First Triathlon in almost 2 years!

Well, I'm still nursing some injuries including a pinched nerve in my neck and some type of turf toe but I had enough, it was time.  After bowing out of a duathlon and triathlon due to weather and costs I thought this is a make or break time for me.  If I didn't do this event it would be a downhill slide and I would keep making excuses to not do one.  I have only been in a lake about 3 times over the last two years so I new my swim was going to be weak.  I recently sold my tri-bike so this event was going to be done on my roady, the bike I built from the ground up with a Nashbar frame and 105.  I also bought some stability running shoes and a foot plate to help with the turf toe.  Going into this race I had no aspirations to win, I just wanted to embrace it, compete, and shake off some demons.  I wanted to keep the swim to around 10 to 12 min (I know, turtle speed) and not panic in the water.  For the bike I wanted to have a 15 MPH average and the run I wanted to keep a 10ish min mile.

I didn't have any nerves for the race like I have in the past, I don't now why.  Maybe with the pressure off to place it didn't cause anxiety?  Ann and I got to the event with a decent amount of time to get transition set up.  I registered, got marked and then found the place I wanted to be in transition.

The Olympic division started first so I had to wait a good 30 to 40 minutes for the sprint to start.  It was HOT!  I stayed in the shade until the last minute then put the wetsuit on and went into the lake to warm up.

It was our turn.  I didn't want to get hit and bumped too much so I lined up to the outside and went towards the back of our group.  The gun went off and I was off!  I got into a good groove early on.  By a few hundred feet in I started to overtake a few weaker swimmers but I was pulling to my right and getting in the "mix".  After getting kicked and hit some I readjusted and things cleared out a little.  I rounded the first buoy then the second and I was in the final stretches heading in.  As I came out I was quite winded, more than I used to be.  Ann yelled my time, "10 SOMETHING!!!" is all I heard.  I had to walk a little up the hill and to transition.

I dried off and got on the bike.  It took a few minutes for me to catch my breath.  I felt really good on the bike.  It was a 10 mile ride and the roads had a few small hills but nothing too bad.  I did drop the chain on one hill and lost about 20 or 30 seconds getting it back on.  When I got to about a mile from T2 I started to spin more and stretch my calves and hammies.  I knew they were tight.  Did I push too hard on the bike?  In the end, I wound up averaging 17 MPH on the bike, MUCH better than I anticipated.  I dismounted and everything locked up in the back of my legs.

After walking through T2 I started out on my 3.1 mile run.  The first half mile is usually a little rough for me and this was no exception.  I was tight and having issues.  I had to stop and rub my hamstrings and calves.  As I kept going I did something I never have done before.....I walked.  For whatever reason I hit a wall.  I wound up running a few hundred yards then walking a few hundred yards.  By the time of the turnaround my quads were cramping.  This was NOT the run I was hoping for, even with turf toe!  I resigned myself to "embracing the suck" and simply chalking it up to lack of training and prep.  I tried to simply enjoy it realizing this was something I hadn't done in quite some time. As I came in to the finish line I was hurting, out a energy and bonking, BUT I DID IT!

  

Overall, I did Ok.  I felt really good about my swim and bike!  As expected, I didn't win anything and came in 6th out of 8 in my age group.  Now that the dust has settled, my only thought is "when's the next race?"  LOL!

Should you try and change your run style or not?

I just read an interesting article in running.competitor.com about heel striking vs mid and forefoot strike.  They are saying studies show that unless you have knee issues you may want to stick with a heel strike if that's your natural form.  

From the article "Research evaluating the metabolic cost of running also shows no clear advantage for a more forward contact point. In fact, most studies suggest the vast majority of recreational runners are significantly more efficient with a heel-first strike pattern. In a detailed paper published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, scientists cal­culated joint torque, mechanical work performed, and muscle activity associated with altering initial contact points at various speeds of walking and running (6). The results of this study con­firmed that walking with a heel-first strike pattern reduced the metabolic cost of walking by a surprising 53 percent."

So for those of us that will never be super fast and have a 6 min mile it may be more efficient to stay with the heel strike providing you don't have any knee problems, but I'm no authority on the matter.  I have no opinions on this myself other than I did seem to be a little faster with a heel strike vs my updated midfoot strike but I did also have some IT band issues.  Something to think about.......


Read more at http://running.competitor.com/2014/02/injury-prevention/is-it-harmful-to-heel-strike-when-running_95678#mQ1d0lrl2qhq3A95.99

Good last few days at they gym.....

After the move we joined the local YMCA.  Trying to get back into our old routine is a little hard since like some people it's very easy to fall into old habits.  Lifts are down quite a bit from a year or two back but overall considering my back issues I'm ok with it.  Ann and I had a great lower back workout on Sunday and Ann was back to doing deadlifts!  Unfortunately for myself, my deadlift and squat days are all but over.  Yesterday was chest day!  We usually go for dumbbells and not a standard bench.  I really like decline DB presses!  Felt good and could have gone up on DB presses but I'm trying to take things slow, remember...Rome wasn't built in a day!

Moving!

It's been a crazy couple months.  I received a job offer I couldn't refuse in Minnesota, so that turned Chris and my world upside down quite a bit!  It was a great opportunity for me to do what I love and the area is BEAUTIFUL!  The bluffs and river are scenic and the city of about 30,000 offers enough for us to do but is still small enough to not be too chaotic.  It's great to be able to get everywhere in 5 minutes too!  There are trails around the lake, other hiking trails, a YMCA, running clubs and all sorts of activities that we can do to help maintain a healthy lifestyle!  There's even a triathlon right here in June!  Here's a few photos of the area....enjoy!

Ann

Update!

It's been a while and we apologize for that!  Things have been crazy!!!  Work has been nuts and Ann quit her job this June so things are a little up in the air.  We led a school group on a 9 day trip to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Lichtenstein in early April which was the highlight of the year for us ( look for a separate post soon!) and then we had to deal with the never ending winter and shingling my roof. I'm still nursing my herniated disc although I believe I'm on the positive end of things now.  I had a follow up MRI in July that showed the main disc problem (L5/S1) was almost all healed with only a slight protrusion remaining and is slightly touching the nerve on occasion.  I still have a few slight bulges in the lumbar area also.  It seems like it's taken forever to get through this considering I injured it last October.  The plan going forward is an "overall" approach with inversion table daily, continued McKenzie exercises, yoga, planks, and other related core exercises and stretches.  My "hope" is to be able to start light training in a couple months leading to a full on program come the first of the year.  After taking a year off from triathlons and basically exercise in general it's been hard keeping the weight off but I've done it.  The downside is my fat % has gone up a little.  I also didn't have a release for stress this year so that's played havoc on me.  I'm trying to look at the big picture and thinking towards my goal of a Half Iron distance race next summer.

Chris

 

New running shoes!

I needed a new pair of running shoes so I thought I would give the Hoka's a try since Chris loves his soooo much!  Got a great deal on them since they were last years model.  Also ordered some "Speed Laces" with Zero Friction guides.  Now we just need some better weather!

Ann

New Personal Record on leg press!

What started out as a slow workout ended awesome with me hitting the 700 pound mark on leg press for 6 reps!  So stoked!

Ann