Rainy Training

Yesterday was a beautiful day but before that rain off and on enough to make you want to just leave. Anyway this was another short training week, 5 sessions. So the mileage has gone down but I can always use recovery time. Leaving for Finland for a while so training will really be limited. I hope to run at least every other day and have some good 10k sessions.

Summary for last week: swim 1.44 mi. 1:55; cycle 32.5 mi. 2:54 (3 spin classes); run (following spin classes) 9:36 mi. 2:13; strength and stretch 1:45; total time 6:10, total distance 43.24 miles.

Thanks for keeping up, until my next post, a hui hou, see you on the road.

Issaquah Sprint Tri 2010

After what seems like weeks of rain, the sun shined on the Issaquah Tri. Held at lake Sammamish State Park the course and transition areas were saturated and pretty much a mud bowl. Everywhere you needed to go, it was deep mud and it made for an interesting day.

Waiting for the start, standing at the edge of a very cold lake, I wondered how the day would go. We waited in waves, a delayed start giving us plenty of time to think. Just before my wave was called for the swim start I decided to take a quick warm-up swim. I waded into the lake, it was cold, and as I started out my stroke ducking my head into the water, the cold ran through the top of my wetsuit and literally froze my spine. My reaction, "what am I doing here?" There wasn't time to change my mind, my wave was called and in minutes signaled to start. There were 50 men and women in my wave, the second to last to start, and there was room on the side to start out slowly. Because of the cold I swam with my head up and sighting the first turn. It was so cold that it took quite a few minutes to settle in. On the long side of the course and the final turn I got it smoothed out. I felt pretty good and passed a few swimmers. It was difficult to see, the water was murky, so when you came up on someone, it was as ink in the water was slightly disturbed and then it disappears. Reaching shore I had trouble getting my footing so I walked up the ramp and then jogged a bit to the transition. I was cold through, been in the water less than 12 minutes, shivering a bit and my mouth had the usual hypodermic droop. Several members of the Monroe Y Tri Club who had come out to encourage us, two were near my bike in the rack and talked to me as I tried to get out of the wetsuit and into my bike gear. This was the longest time I was in the transition, too long.

The transition exit was deep mud and running through it clogged my wheels. All the time I was on the bike it made strange noises probably due to the extra mud stuck in just about every space. The bike leg went well. Though I couldn't zip up my shirt with one hand so it was a little breezy. Parts of the course were sunny and others were in shade, but for the most part everything went well. I passed a few people as i rode through the course. There were a couple of hills, not too steep, but hills so i used all my low gears and many of the high gears on the other side. I never shifted up to the big ring, instead I used the downhills for rest. On one downhill I broke 30 mph with a little help. Normally I would back off but I was pumped and felt solid so I hammered on. It was exhilarating. I made a good change in T-2 and got out on the run course without too much trouble, with the exception that my feet were numb and my legs were wobbly.

I shortened up my stride and knew that somewhere in the next 3 miles my stride would come back. The run course was like a steeple=chase, some good footing hard top or dirt, mud holes, deep muddy grass, slippery pallet bridges, two creek crossings over moss covered wet wood. My splits improved as I proceeded with the run and I passed a few runners. Also some of the people I passed on the bike eventually passed me on the run.

At the end of the run I was excited hearing the names of runners as they approached the finish arch. Down the chute I came. The announcer instead of calling out my name requested the medical team to the podium, and then I was through the finish. accepting water, finishers' medal, and the good wishes of friends and family, which was plenty of reward for me. I was not so tired as I was exhilarated. I had completed my first official triathlon with no problems and was completely in the moment.

Now that it is over I realize this is an important first step and I hope that it will keep me motivated to continue training hard. I know I can get out of transitions in less time. My swim and run were faster than I expected and the bike was about what I expected.

Official results: 1:50.06 767/837 overall 8/11 age group

swim 11:34, T1 7:35, bike 56:40, T2 4:00, run 30:16

A hui hou, see you on the road.

Weekly summary

Memorial Day weekend in Ketchikan, short week of training, Issaquah Sprint Tri today. I had only a few training sessions combined with the event Saturday. Training summary including the Tri: swim 2.17 mi. 1:56; bike 30 mi. 2"09, run 5 mi 1"06; total distance for the week 37.17. Total time 6:32. As I said half the volume and in a week I will be off again and unable to train consistently. I have a plan for my running and I think I can do some cycling but there will be no swimming available. My next event is the Seafair so I'll be able to get up to speed in time for that. Now I need to focus on events for July on, which I will do and when.

Looks like this week I can get a full training schedule in. My plan is to go back to the volume but ease off on the intensity. It can be a good recovery week. So, a hui hou, see you on the road.

Decoration Day

Just back from quick trip to K-town AK. Congratulations to the newlyweds James and niece Hilary. Enjoy Kona. For the family, we had an awesome weekend.

Summary: swim 2:05 2.7 mi.; bike 2:15 25.5 mi.; run 1:45 8.35 mi.; strength and stretch 2:10. Total distance 36.55, total time 8:05.

With a couple of interruptions this month, training dropped off some. Four days of training coming up, Issaquah Sprint Tri on Saturday, Sunday off and then back on schedule for awhile. A hui hou, see you on the road.

Summary for the week

If you've have been reading along you know that one of the marks of the week was the cycling crash on Friday. I did recover and continued to train and my injuries are coming along well. Only two weeks until my first "official" event and my training is still pretty intense. I'll keep the volume up through next week, then taper a bit(not too much) the following week for the sprint. I know you understand when I tell you that there is anxiety, excitement in the possibility of competition. I'm looking forward to it and the obvious uncertainty of the day; a little scary, the competitors, the course, it is humbling and I will be ready.

Week summary: swim 2.0 mi. 1:45; bike 60.5 mi. 4:50; run 11.45 mi. 2:55; strength and stretch 1:45; total distance 74.25 miles, total time 11:25.

Looking forward to the rest of this week and next, a hui hou, see you on the road.

Whoops!

Ever had one of those days when you have great expectations then bam, just isn't what you hoped for? Today was one of those. I had a nice long ride scheduled, ride out the trail and follow the Lake Stevens 70.3 route to see how it goes. Get warmed up and shift over to the big gear and...the chain spins off and down I go in a heap. So I unclip, get up, fix the chain, check out the bike which now has new dings, and then realize its cold out and my attitude is really bad. Ok so I start off riding, down the trail, leg dripping blood from a really sweet strawberry, but by the time I get to the turn for the Lake Stevens bike route I'm just not feeling it so I decide to just continue on in the relative safety of the trail. Long story short all the way I'm not focused and can't seem to get into the ride. Somewhere between here and there I turn back and retrace my route with the exception of the crash. Back at the car I examine the bike one more time confirming cosmetic damage, and then head home. As for me, I have a really nasty skinned knee, a large bruise on my hip, and a few odd kinks and tweaks which altogether make for a sad boy. In addition to the immediate injuries I won't be able to swim until I heal a bit. This is the fourth time I have bonked. I am not a happy camper at all. I'll be fine in a while but right now not so much.

Oh yeah, I rode a little over two hours and 30 miles so at least I achieved something today. And one more thing, I have been thinking all day I need to learn how to make the transition on and off the bike with my shoes clipped in like the pros. Seems a little funny.

Sprint Tri'd

Awesome week following a road trip south. Medium intensity training week, practice sprint tri on Saturday, and Saturday/Sunday on the westside of San Juan Island; can't get much better than that.

Training: swim 2:00, 2.21 mi; bike 2:45, 36 mi.; 1:37, 6.7 mi; strength training 2:30; total distance 44.91 mi., total time 8:52.

Sprint tri: 1/2 mi. swim 0:24; 12 mi. bike 0:45; 3.2 mi. 0:37; 1:46 total excluding transition times. This was a good simulation and I learned several lessons: started too fast in the swim and had to regroup; bike leg was much better than I expected; and it took at least 3/4 mile to find my legs in the run. Many thanks to my Monroe Tri club organizers and club mates for an awesome fun day.

It's a new week and it is week 13 in my training cycle: approximately 14 hrs scheduled; hope I get it all done. Looking forward to the challenge of training and finishing painting the garden gazebo along with general home responsibilities, looks like I will be busy. So, a hui hou and I'll see you on the road.