Thursday, December 30, 2010

Bike Trainer

I set up a little space to rock the trainer during the winter. I'm going to need some workouts to quell the boredom.

Oh yeah - that's totally my Torts case book under my front wheel.


Posted by Picasa

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Week 5 and an Idiot Mistake

Training this week got a little tougher with the addition of another commitment - indoor soccer. I agreed to play on a team at work before the schedule was finalized.  I figured we'd play at night.  Well, we sort of play at night.  But we also play in the early morning.  Our first game started at 11:50 PM.  The second half didn't start until the following day.  So, needless to say, I'm going to have to figure out how to handle a disjointed sleeping scheduling right in the middle of the week.

As for the Idiot Mistake referenced in the title, you'll have to read on to see my blunder.


Holiday lights in Nichols Hills as seen on bike commute

Monday
Morning Swim: (was late to pool, only got 1000 in; 25:00)

Tuesday
Lunch Run (4.5 mi; 37:28; 7:30 min/mi)
Evening Bike (so dark and a little rainy.  went slow out of self-preservation. 21 mi; 1:15; 16.7mph )

Wednesday
Bike Commute (17.3 mi; 1:07; 15.4 mph)
Soccer game (50 min)


Thursday
Lunchtime lift
Evening Run (7 mi; 1:01; 8:45 min/mi)

Friday
Lunch swim (36:00; 2000 yds)
Evening Treadmill Run (4 mi; 33:00; 8:14 min/mi)

Saturday
Easy morning Run (8 mi; 1:10; 8:40 min/mi)

Sunday
Well, I thought I was going to run in a 10k race today, but it turns out the race was on Saturday.  What an idiot.  Somewhere in my weekly planning, I thought the race was on Sunday.  I never checked it for sure, and on Sunday morning, I spent a few minutes driving around looking for the start line.  Stupid, stupid, stupid.  Granted, I'm the same guy who once showed up to the airport a day late for a flight.
Decided to salvage an epic fail with a quick trail run.
Morning trail run: (37:38; 3.74 mi; 9:59 min/mi [I went slow, but I didn't realize that slow]

Totals:
Swim (two workouts; 3000 yds; 1h)
Bike (two workouts; 38 mi; 2h 22 min)
Run (five workouts; 27.25 mi; 4h)
Total (eleven workouts; 7h 22 min + other workouts)

Thoughts: Having the soccer game in the middle of the week screwed the my weekly plan up in two respects.  (1) my sleep pattern was off and (2) I was sore.  Real sore.  This week, I'll focus on getting morning workouts in. 



Even bigger display of holiday lights in Nichols Hills (although blurry)

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Ironman Training

Is this what I have to look forward to for IM Louisville training?



Sunday, December 05, 2010

Weeks 3 and 4

The Thanksgiving holiday threw my schedule off a bit, so here's my progress for the previous two weeks.

Week 3
We traveled to New Mexico on Wednesday night to see my mother for Thanksgiving. We also saw some friends, and ran a 5K Turkey Trot on Thursday. I missed a few workouts, but had a good time.

Sandia Mountain from the Jemez Dam
Monday
Lunch Swim: (2500 yds; 40 min)
Lift at Y after work (30 min)

Tuesday
Bike Commute (34:31; 8.78mi; 15.3mph)
Lunch Run (4.5 mi; 35.23; 7:53 min/mi)
Bike Commute (8.3 mi; 31:02; 16.1mph)

Wednesday
Nothing (travel day to NM)

Thursday
Albuquerque Turkey Trot (ran with Paula: 34:05; 10:53 min/mi)

Friday
Run with Friend (7.07 mi; 55:20; 7:49 min/mi)

Saturday
Missed morning swim with UNM Masters.

Sunday
Quick run, was late to hit road (2.33 mi; 20:23; 8:46 min/mi)

Totals:
Swim (one workout; 2500 yds; 40 min)
Bike (two workouts; 17 mi; 1h 05 min)
Run (four workouts; 17 mi; 2h 25min)
Total (eight workouts; 4h 40 min)

Thoughts: numbers were down, but that was expected with the holiday and this being a recovery week.
___________________________

Week 4
Pretty standard week. I still need to wake up on time to get the morning workouts in. First full week with the new running shoes. Its getting cold.

Sunday's Long Run at Lake Hefner
Monday
Lunch Lift (30 min)

Tuesday
Morning Run (4.1 mi; 33:00; 8:01 min/mi)

Wednesday
Morning Run (6.0 mi; 52:11; 8:41 min/mi)
Lunch Yoga (45 min)

Thursday
Bike Commute (8.56 mi; 35:16; 14.6 mph)
Morning Lift (30 min)
Lunch swim (1600 yds; 30 min)
Bike Commute (8.33 mi; 32:17; 15.5 mph)
Evening YMCA Treadmill Run (4.5 mi; 34:00; 7:30 min/mi)

Friday
Afterwork run (7.01 mi; 56:53; 8.07 min/mi)

Saturday
failed bike ride. (3 mi; 17:06)

Sunday
Long run (14.31 mi; 2:02:23; 8:33 min/mi)

Totals:
Swim (one workout; 1600 yds; 30 min)
Bike (two workouts; 17 mi; 1h 05 min)
Run (five workouts; 36 mi; 4h 58min)
Total (eleven workouts; 8h 20min)

Thoughts: A couple times a needed to get miles in, so I just sucked it up, and headed out. Boring on the treadmill, but workouts needed to get done. Long run felt good. Again, I need to wake up and get the work in before hand. Also, with the weather turning, I'd like to get on a bike trainer.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Week 2

This Wednesday, we leave for New Mexico to see family and friends for Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to it. I'm also eager to see what its like to run at altitude after being in OKC for a few months. Paula and I are running a Turkey Trot together on Wednesday. Just a little 5K. Don't expect a PR out of this race.

Monday
Lunch Swim: 1700 total; 30 minutes

Tuesday
Bike Commute to work (32:17; 8.60 mi; 16.0 mph)
Lunch Run (33:19; 4.24 mi; 7:51 min/mi)
Bike Commute from work (32:21; 8.42 mi; 15.6 mph)

Wednesday
(no bike commute because of car issues)
Morning run (47:46; 6.00 mi; 7:57 min/mi)
Afternoon swim (25*100 @ 1:45/100yd; 2500 total)

Thursday
Bike Commute to and from work (1:02:34; 17.10 mi; 16.4 mph)
(no lunch run because of work engagement)
Indoor soccer (30 min)

Friday
none (sore from soccer)

Saturday
Easy Run (42:26; 4.77 mi; 8:54 min/mi)
Easy Bike (1:13:13; 21.63 mi; 17.7 mph [so windy!])

Sunday
Long run (1:42:14; 12.01 mi; 8:30 min/mi)

Totals:
Swim (two workouts; 4200 yds; 1h 15min)
Bike (three workouts; 56 mi; 3h 20min)
Run (four workouts; 27 mi; 3h 45 min)
Total (nine workouts; 8h 20 min)

Thoughts on the week: I missed a couple workout because of work stuff, not waking up promptly, and being sore from playing soccer. I'm going to work on waking up on time.

Monday, November 08, 2010

Week 1

Monday:
Lunch time swim. Had a lane all to myself. Free swim for 30 minutes, finishing up with 5x25 all out with 25 recovery back to back.

Tuesday:
Bike Commute (to work: 39:11; 8.5 mi; 13.2mph; real windy)
Lunch Run (33:35; 4.2mi; 7:59 min/mi; 10 pushups each mile)
Bike Commute (to home: 31:14; 8.34 mi; 16.0mph; tail wind!)


Wednesday:
Morning run (48:31; 6.0mi; 8:04 min/mi)
Bike Commute (total: 1:12:34; 17.1 mi; 14.2mph)
Yoga
Swim (2300 yds; 200w/u, 100 kick, 20*100yds on 1:45)

Thursday:
(no work)
Bike ride to town (15:43; 4 mi; 15.4 mph)
Bike back from town (13:47; 3.8 mi; 16.4 mph)
Easy run, first part with Paula, last part solo (39:54; 4.2 mi; 9:27 min/mi)

Friday:
AM Swim (cut short because I was running late; 1300 yds; 22:53; 1:45/100yd)

Saturday:

AM mid distance run @ marathon pace (48:21; 6.2 mi; 7:47 min/mi)

Sunday:
Long run @ marathon pace +45-60sec/mi (1:24:28; 10.0 mi; 8:25 min/mi)

Totals
Swim: 5300 yds; 1h 10min
Bike: 42 mi; 2h 20min
Run: 30.6 mi; 4hr 14min

Weekly hours: 7h 44min

Running form throughout week felt good. Need more time on bike.


Sunday, November 07, 2010

Upcoming Year

I've signed up for Ironman Lousiville. Life goal coming up. I'm excited for the challenge.

I'm starting my training with a marathon in February, 16 weeks out. Then its 26 weeks to IM Louisville.

Past week's workouts:

Mon: 4 mile Lunch run
Tues: Bike Commute; Lunch swim
Wed: Bike Commute; PM Yoga
Thu: Bike Commute; 5 mile Lunch run (got real real hungry 4 miles in)
Fri: Rest
Sat: 6 mile AM run; 2200 yd PM Swim [in Dallas]
Sun: 8.5 mile AM run [in Dallas]

Another quick note - I love being a member of the YMCA. Great facilities, good vibes, and you're able to use Ys in different cities.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Redman Half-Iron RR

I raced the Oklahoma City Half-Iron Redman this weekend. It was my first half-iron distance and first Oklahoma race. I wasn't real sure what to expect, other than I'd be real tired.

Training:
I had planned on completing a half-iron since about March or April. However, I thought it would be the Prarieman. That was back when I thought I'd still be in New Mexico. A new job and a move to Oklahoma, my new goal was the Redman. It fit into what was left of my training, given the disruptions. I wasn't too terribly undertrained for the race, but I could have been fitter.

Race Day:
The start is about 1.5 miles away, so if I didn't have to rack my bike the night before, I would have ridden to the race. As it happened, I had breakfast (peanut butter toast, OJ, and yogurt), watched TV, sipped some coffee and put everything together. Paula dropped me off and I got ready. I got everything ready in transition, sipping on water the whole way through. A gel about 20 minutes before go time, and I was ready.

Swim:
I haven't been swimming consistently since the move. I've managed to swim in Arcadia lake once a week for the past three months, but that's it. I knew my time would suffer for it.
I started with the second wave after watching the first wave "wade" through the first leg of the swim. I tried to swim, but with my hand hitting the bottom, I decided to walk. Many other did the same. Throughout the swim, I felt lost. I've been sighting pretty well in practice swims, but based on where everyone else was, I thought I was zig zagging. Either way, I was worried I would have a real slow swim. However, that didn't concern me too much. Today was about finishing the distance.
Time: 39:49 (1:53/100yds)

T1
First time with wetsuit strippers. Awesome. Glad my shorts didn't come off with the suit. Quick hello to Paula, and headed to the bike racks. I went super duper slow. Had to make sure I remembered everything.
Time: 2:14

Bike:
Right out of T1, I notice my rear wheel was rubbing. This annoyed me. I had it tuned up for a decent sum of money and noticed the brakes were rubbing during my pre-race ride. I thought I took care of it. Also, the rear derailleur wasn't properly adjusted. That's another gripe I had with the tune-up. I'm not hitting that shop up again.
Oh, yeah. I had to pee right out of the gate. Luckily there was a well placed porto-potty.

The plan was to keep the HR around 145-150 for the first half or so and 155-160 for the second. I was caught up in the excitement of the first few miles, but settled in nicely. The course was well marked with plenty of support in the form of cops and aid stations. I took the first 28 mile loop in about 1:24/1:25. Pretty uneventful second loop. My back started hurting, and I also decided to ease up on the gas heading into the run.
Time: 2:51:38 (19.58mph)

T2:
Took my sweet time. Needed new socks. Decided against fuel belt. Stretched back. Thought I had everything, but forgot my race number. In the end, it didn't matter.
Time: 3:29

Run:
Wanted to start slow, but steady. First mile was a sub 8. I knew that was trouble. I eased up to about an 8:30 pace, but by mile 5, I was hurting pretty good. It was hot and my shoes became water logged. Eventually, the run became a zombie march to the aid stations, followed by an unnecessarily long walk nursing a gatorade cup. I traded places with one guy for a bit and we chuckled at how slow we were going.
Leading up to the race, I knew it was going to come down to the run. If I could post a sub 2hr run, I thought I'd have a decent time. After I fell apart, my goal became a sub 6 hr race.
One more note, as sad as my half-marathon time was, it was faster than 1/2 of my first marathon time in LA.
Time: 2:16:36 (10:25min/mi, eek!)

Total time: 5:53:45 (97th out of 227 males; 15th out of 29 in AG).
(glad that's done!)

Thoughts:
While I'm not unhappy with my time, I hoped to be around 5:30. I want to try another 70.3 race and put a dent in that time. I now know what to expect.

As for the race itself, it was run very well. Its a great venue for the race. Spectator friendly and flat. I'm not sure about making Redman my first 140.6 race (given the four loops on both the bike and the run).

I'm not sure what's next. I think I'll lift some weights and work on my run. We'll probably join the Y for the pool. I'd like to get my swim form back.

thanks for reading!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Weekly progress (8/23-8/29)

Fairly good week with a few interuptions.

Monday: Yoga in morning; OWS at Arcadia Lake (bike in, 3 laps, 40 minutes total)
Tuesday: Morning run (41:42, 4.86mi, 8:35 pace); No bike commute (raining and court)
Wednesday: Commute to work (31:50, 8.53mi, 16.1mph); Commute home (38:38, 9.04 mi, 14.0mph)
Thursday: Commute to work (33:23; 8.57mi, 15.4mph); Lunch run (47:55, 6.05mi, 7:55 pace); Commute home (34:08; 8.48mi, 14.9mph)
Friday: Morning run (49:43, 5.59mi, 8:54 pace)
Saturday: Long ride (3:52:16; 66.51mi; 17.2mph); brick run(12:43; 1.62mi, 7:51 pace)
Sunday: Long run (1:38:19; 11.17mi; 8:48 pace)

Totals: 29.29mi running; 101 miles biking; 40 min swim

Thoughts: I need to get up when the alarm goes off. I feel pretty good about the week's workout, but I'd like to get a week night bike in. Swimming is super limited too, so I need to make Monday nights worth it. Birthday on Wednesday messed up a planned run. Ate more junk than I needed to.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Weekly Progress

New goal: post training progress from the week.

Monday: 35 min. OWS at Arcadia.
Tuesday: easy 1:15 run.
Wed: Bike commute to work. Yoga at lunch.
Thu:Bike commute to work. Missed lunch run.
Fri: 4 mi lunch run.
Sat: 60ish miles nice and steady. Disappointed in avg speed, but I have nowhere to go, but up. Felt real sluggish on hills. Good rolling hills out there. Followed up the ride with a quick brick 10 min run.
Sun: Planned 2 hour run around Hefner. Left too late. 5 miles in started walking. Ran out of water, but refilled at water fountain. Once I started walking, it was all over. So hot, my shoes were sweat logged. Not a good run at all.

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

La Luz Trail Run

This is a race I've wanted to do for awhile. The La Luz Trail Run is a hard race. I've seen a few of my friends complete it and I've been super impressed. If you don't know about the race, you should learn. You run up a mountain. This year I lotteried into the race, got a few practice runs up the trail a bit in May, and was feeling good.

Then I moved to Oklahoma and fell off the training bus.

Still, Paula and I made a trip out to New Mexico to see some friends and see if I could survive the mountain. So, a couple tanks of gas later, I found myself at the start line.


When the gun went off, I started running as slowly as I ever have in a race before. It was funny how slow I was going. I didn't know how the altitude and the incline would beat me up, so I took my time. The first two miles were uneventful.

At the trailhead, we bottlenecked for a little bit, but fell into a steady pace line. I was right behind a guy, and there was a dude right behind me. The pace was slightly slower than I wanted to go. I thought about busting through and getting into my own rhythm, but I decided to let the pack slow me down. I needed to conserve and not waste energy fighting the crowd. At one point, some dude came bashing through without announcing. Since it was a narrow rocky trail, it was annoying. As he went by, I said to myself, "I'll see you later up the mountain."

Once my watch hit 50 or so minutes, right before the second aid station, I decided to break through. A couple "on your lefts" later, I was solo. I was feeling good and enjoying the views. Again, I was holding back and hoping I might have something in the tank at the end. I met that dude from earlier and gave him "the look" as I passed him.

"The Look"


After the next station came the rock garden. It sucked. The rocks were slippery and jagged. My contacts were playing tricks on me, so I couldn't see all that well. Also, my legs were fatigued and I couldn't really put my feet where they needed to go. Running wasn't happening so I walked the rocks.

At the junction towards the end, I tried to HTFU, but couldn't. There was a set of stairs, totally out of compliance with the ADA. It ripped my legs apart. I pretty much walk/runned the last bit.

Just before the finish, there was another runner right behind me. He and I were hanging together. Once I thought there wasn't much left, I encouraged him to follow me to run to the finish. He agreed and we started hustling. Unfortunately, immediately we rounded a corner, there was the finish line, about 20 yards away. We "kicked" too late.

Paula and my Mom met me at the finish. It was fun all around.


I had the pleasure of driving back to OKC with an altitude induced headache. Some fried chicken and Braum's ice cream later, I was ready to start the work week.

Oh yeah, my time was 2:12:50. I'm not proud of that, but I'm glad I finished in relative comfort. Strangely, I felt nearly nothing in my legs the next day. Fried chicken helps recovery.

Now I have to see if Redman is possible.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

OKC - Settled in

I've settled in for the most part in Oklahoma City. I moved here for a new job in June and I've been here for a month or so. I'm afraid I've fallen off my training a bit. There are a couple of reasons for that.

First, there's a ton of stuff you have to do when you move 500 or so hundred miles and start a new job. Its really tiring and time consuming.

Second, I have just figured out places to work out. There's Lake Hefner near by (but don't blow through the stop signs, or you'll get a ticket like I did), and Lake Arcadia with open water swims. I took part in a 100k bike ride in Norman, so I've learned a couple places to bike. I think I'll join the Y for some consistent and convenient swimming, but that's a few paychecks away.

The third reason for falling off the training is the weather. Holy smokes its hot and humid. The sun doesn't rise until 6 or so, and it sets around 9, which makes it hard to avoid the heat. I've resorted to hot lunch runs, I've done two so far (one) and (two).

Finally, nutrition. I've been eating like crap. There's no excuse apart from laziness and novelty.

Tomorrow I think I'll try to ride to work. Its about 9 miles. And this weekend is the La Luz trail run. I lotteried into it. I've wanted to race it for awhile, but I'm afraid moving to the lower altitude and my fall off the training wagon will make Sunday's race hard. It'll be nice to return to New Mexico.

One more thing, I'm training for the Redman. Here's hoping I can get into form by September.

I'm hoping to have a training plan in place within a week.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Deja vu

Again, eliminated by Ghana. Decided to watch game at bar because I don't have any soccer buddies in Dallas, where I'm staying for the weekend. Should have stayed home.

Highlight of game:


Still gonna root for the netherlands and argentina.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Moved

I now live in Oklahoma City. I have no idea where to work out. Help.

Monday, June 07, 2010

Xterra Four Corners 2010

Whew. That was a tough race. But real fun. Here's my RR.

My buddy Dave and I have talked about doing this race for awhile. We signed up, tested the course, and were ready to rock the race. Paula, Dave, and I drove up to Farmington on Friday, watched the Flyers game and rested up for the race.

Race morning: Woke around 4:45AM, downed a dry mini bagel, yogurt, banana, and a Luna bar. Headed out to the course and set up our bikes. Then drove to the lake and set up T1.

The race is similar to the Grady Williams Triathlon, in the sense that there's a lake swim, and then run up to Lions Park near San Juan College. This race had a 20 mile mountain bike course instead.

Swim


After we got set up, I warmed up with a couple strokes in the lake. The swim was 1.5km, split up into two 750m counter-clockwise laps with a little jog in between each. I planned on starting on the right near the front. I wanted to expereince a little pounding in the water to get used to mass starts for other races. Once we started, I was right in the thick of things. I was able to set up a little space for myself and attempt to get into a rhythm. However, about 200 yards into the swim, I felt terrible. I couldn't breathe, I felt constricted, and I had a tough time sighting. I was considering quitting. Still, I told myself that if I still felt this badly after the first lap, I could reevaluate things. Sure enough, once I hit the first buoy, I was OK. The rest of the swim was pleasant. The water was a good temperature.
1500m: 28:14 (1:43/100yds)

T1 (swim to run)

During this transition, I purposely took my time. I wasn't in a big rush and wanted to give my HR a chance to settle down.
time? Probably rolled into my run time.

Run


My plan here was to RELAX. Get into a Zone 3 or so pace and grind it out. I had to resist the urge to keep up with someone in my age group who passed me (and who probably went on to post some crazy fast time). The first 4 or so miles were uneventful. Some hills and soft sand. The last leg of the run, however, was ridiculous. I understand the whole "off-road" part of the race, but seriously, the race directors sought out the deepest soft sand and steepest short hills to navigate. After zig-zagging through it all, I finished feeling OK.
Time: 6 miles, 49:11 (8:11/mile)

T2 Run to Bike (1:54)

I took my sweet time again. Put on my gloves while standing around, banged some sand out. Tried to gather myself for the impending doom of the 20mile mtn bike ride.

Bike

Thankfully, Dave and I had ridden the course already, so we knew what was coming. What I didn't know was how slow I am on a mountain bike. I started the bike in 40th or so position and finished in 70th or so. Dudes (and plenty of women) were flying by me. I couldn't pull over enough to allow the masses to pass. I don't know if it was my 30lb bike, lack of experience, or fear of wiping out that kept me slow. Either way, I didn't do well at all. At the end of the first loop, there's some climbing. I was too tired to focus on getting a good line up some of the technical stuff, and I had to walk my bike a bit. I was feeling fatigue in my legs and didn't know how much gas I could give it. I decided to go at a medium pace and focus on staying upright. I was waiting for Dave to pass me at any time. One bright note: on the pavement, I was able to TT' it and pass a few folks. Sure enough, they passed me right back once we got onto dirt.
time: 19.5 miles 1:52:22 (10.2 mph)

It was a fun race. The volunteers were helpful and there was a great atmosphere. There were also a bunch of fast people from out of state. My friend Dave finished strong and we went out to the local brewery after the race for a well-deserved beer.

(kudos to Paula for all the pics and support!)

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Mountain biking


I've stepped up the mountain biking in anticipation of Xterra Four Corners. I forgot how fun mountain biking is.

Last weekend, I went with a friend to Farmington to preview the bike course. It was a lot of fun. So fast.

Yesterday I went up into the foothills. Also fun, until I had a run in with a cactus:
The cactus won.











Tomorrow I head to White Mesa with Mr. T, an unbelievably strong mountain biker. I'm in trouble. Especially after a 50 miler this morning.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Jay Benson 2010

This is one of those races where I had high hopes, and nearly had them dashed right in the middle. I ended up with a 2 min PR, which I attribute to calmer winds and better training (oh yeah, and this bike:)


Paula and I showed up at the race around 6:20. We set up shop, hit the restrooms, and waited. We set our bikes up together and I thought I counted the racks properly for easy access in T1.

I started in the second wave and moved right up front. I kept the HR up with some light bouncing I picked up from my days wrestling in high school. We set off and I tried to take it easy. I remember blowing up pretty early on the run last year after trying to stay with the leaders. I kept a 6:20ish pace and tried to relax. I finished the 3 mile run in 19:14. (6:25min/mi pace).

Here's where I screwed up. We entered the transition area from the east. I counted nine racks, made a left, and looked for my bike. Crap. It wasn't there. I saw another Quintana Roo Seduza and thought, "Someone took mine thinking it was theirs." Nope, Paula's bike wasn't there either. I looked around, confused and lost. Then I remembered Paula telling me that our bikes were 3 or 4 racks from the front. So I looked to the front and realized I was in the back half of the transition area. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I HTFU'ed to my bike and changed as quick as I could. I was a little flustered and had to fix the straps on my shoes. Oh well. Out to the bike. T1: 1:33 (25 secs of which were the longest I've had in a race)

The bike felt great. It was my first race on the QR frame, but not on the wheelset. I easily hit 27 mph without too much effort, soon realizing I had a tailwind. I kept my cadence steady and slowly shifted to harder gears. I know I can go faster with proper interval/fartlek training, but I managed ok to start. At both turn arounds, I got behind someone who took their time. That slowed me a bit. Also, the rollers weren't terrible, but I didn't manage them as well as I should have.
12 mile bike: 31:40; 22.7mph

T2: another hiccup. I got my Garmin, socks, helmet, and shoes off quick. I grabbed my goggles and ran to the pool. Just before entering the door, I went to put my goggles on and they broke. Crap. What to do? Swim w/o them, or go get my spare pair. I went back and got my second pair. That probably cost me about 20 secs.
T2: 1:28

Swim: Pretty uneventful. I passed a couple folks and one dude passed me at the wall. On the last length, there was a dude around 10-15 yards ahead that I knew I would be stuck behind right at the ladder. So, I dropped the hammer and sprinted past him to the ladder. Fairly slow time overall, but a tad better than last year.
Swim 400 meters: 7:47; 1:46/100yds

Total race time: 1:01:41
I'm pretty pleased overall, especially because my T1 and T2 errors didn't cost me my goal of a sub hour race. I suppose I lost 40 or so secs overall, but it felt like an eternity out there.

Paula had a great race too! She shaved 6 minutes off her time from last year. Fun times all around.

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Tuesday Night Crit Virgin

My buddy dragged me out to the local Tuesday night crit. I've wanted to race it for sometime now, and he made it happen. Holy crap it was tough.

I raced the "C" race. There were about 30-40 racers. We lined up and rode around Balloon Fiesta Park. My friend told me to stay at the front, but I started at the back. I didn't want to wreck and bring everyone down. Once we got going, I tried to hang on to the wheel of the guy in front of me. Little did I know that he wasn't keeping up. I got dropped about 1.5 laps into it. My goal was then to keep from getting lapped. The ride turned into a personal TT. I started picking guys off here and there and was doing ok. Sure enough, though, the train of leaders came rolling around and lapped me with 1/2 a lap to go. Bummer. I didn't realize it at the time and kept racing while everyone was on a cool down lap. That's embarrassing.

In total, it was a lot of fun. I biked at maximum effort for 20+ minutes. My lungs were on fire. After it was all done, I suffered from "crit-cough." So did a lot of other people.

I'm planning on doing it again, but not for a few weeks. It was a little expensive so I have to ration it out. Next time, I'll try to stay with the pack for at least a couple laps.

Sunday, May 02, 2010

Run for the Zoo 2010

I had lofty aspirations for the Run for the Zoo. I wanted to see if I could run a 40 min 10k. Well, I didn't. I finished in 43:08, a new PR. I had some serious right foot pain about 2 miles in. I considered DNF'ing, but thought I'd cruise for a bit and see how it felt. I even walked a little bit. Eventually, it went numb. I hustled it up a bit more, and finished under 44min.

Here's what I learned from the race:
  • I need to focus on nutrition more.
  • I can push through pain.
  • I need some more speed work.
Overall, fairly good showing on my part. Its just that I was disappointed with the foot pain that slowed me. There's always next year.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Quick update

My big goal this year is the Prarieman Half-Iron Man (they call it a "long distance triathlon" so as to not infringe on the M-Dot peeps). I need to formulate a training plan. I've got a book and some ideas, but I'm also exploring some public plans. I'm not sure what will work for me. I suppose I need to first determine what my goal is for the race. Time? Comfort? Just to finish? I think I'll set a 6 or so hour goal time. That may change with some training.

Here's what's on tap for this season so far:
5/2: Run for the Zoo (10K PR goal)
5/9: Jay Benson (PR goal)
6/5: Xterra Four Corners (goal of not making an ass out of myself)
7/4: Grady Williams (goal of avenging last year's dismal showing)
8/1 La Luz Trail Run (depending on the fate of the lottery system)
8/8: Socorro?
8/22: Los Alamos?
9/12: Prarieman. Get some.
9/26: Elephant man. (goal of placing in AG)

As soon as I have a training plan, I'll throw it up on the blog.


One more thing. I had the pleasure of driving 16 hours over the past two days. I filled the monotony with some podcasts from Zen and the Art of Triathlon. Pretty good stuff.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

First Swim Meet


I had my first swim meet this morning. I signed up for the 1650yd (mile) swim.

My time: 26:09 (1:35/100yd). Not bad at all. Masters swimming is paying off.

Monday, March 29, 2010

She will be mine, oh yes, she will be mine

I decided to head to Sportz Systems and check out their bike fest on Saturday after my long run. I intended just to pick up body glide. I ended up drooling over this:




Its not that the 2008 Quintana Roo Seduza was the slickest or most tech savvy bike there. Rather, the Seduza was within my price range. After a quick call to Paula (who gave me her support) and Mr. T (who was 40 miles into a 100 mile mountain bike ride when he fielded my call), I pulled the trigger. I put that sexy machine on layaway. Time to start making payments. Soon, she will be mine. Oh yes, she will be mine.

It'll be nice to have a proper TT bike.

Monday, March 15, 2010

St. Patrick's Day Triathlon


This past Sunday was the St. Patrick’s Day Triathlon in Keller, TX. Keller is very close to my wife’s family, so we made the trip to Dallas for a quick visit. This was our second year running the race. Here’s my brief report from last year.

I had a few hiccups before actually racing. First, I suffered (another) soccer injury last Sunday. This is particularly ironic when you consider that I stopped playing soccer because I didn’t want to get hurt. Since then, I watched a little too much FNC and Champions league and was insprired to return. I did, and last Sunday I knocked shins with another dude. It bruised up nicely and it hasn’t really healed.

Second, I broke my chain the day before the race. I threw the race wheels on and took it for a spin to make sure it was ready to fly. The rear derailler was poorly calibrated and the chain got caught in it. Its a little hard to explain, but it split a link. No worries, though, I got it taken care of at Mad Duck Cycling.

As for the race itself, Paula and I headed down to Keller around 5:45. We arrived a little past 6AM and set up transition. Thankfully, it was warmer than last year. My Master’s swim coach advised me to warm up with at least 500m, which I did about 20 minutes before start.

Swim


My plan was to start steady, breath every other stroke, and focus on form. I was going to build the pace each lap. Largely, I followed that plan. I felt strong(ish) in the pool, and probably could have gone harder. I finished feeling good. However, my swim time was a bit slower than last year. That might be due to having to run into the pool at start. I doubt it. I was more efficient and wasn’t as tired.

T1
Went to wrong rack. Not having glasses will do that.

Bike
My plan was to go pretty hard on the first lap and drop the hammer on the second. I felt strong and was able to stay aero most of the time. I don’t really know how much harder I could have gone, but perhaps some.

T2
Fingers cold. Tough time putting shoes on.

Run
This is where my training paid off. I remember last year waiting for the run to end. When you’re heading back on the course, you can hear the Irish band playing at the finish line. Unfortunately, you have to snake back to the finish and the music is a tease.
This year, I felt good. I had my hR monitor on and stayed around 180bpm for the first half. I was flying by people. On the way back, my HR drifted up to 185. I kept my turnover quick and breathing steady. Honestly the course seemed shorter this year.

I finished with my fasted 5K time ever. That includes the 2 stand alone 5Ks I’ve run.

300m swim: 5:28; T1: 1:30; 12 mi bike: 34:46; T2: 1:21; 5K: 20:01
Total: 1:03:07

Overall: 26/600
Age group: 7/52

Sum.
Paula did great and finished strong and in good spirits. We had family there to support us and it was a good time. The race is a whole lot of fun and I think we’ll do it again next year.
Now I’m going to the doctor to check on my ankle.


Before I forget, here's my tentative race schedule:
Jay Benson
XTerra Farmington
Prarieman
La Luz hopefully
Run for the Zoo / Shiprock Marathon

Monday, February 15, 2010

Mt. Taylor Quad

This past weekend, I headed over to Grants to volunteer for the Quad. The Quad is a crazy, bike up, run up, ski up, snoeshow up, and everything in reverse race for 40+ miles up and down Mt. Taylor). I had two reasons for burning the gas it took to make it there.
1) Volunteer at a race in an attempt to give back for all the races I've done with great volunteers.
2) Learn about the quad so I know what to expect.

I know this much - the Quad is no joke. There are some serious athletes and determined participants.

I arrived in Grants around 7AM. I touched base with the staff and caught a shuttle to the bike/run transition area. There were a group of us just hanging out, waiting for the next pick-up truck to take us away. I rode on the back of some burly truck up to the next transition area. When I arrived at the run/ski transition, there was a nice warm fire ready. Initially, I wanted to volunteer at this area, but I decided to hoof it up to the next area - the ski/snowshoe transition. I figured I could learn the most there.

Silly me, I hiked it up the 2 or so miles in regular hiking shoes. Slow going in the snow, esp. Heartbreak hill (below).
As for the transition area, it was run by a no-nonsense snowmobiling couple. They had volunteered for many years and had the program down pat. We dug a couple pits for a fire and set up the timing mats.
My job, after shoveling snow, was to direct the racers up the hill. Soon enough, the elites came charging up the mountain. And even sooner, they had sumitted and were coming back down. Then came the masses.
And before I knew it, the cut-off time came and the racers stopped coming up. I helped pack up and we headed down the mountain. I'm leaving out the hour long snowcat ride, frostbitten toes, tortilla hot dog, altitude sickened racers, straggling racers and portopotty experience. All in all, it was a real good time.

So, from this, I am determined to complete the Quad solo. Its a goal. It will happen. Oh yeah. T-minus one year.

Monday, February 08, 2010

whoops

Looks like my blog has fallen into disuse. Got a little busy with things, thats all. I'm still out there running, biking, and swimming. I'm going to get consistent with keeping up to date with things. In the meantime, here's a pic from Rock and Roll PHX. I finished 26.2 in 3:53. Not great, but progress. And I could sit down without pain in a few days! More to come . . .