I made it! Wow. Didn’t really have any expectations going in to today other than to finish, and i crossed the line in 6:33ish. I’ll take a 30 minutes swim, a 3:15 bike, and a 2:40 something half. The. Run. Sucked. But NBD. HTFU, actually RUN, and cross the line.
Race Report to follow soon, with pictures :-)
So this is a totally, 100% random update, but i figured id put some thoughts down before this weekend. In about 36 hours, I will be running on the beach and plunging into the cold waters of the North Carolina inlet Waterway. Why you may ask? Well, i guess I'm going to try to finish the Beach2Battleship half-iron race this Saturday.
It may sound as if I'm being callous about this race, and I am. I am approaching this race as more or less a pure test of testosterone. I am not going to race, I am going to finish. I haven’t legitimately “trained” in just about a month. A little over a month ago, I started having some funny heart issues. They have sense been cleared up (as of earlier this morning), and i am good to go. I am no longer RACING, but just want to pride my way safely across the finish line. I feel grossly unprepared for this race, both in preparation and in simple knowledge base of how these bigger races are run. I’ma just hope that i get all of my transition bags packed correctly, and hopefully this time Saturday night, I'll be putting a 70.3 sticker on the back of my jeep.
If i don’t update this, well, I either died, or have once again become content to simply read DC Rainmaker's Blog and train as possible
Today I leave you with the damage done to my kitchen by my roommates dog….FAIL?
Okay, I'm not on a boat, but i cant get the song out of my head. If you haven't seen the SNL skit with Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and T-Pain, you should watch it. *PARENTAL ADVISORY, it might be offensive*
Anyways, boats float on water, which must be a nice characteristic. I don’t float, thought i really wish i did. The past week has been fairly swimming intensive. I've ridden semi-consistently for the past month, and running is a fairly regular activity. However, my swimming has severely dipped off. With my first tri of the season coming up may 10th, i figure its about time to take a crash course in reestablishing my stroke. The first two or three days in the pool were a FAIL, as to be expected. My breathing was way out of rhythm, arms weak and inefficient, and my could not keep my head low in the water. Long story short, these few days SUCKED. When swimming is work, it isn’t any fun, for me. I tried my best to not fight the water, but i knew that's all i was really doing. Anyways, after 6 swim workouts, i think my learning curve is finally going up. I am no where NEAR where i need to be, but I'm not struggling to swim the whole workout, which is a plus. Fortunately, i work at the YMCA, so swim instruction, as least at a basic level, is readily accessible.
So that’s a quick summation of my last week..two 30+mile rides, and about 3,500 yards in the pool. Today calls for a 60 minute run, which i will knock out once i get out of class, and i plan on going back to the pool tonight, not to exert myself, but simply to try to log as much quality time in the water as possible in the next two weeks.
Hope all of you out there…(all 5 of you :-D) are doing well. Its full training season, as least for me, as classes are winding down, with only exams standing between me and a summer full of, summer school. dang.
much love,
peace, love, chick-fil-a
T
NBC is showing coverage (not live) of the Ford Ironman World Championships 70.3 This show covering the half ironman, should be sick. It comes on today at 4:30 on NBC.
just thought id share, DVR rocks
Could have been titled, Sure, Why Not?
This was more of an impromptu race. I found the flier at a local ice cream store, and decided it might be fun.
THE RUNDOWN: 10.5(6) mile time trial in Mebane, NC put on by Chapel Hill, NC cycling team TriCyclists. This was a more professional race than anything I've done before. There were many Cat 1&2 riders there along with a whole bunch of 3-5’s. Alas, there were are few of us “citizens” rounding out the remaining participants.
Not much of a story to tell. I was one of probably 20 bikes there that did not either have full zipps or a rear disc wheel. Let’s be honest, i was lusting for the better part of an hour. I waited in line, my time came, rode hard, rode aero, and rode pretty well. There was a really young kid in front of me on what I’m guessing was a 46 cm bike..if that’s possible…with a zipp setup. My two goals today were to make sure i passed him, and attempt to keep from getting passed by anyone else. I caught him at the top of the first climb, road a few lengths behind him for about a minute as i waited for my hear rate to come back down, and then engaged the slingshot, passing my young competition. I feel like a jerk writing this, but having a target in a time trial makes life so much better. At about mile 9, i failed my second goal, as a guy who started 4 positions behind me, meaning 4 minutes behind me, came flying passed me.
Interesting side note..i uploaded the course from mapmyride.com to my Garmin 305, and FAIL!!! My Garmin told me i had a mile left, when actually i had 2 miles left. When i look at my speed graph, you can tell an obvious hike in speed, followed shortly by an O $#!+, a slowing, and then a true sprint about half a mile later. If i can figure out how to get this graph out of training center, I'll put it up. I'm guessing i should switch to sports tracks. We’ll see.
Anyways, at the end of the day, I averaged 20.4 MPH for something around 31:40. It could have been anywhere from 31.10 to 32, as i didn’t stop my Garmin when i should have, and the course was not exactly 10.5. I was told it was a little bit over 10.6.
Long story short, it was a lot of fun, I actually stayed in aero the majority of the time. It was a lot of fun, and in other news, I WON MY AGE Group. I’m not telling how many people were in my age group though ;-)
i leave you with more FAIL:
Total expense paid to chik-fil-a $0
Total damage done to my body. -10 years of life + busted knee from frozen t-shirt contest...
I might write up a full "review" of this later, but eight now, I wanna sleep. Been up 27 hours in a chikfila parking lot....
T
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
3:15 AM. Its chilly. I planned for 80's and its like, 50 right now. Met the first person, jannet from carry, this is her 17th first 100!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
It sure is easy to get caught up in the world around you..losing track of everything else (read training).
So, after a month-long break from blogging, mostly because i was guilty about not having anything to blog about, I’m back!, I think. So what have I been up to?
Okay so, the bike is ready to go(aerobars repaired, new tires, full body wipe-down), and the pool i normally swim at is about to be more available, reducing my potential excuses not to go swimming. I have had to stop running due to my knee and toe, but am at a point now where the toe isn’t going to get any better, and my knee will rehab itself as long as i don’t screw it up again.
What has sparked this return to blogging?
Half Marathon in 3.5 weeks (Possible), a sprint tri in may, olympic in april, two other tri’s over the summer/before my big race… Beach2Battleship half Iron distance in Wilmington, Nc on November 7. This is going to be my reach. I debated between several 70.3 distance events, and decided to go with this one over Augusta because of location. 2 hour drive far better than 6-7 hour drive.
Anyways, i’ve been following all of my blogs in Reader, its just my turn to begin to contribute to the community.
--> i’m realizing that i am secretly trying to convert all of my friends to triathletes…can’t tell if its for a training partner, or someone to share the experience with, or a way to see a girl in a bathing suit (o yea 1 pieces!)…who know ;-)
hope all is well,
piece
for some comedic relief, i leave you with this:
this picture doesn't do the damage to the bottom of my feet justice....wearing shoes (ie running of biking) is out of the question for a few days...mad lame.
