External?Internal

I have been trying to be more self directed. To do things based on self satisfaction and not on how other people think. Now I am not talking about self-absorbed, midlife crisis stuff. I am really trying to have a central vision and to follow through on that vision.

So this weekend I felt pretty good about the sprint triathlon. I felt in control of my race and pushed to a reasonable extent. I left the race pretty happy. Then I saw the results sheet. Despite a half year of work I am still at the bottom of the heap. Granted I am more solidly at the bottom of the heap but still.....

Now is that an example of letting externals define things or an old fashioned reality test?

Gwen is a Triathlete

Today we did our reverse sprint triathlon. Cut to the chase---Gwen finished with a very consistent swim stroke to the cheers of onlooking staff.

Congrats Gwen--You are a Triathlete.

It was a fairly difficult day. Temps around 30s, grey. About 1 minute before the run start there was a fire alarm. So he whole race got put on hold--in the freezing cold--for about a half hour.

So off we started. I went out a little fast for me but pulled it back early. Not too bad.

The bike was lonely. We rode through an industrial park. This was great because of little traffic, but it was hilly and kind of abandoned. I rode slower than I expected.

I was looking forward to finishing with the swim but it took forever to find some form and so I was much slower than anticipated.

All in all, not a bad start. Should give me the chance to adjust my training for St. Anthony's.

Feel like I am getting Faster

The first test race of the year is tomarrow. Should be cold but no too bad.
The thing is--I think I am starting to actually run. Now, not would normal people would consider running. But for me, A certain kind of stride with a certain kind of bounce.
Tomarrow's results should give us a good blueprint for the weeks leading up to St. Anthony's.

Pink, Revisited

I have previously discussed the danger that occurs when women wearinf pink and talking on cellphones get in the way of training (See previous post, "My Wife....). Well, it happened again. Another lady in pink yapping away on the cellphone while ambling around the track. What could possibly be so important? Is force justified to rip the device from her hands?

We have a race coming up this weekend. A reverse triathlon---Run-Bike--Swim. Better to end wet than start wet in these temperatures. This should give me a sense of where we stand just 6 weeks before St. Anthony's.

Promises Made

OK So I did not post last week but I have an excuse. "The kid across the street did it to me".

A week ago I went to a birthday party--for a four year old. So I like cake--who does'nt? I am pretty sure that led to the searing abdominal pain that persisted for about a week. No workouts until Thursday.

I actually took Thursday and Friday off specifically to get in some long workouts. By Thursday, I was not feeling much better and I kind of figured that doing nothing was not helping so maybe doing something would work. I did get in a three hour bike ride, followed be a weak swim effort on Friday, a colder than expected two hour bike ride on Saturday and a slightly pathetic 1 hour hill session on Sunday.

The above photo is with my triathlon training staff.

So we are down to six weeks before St. Anthony's. Time to really consolidate training. I have a warm up sprint tri this week in Kentucky. It will be 3.1 mile run, 13 mile bike and 500 meter swim but in reverse order RUN-BIKE-SWIM. That way we can finish inside. Should give me some idea of what times to look for in Florida.

Better off Dead

I went to the insurance guy this week. Just a general policy check-up. I was mostly looking to increase my disability coverage. So on LIFE insurance I am good. On DISABILITY--not so good.

What does all this have to do with training? Well, if I am out on a run and you happen to run over me in your Ford Valdez, check in your rear view mirror. If you see a limb moving, back over me a couple of times. You see, I can afford to be dead but I cannot afford to be injured.

Got in a mile swim. Actually 1500 meters. It is way easier to calculate distance in a metric pool. 30 Laps-- break it up into three 10s.

Went for a bike ride, in between giant downpours, but technical difficulty cut it short.

7 weeks to go for St. Anthony's. The temps are headed up. The ski slope is closed. Time to knuckle down (Actually it is always time to knuckle down).

Down and Out

I hit the wall this weekend. Too much stuff and a little sickness. So the Sunday run got the boot. It is really hard to know when I am smart to walk away from a challenge and when I should attack it head on. I tend to rely on others to guide me but sometimes you just got to jump on yor own.

So I hit the track tonight after two days off. Not bad by my standards. Even got the Polar 625 calibrated for distance. Apparently "Polar" is a Finnish word that means "Not obvious how to operate". Great once things get up and running but before that.....

I am starting to spend my time near my race pace effort. It will be very interesting to see how I can sustain this kind of effort.

Taking Stock II

Tonight I went for a more aggressive training ride pushing up the times at higher heart rates. I recently got a Polar 625x that tracks and uploads heart rate times. It is interesting to see that I often do not work as hard as I thought I was. I think I tend to drift near the end of intervals.

About one year ago I started to participate in Triathlon

2005
No road biking in 20 years
Could not swim 37 yrds
Could not run one mile
Did not own Lycra
Could not tell the difference between Gatorade regular and Gatorade Endurance formula

2006
Bike for hours on end
Swam 3.5 miles this weeks
Run many miles but really slowly
Own ultra tight, European biking jacket
Buy Powerbars by the case

Ok--good start---But what about race day?