I'm now officially training for an Ironman.
I'm not actually doing an Ironman. Just training for one.
My good friend--and reall amazing triathlete--Nick is entered in the St George's Ironman. I train with him, so... I'm training for an Ironman!
Since Christmas, I'm doing well. Steady training, building mileage (and meterage in the pool), and getting ready for the part I'm really excited about: Big Fridays.
Every other Friday between now and May, we are spending the entire day training: one hour swimming, building up to 6 or 8 hours on the bike, then a long run.
Awesome.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Long Time No See
So, it's been a while...
Since my last post, I accomplished one goal: I did the Augusta 70.3 on September 26. It was great.
I started tri-ing to get back in shape, and by September I was in as good a shape as I've been in years. Not where I wanted to be, mind you, but not bad.
It was an excellent race. I had several personal goals:
1. Survive...check
2. Under 6:00:00...check
3. Under 5:45:00...oh, well.
I had a good swim. Of course, that's my strong suit. In fact, I came out of the water about 220th overall. Not bad out of over 3,400 entrants.
Then the bike was...well, amazing! I had put in a lot of time on the bike and it paid off. I wanted to finish the bike in under 3 hours, and I finished in just under 2:45.
Then came the run. I'm not much of a runner. And, apparently, the bike was too good. Got off the bike, got through T2, and as soon as I started running my quads cramped. I had to fight off cramps the entire 13.1 miles.
Lessons learned.
Then, I basically took October-December off, gained weight back, fell way out of shape, and am now (you know, New Year and all) starting to train again.
Lessons learned.
Since my last post, I accomplished one goal: I did the Augusta 70.3 on September 26. It was great.
I started tri-ing to get back in shape, and by September I was in as good a shape as I've been in years. Not where I wanted to be, mind you, but not bad.
It was an excellent race. I had several personal goals:
1. Survive...check
2. Under 6:00:00...check
3. Under 5:45:00...oh, well.
I had a good swim. Of course, that's my strong suit. In fact, I came out of the water about 220th overall. Not bad out of over 3,400 entrants.
Then the bike was...well, amazing! I had put in a lot of time on the bike and it paid off. I wanted to finish the bike in under 3 hours, and I finished in just under 2:45.
Then came the run. I'm not much of a runner. And, apparently, the bike was too good. Got off the bike, got through T2, and as soon as I started running my quads cramped. I had to fight off cramps the entire 13.1 miles.
Lessons learned.
Then, I basically took October-December off, gained weight back, fell way out of shape, and am now (you know, New Year and all) starting to train again.
Lessons learned.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Signs of Improvement
This morning I went out for a ride with my friend (and triathlon mentor) Bob Wright.
Bob is a great guy and a really good athlete. He's been doing triathlons for years, is the guy who inspired me to train again and start doing tris, and is my resident gear-head: almost all the bike equipment I own he either gave or sold me.
Anyway, we go out for an easy ride, couple of hours, goal 30-35 miles. Easy, just mileage. (He has a race tomorrow).
At one point we are just cruising along, talking; I look at my speedometer and we are doing 24 mph. Immediately my mind went back to my second ride--ever--which was also with Bob. At one point, he said, "Get on my wheel and just hang on for a while." I remember putting my head down and pedaling as hard as I could for as long as I could. I topped out at 20 mph (speed blew my mind!) and lasted for maybe 2 miles.
That was 2 years, 30 lbs, and a lot of miles ago.
I guess you do get better...
Bob is a great guy and a really good athlete. He's been doing triathlons for years, is the guy who inspired me to train again and start doing tris, and is my resident gear-head: almost all the bike equipment I own he either gave or sold me.
Anyway, we go out for an easy ride, couple of hours, goal 30-35 miles. Easy, just mileage. (He has a race tomorrow).
At one point we are just cruising along, talking; I look at my speedometer and we are doing 24 mph. Immediately my mind went back to my second ride--ever--which was also with Bob. At one point, he said, "Get on my wheel and just hang on for a while." I remember putting my head down and pedaling as hard as I could for as long as I could. I topped out at 20 mph (speed blew my mind!) and lasted for maybe 2 miles.
That was 2 years, 30 lbs, and a lot of miles ago.
I guess you do get better...
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Back again. Again.
One thing is obvious: I'm not much of a blogger. But the Augusta 70.3 is getting closer, and my training is heating up (well, South Carolina is heating up--101 forecast for tomorrow, with a "feels like" temperature of...hell).
We have just returned from our annual sojourn to the great North Woods of Wisconsin. I can't think of any place more beautiful to spend July. And a great place to train. I got in several long runs, a few good long rides (the roads are fantastic: rolling hills, tree canopies, and amazing pavement), and a couple open water swims. I even wore my Xterra wetsuit one morning cause it was, to be blunt, chilly.
One evening I ran 9 miles from HoneyRock camp to Lickety-Spiltz Ice Cream Shop in Three Lakes. I rewarded myself with a single scoop of Coconut Joy (best ice cream flavor in the history of the world). Remember that? That was awesome.
Getting up early in the morning for a long ride/run brick. Hoping to beat the heat. If I'm done by 9 or 9:30, I should be OK/survive.
We have just returned from our annual sojourn to the great North Woods of Wisconsin. I can't think of any place more beautiful to spend July. And a great place to train. I got in several long runs, a few good long rides (the roads are fantastic: rolling hills, tree canopies, and amazing pavement), and a couple open water swims. I even wore my Xterra wetsuit one morning cause it was, to be blunt, chilly.
One evening I ran 9 miles from HoneyRock camp to Lickety-Spiltz Ice Cream Shop in Three Lakes. I rewarded myself with a single scoop of Coconut Joy (best ice cream flavor in the history of the world). Remember that? That was awesome.
Getting up early in the morning for a long ride/run brick. Hoping to beat the heat. If I'm done by 9 or 9:30, I should be OK/survive.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
I'm Back
So, just after I started this blog, I decided to give up all social media stuff for Lent. (I did pretty good, though I have to confess I checked in on TriDadofFive a couple of times...he had some really cool giveaways going.
Well, Easter came, my Lenten fast was over, but I just couldn't get back into the blogging thing.
Training was (is) going pretty well, especially in the pool where I feel like I'm starting to get back into shape and I'm starting to swim respectably. For instance, in both races I've entered so far this season--the Downtown Columbia Sprint and the Langley Pond International (my first International distance race ever)--I finished near the top. The DCS was a 500 meter pool swim and the LPI was a 1500 meter open water swim. I need more open water experience.
Today's pool workout main set was 15x100 on 1:45, descending 1-5. Each fast one was right at 1:15. That isn't great, but a month ago I couldn't break 1:20.
But I needed something exciting to get my blogging going again...and I got it today! The great guys at XTERRA wetsuits (http://www.xterrawetsuits.com/) are sending me a wetsuit! They are sending me the entry level Volt sleeveless. I am so pumped. I can't wait to get it and tell you all about it.
If you haven't already done so, check their web site out, and their facebook page. Great stuff.
Anyway, now that I'm blogging again...
As I mentioned already, I finshed my first ever International distance race: the Langley Pond International (they have a Sprint race, too) in Aiken, SC (actually, Burnettown, but really).
The swim was tough. I like to start on the side, keep away from the fray, and get out into the front of the pack. But the starter kept calling us over to the middle, so a huge group started all on top of each other. You know the drill: arms and legs flailing, bumping, kicking...I got kicked in the eye and am sporting a little bit of a black eye now.
That sorted out fairly quickly, but what was worse was the conditions. Temperature was great, water was fine, but it was overcast. Everything was gray. I couldn't sight the bouys to save my life. I naturally swim pretty straight, but you have to have something to swim toward. I got off track, could never get a good sighting, so I settled in behind some guys, relaxed a little, and followed them through the course. My son got me coming out of the water at 24:14. Not great for 1500 meters, but not too bad.
The bike is an interesting course. Twice around a 12 mile loop, where 2 out of the first 3 miles are all uphill. But then you get some really fast downhill on the backside coming home. On the second loop, rain started coming down, so I was a bit more cautious. But I improved my average mph over last year (when I just did the Sprint) by over 2 mph. Faster, for longer. I was pleased.
When I came into transition, my towel was covering my running shoes, so they were dry. My socks were soaked, so I pulled them off and ran my first 10k sockless. Wet. Over some dirt and gravel portions. A tough combination. My feet are pretty beat up.
I tried the old run/walk thing cause I've been reading about it. It worked! For 5 miles I was right at 8:40 pace. For me, that's fantastic! Unfortunately, the race was 6.2 miles long.
One thing I learned was that nutrition becomes a factor in an International race, and I didn't handle that well at all.
Just after mile 5, I started cramping. Ugh!
My goal was to finish in less than 3 hours: :30 for the swim, 1:30 for the bike, 1:00 for the run. I finished in 2:45. :25 swim, 1:16 bike, and 56:30 run, with longer transitions than I'd like. I'll blame the weather.
Anyway, great first outing. I was nervous about the distance, so I know I left a little on the course, especially the bike.
Keep training.
Well, Easter came, my Lenten fast was over, but I just couldn't get back into the blogging thing.
Training was (is) going pretty well, especially in the pool where I feel like I'm starting to get back into shape and I'm starting to swim respectably. For instance, in both races I've entered so far this season--the Downtown Columbia Sprint and the Langley Pond International (my first International distance race ever)--I finished near the top. The DCS was a 500 meter pool swim and the LPI was a 1500 meter open water swim. I need more open water experience.
Today's pool workout main set was 15x100 on 1:45, descending 1-5. Each fast one was right at 1:15. That isn't great, but a month ago I couldn't break 1:20.
But I needed something exciting to get my blogging going again...and I got it today! The great guys at XTERRA wetsuits (http://www.xterrawetsuits.com/) are sending me a wetsuit! They are sending me the entry level Volt sleeveless. I am so pumped. I can't wait to get it and tell you all about it.
If you haven't already done so, check their web site out, and their facebook page. Great stuff.
Anyway, now that I'm blogging again...
As I mentioned already, I finshed my first ever International distance race: the Langley Pond International (they have a Sprint race, too) in Aiken, SC (actually, Burnettown, but really).
The swim was tough. I like to start on the side, keep away from the fray, and get out into the front of the pack. But the starter kept calling us over to the middle, so a huge group started all on top of each other. You know the drill: arms and legs flailing, bumping, kicking...I got kicked in the eye and am sporting a little bit of a black eye now.
That sorted out fairly quickly, but what was worse was the conditions. Temperature was great, water was fine, but it was overcast. Everything was gray. I couldn't sight the bouys to save my life. I naturally swim pretty straight, but you have to have something to swim toward. I got off track, could never get a good sighting, so I settled in behind some guys, relaxed a little, and followed them through the course. My son got me coming out of the water at 24:14. Not great for 1500 meters, but not too bad.
The bike is an interesting course. Twice around a 12 mile loop, where 2 out of the first 3 miles are all uphill. But then you get some really fast downhill on the backside coming home. On the second loop, rain started coming down, so I was a bit more cautious. But I improved my average mph over last year (when I just did the Sprint) by over 2 mph. Faster, for longer. I was pleased.
When I came into transition, my towel was covering my running shoes, so they were dry. My socks were soaked, so I pulled them off and ran my first 10k sockless. Wet. Over some dirt and gravel portions. A tough combination. My feet are pretty beat up.
I tried the old run/walk thing cause I've been reading about it. It worked! For 5 miles I was right at 8:40 pace. For me, that's fantastic! Unfortunately, the race was 6.2 miles long.
One thing I learned was that nutrition becomes a factor in an International race, and I didn't handle that well at all.
Just after mile 5, I started cramping. Ugh!
My goal was to finish in less than 3 hours: :30 for the swim, 1:30 for the bike, 1:00 for the run. I finished in 2:45. :25 swim, 1:16 bike, and 56:30 run, with longer transitions than I'd like. I'll blame the weather.
Anyway, great first outing. I was nervous about the distance, so I know I left a little on the course, especially the bike.
Keep training.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
great weekend
This has been a great weekend. I had two great workouts yesterday. Neither was all that intense, but I'm base building. First, I had a nice ride on my trainer. Only 30 minutes, but with a pyramid of resistance and cadence for the middle ten minutes, I worked up a solid sweat.
Then, at lunch I swam. I'm just back in the water this week, but I did a long warm-up set with a mix of swim, pull (paddles and buoy--love that!), kick, and drill. (1000m). Then a set of 10x50 on 1:00 descending 1-5. My fast ones were :32. Pretty good for 4th day in the water.
But what made the weekend had nothing to do with triathlon. My church (full disclosure, I'm a pastor) had a teaching weekend: a media ecologist, Dr Read Schuchardt, from Wheaton College--my alma mater, spoke. Unbelievably good!
He was a PhD student of Neil Postman (Amusing Ourselves to Death, and Technopoly). It was great.
Well, gotta run. Literally. 4 miles, easy.
Then, at lunch I swam. I'm just back in the water this week, but I did a long warm-up set with a mix of swim, pull (paddles and buoy--love that!), kick, and drill. (1000m). Then a set of 10x50 on 1:00 descending 1-5. My fast ones were :32. Pretty good for 4th day in the water.
But what made the weekend had nothing to do with triathlon. My church (full disclosure, I'm a pastor) had a teaching weekend: a media ecologist, Dr Read Schuchardt, from Wheaton College--my alma mater, spoke. Unbelievably good!
He was a PhD student of Neil Postman (Amusing Ourselves to Death, and Technopoly). It was great.
Well, gotta run. Literally. 4 miles, easy.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Let's get it started...
This is my first post. My maiden voyage into the world of blogging.
Two confessions are in order: First, I am basically lazy. The biggest challenge to my training, and to achieving my goals, has been simply not doing the workouts. (I really need a team, like TriDadofFive has. That sounds great).
Second, I am really starting this blog so that I can plug the Timex Ironman Race Trainer Kit give-away that my new hero, TriDadofFive, is giving away in about a week and a half.
I probably am not anywhere near Type-A enough to be a dedicated recorder of heart-rate and power-wattage, and all the things you have to track to be a successful gadget triathlete. But the thing looks cool, I want it, and would probably never lay down the cash ($220 on the Timex web site) to buy it myself. So I am trying to win the one TriDadofFive is giving away.
That's it for now. Off to ride the bike. On the trainer. It's raining here.
Two confessions are in order: First, I am basically lazy. The biggest challenge to my training, and to achieving my goals, has been simply not doing the workouts. (I really need a team, like TriDadofFive has. That sounds great).
Second, I am really starting this blog so that I can plug the Timex Ironman Race Trainer Kit give-away that my new hero, TriDadofFive, is giving away in about a week and a half.
I probably am not anywhere near Type-A enough to be a dedicated recorder of heart-rate and power-wattage, and all the things you have to track to be a successful gadget triathlete. But the thing looks cool, I want it, and would probably never lay down the cash ($220 on the Timex web site) to buy it myself. So I am trying to win the one TriDadofFive is giving away.
That's it for now. Off to ride the bike. On the trainer. It's raining here.
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