This ride was held on April 20, 2008 in San Antonio, Texas. An 8am start was planned - temp was in the low 60s and the ride ended at about 80-85 degrees but loads of humidity. Original training plan called for a 2 hour ride today followed by a short run brick. Well, the ride went from 34 miles up to a 43 mile actual distance, so for me, it was about 2:50 on the ride and then 12 minutes on the run. It was a rolling course which included IH 35 access road riding as well as country road riding. The slideshow includes horses, cows, even buffalo. Our terrain is very diverse in a compact area as you can see.
The ride was well supported with Hammer nutrition as well as fruit, water, fig newtons and chips ahoy. The pre-race bag also included additional Hammer stuff.
There was a 25 miler, a 43 mile ride, a 100 km ride and a 100 mile ride. Maybe I will be up for the 100K next year. We will see.
I gotta look at getting a new seat....numb ain't fun.
Slacker...and the Lifetime Fitness Indoor Tri
Well, if anyone is reading this, I have not died. I have been remiss in my duties with my blog. Obviously, my masses have missed me. LOL!
On April 6, I participated in the Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon. This was after an April 5 attendance at the Final Four games, so you can imagine my sleep was not as perfect as I wished but the games were awesome. It was my first time at a Final Four and it was cool.
Now, on with the race report...
My indoor start time was 7:20 central so I finished up really early this morning. A "tough three" this morning after the games last night. It was organized into a 10 minute swim, 10 minute transition, a 30 minute bike (calibration set on a spin bike with a computer attached), 5 minute transition and finally a 20 minute treadmill run. I swam 475, biked 14 and ran 2.31 miles. I am sure bike calibration was not totally realistic but those were my results. My swim was wild. I was in a narrow lane with a younger man who swam at almost the exact same speed so we were bashing into each other, kicking and hitting and forcing water into the other's mouth as we tried to breathe...it was like a 475 yard open water start....smile. None of this was intentional it is just how it happened - glad I could breathe bilaterally when it was really rough. The bike was simply a high cadence spin and the run was set it and hang on...I actually added a tenth each minute until I didn't think I could go any faster. The plan worked pretty well. I think I was 8th out of 24 men over 40 and like 25th overall. It was very well run. I think I will do it again next year. It was a fun hour long workout.
On April 6, I participated in the Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon. This was after an April 5 attendance at the Final Four games, so you can imagine my sleep was not as perfect as I wished but the games were awesome. It was my first time at a Final Four and it was cool.
Now, on with the race report...
My indoor start time was 7:20 central so I finished up really early this morning. A "tough three" this morning after the games last night. It was organized into a 10 minute swim, 10 minute transition, a 30 minute bike (calibration set on a spin bike with a computer attached), 5 minute transition and finally a 20 minute treadmill run. I swam 475, biked 14 and ran 2.31 miles. I am sure bike calibration was not totally realistic but those were my results. My swim was wild. I was in a narrow lane with a younger man who swam at almost the exact same speed so we were bashing into each other, kicking and hitting and forcing water into the other's mouth as we tried to breathe...it was like a 475 yard open water start....smile. None of this was intentional it is just how it happened - glad I could breathe bilaterally when it was really rough. The bike was simply a high cadence spin and the run was set it and hang on...I actually added a tenth each minute until I didn't think I could go any faster. The plan worked pretty well. I think I was 8th out of 24 men over 40 and like 25th overall. It was very well run. I think I will do it again next year. It was a fun hour long workout.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
A test for tri addiction....now we need a 12 step program
YOU KNOW YOU'RE ADDICTED TO TRIATHLON WHEN...
>You put your swim goggles on, just to turn on the lawn sprinkler.
>You assign wave-starting times for your kids to run through the sprinkler.
>You lay out your pajamas on a towel, transition-style, on the floor next to your bed.
>You eat over the table in the aero-position.
>Even during fine dining, you drink out of a bike bottle.
>Your church shoes are Look and SPD compatible.
>Your idea of candy is Powerbars and Powergels.
>You record nightly splits for getting ready for bed such as bathing, brushing your teeth, and putting on pajamas.
>You bring clip-on aerobars to the grocery for the cart.
>You do a 10K in a Speedo.
>You buy a car to match your bike.
>Your most important accessory on that new car is the bike rack.
>You wear a heart rate monitor to mow the lawn.
>You consider standing in the Communion line at Church as drafting.
>You require your employees to complete a triathlon for their yearly raise.
>You show up at a formal social function in a Quintana Roo Longjohn.
>All of your fine jewelry is made up of triangular shapes.
>You believe that golfers should have to swim, bike, and/or run after their golf balls.
>You believe that a weekly primetime TV drama should have a triathlon basis.
>You thought that Viagra was for keeping up with the race leaders.
>You believe that Disney World should have a Triathlon Kingdom.
>You believe that all motels should be required to have at least a 25-meter lap pool.
>You show up with your goggles and bicycle, at run races.
>You tell everyone that your athletic background is triathlon.
These first appeared to my knowledge on the Univ. of Saskatoon website. You may have more....let me know.
>You put your swim goggles on, just to turn on the lawn sprinkler.
>You assign wave-starting times for your kids to run through the sprinkler.
>You lay out your pajamas on a towel, transition-style, on the floor next to your bed.
>You eat over the table in the aero-position.
>Even during fine dining, you drink out of a bike bottle.
>Your church shoes are Look and SPD compatible.
>Your idea of candy is Powerbars and Powergels.
>You record nightly splits for getting ready for bed such as bathing, brushing your teeth, and putting on pajamas.
>You bring clip-on aerobars to the grocery for the cart.
>You do a 10K in a Speedo.
>You buy a car to match your bike.
>Your most important accessory on that new car is the bike rack.
>You wear a heart rate monitor to mow the lawn.
>You consider standing in the Communion line at Church as drafting.
>You require your employees to complete a triathlon for their yearly raise.
>You show up at a formal social function in a Quintana Roo Longjohn.
>All of your fine jewelry is made up of triangular shapes.
>You believe that golfers should have to swim, bike, and/or run after their golf balls.
>You believe that a weekly primetime TV drama should have a triathlon basis.
>You thought that Viagra was for keeping up with the race leaders.
>You believe that Disney World should have a Triathlon Kingdom.
>You believe that all motels should be required to have at least a 25-meter lap pool.
>You show up with your goggles and bicycle, at run races.
>You tell everyone that your athletic background is triathlon.
These first appeared to my knowledge on the Univ. of Saskatoon website. You may have more....let me know.
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