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!

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

Tri-ing for Children's Triathlon - Sprint Course

Second sprint triathlon of the year and I needed some redemption from the last tri where I didn't do too well.  I thought about doing the olympic distance but training wasn't the best and had those demons in my head so Ann convinced me to do the sprint and do it well.  

Woke up about 4AM, had some coffee and got ready.  Ate oatmeal in the car on the way to the event.

Had a lot of time after setup to watch the oly waves go out, roughly about 30 minutes.  Gave me time to settle in and warm up.  

Swim 1/4 mile
One of my best swims ever! Breathing was good was able to draft a little and before I knew it I was rounding buoys! As I rounded the last one I got caught up in the wave ahead of mine and got a little turned around. I figure I wasted maybe 15 seconds getting my bearings straight. When I exited the water my wife Ann told me I was 7:45 on time which was over a minute faster than normal. The mat to clock time was up a ways on shore so that's how I got the 8:18 time. 

T1 - 2:15  
For whatever reason I completely spaced out once I got my suit off. My transition area was in dirt and sand and I was trying to figure out how to get the sand off and get bike shoes on.   

Bike - 15 miles, 44:28 min,  20.12 MPH
Took a while to get going fast. Felt like I was in a headwind the first half of the bike. I only averaged around 19MPH on this stretch. Second half I was flying (at least for me) doing 21 to 22 MPH. 

T2 - 1:20
Better and hamstrings didn't lock up up last time.

Run 5K - 25:56 min, 8:12 pace
Felt pretty good. Didn't cramp coming off the bike and after settling in I was able to maintain a nice pace.

Finished strong and wasn't as exhausted as I was last time.  MUCH better race than my last one!  

Chris

Swim Training day!

Well, the weather is finally cooperating a little and it turned out to be a nice day for a swim.  Time still isn't coming down much but we have been working on form.

First Duathlon of the year!

Cooney Duathlon!

Well, this year we traveled down to Oconomowoc to take part in an early season race, the Cooney Duathlon.  It was a 2 mile run, 21 mile bike and another 2 mile run.  The weather was ok.....cool, around 50 and cloudy, but it was quite breezy also.  At least the rain held off!  Woke up at around 4:30.  Thought it would be easy to find a cup of coffee in the hotel, I was wrong!  Searched everywhere, wound up make a single cup in the room.  Woke up Ann around 5:30.  Found out no breakfast until 7AM on a Saturday, good thing I was prepared and brought oatmeal and bananas.  Got ready, dressed and loaded the bikes. 

Arrived at the event.  Weather was cool, around upper 40's and cloudy.  It was fairly breezy out too.  Got our tribags and bikes off the rack and headed to transition.  Found our spot and prepared the area for T1 and T2.  About 40 minutes before race start I got in line to go to the bathroom one last time.  Ann jogged around warming up  There were only 4 porta toilets, so I stood in line until about 10 minutes before race start so I didn't have as much time to warm up as I wanted to.   

The race started in waves, we were last which I don't like because it makes me feel like I'm back of the pack!  LOL!  The buzzer went off and so did we.  I was wearing my new Hoka's and trying to run with my new "faster cadence" stride.  I felt a little winded but held out enough and made it to transition.  Time - 7:51mi.  Grabbed my bike and off I went!  Heading out I knew I needed to practice more transitions.  I had a hard time getting my feet into my shoes and took longer than I should.  These early season races usually give me a reality slap or two!  As I kept pedaling, I realized I made a HUGE mistake.  A few days earlier I posted my fit on ST and had responses of "Your seat is to high".  So, I lowered it almost 2 cm and then it rained and I had no time to test it out prior to race day.  The entire 21 miles felt like I was under powered and too short on my peddle stroke.  I also made the mistake of not trying out my new fabricated water bottle mount  prior to race day and couldn't get anything out of my drink tube, so no hydration!  The roads were ROUGH with potholes and it was windy which didn't help.  Result?  One of my slower rides clocking in at 19.7 MPH.  I had every intention of hitting a constant 21+MPH day.  Came into transition, racked the bike and off I went.  My lower inside quads were really sore (from too short seat height) and I was exhausted from the bike and knew my run wouldn't be great.  It wasn't.  I posted an 8:35 per mile time.  Came into the finish line and frankly was happy it was over, grabbed some water and a protein bar and watched for Ann to come in on the bike.  A few minutes later she came in and looked tired.  The wind and rough roads got to her also and her magnet came loose on the front wheel so she had no clue what her speed, or anything else was.  She looked like she needed a little push so I started to give her   some positive reinforcement that she was doing great and to keep it up!  She asked if I would run with her.  I hesitated because I was still tired myself but I sucked it up and did.  She did great and finished.  All in all it was a learning experience.  I thought my run would suck ( I  suck at running ) and my bike would be good.  It was the exact opposite!   I broke every rule of racing (don't do anything new on race day) and I paid the price for it.  It wasn't my worst race, but one I will remember.  Next up....a Sprint tri in a few weeks!

Start!

coming in from first run

coming in from first run

coming in from bike

heading to transition

finishing!

Journeys Marathon 5K Race

Well, my second race f the season is under my belt and Ann's first.  The weather was HORRIBLE with temps in the 40's, cloudy and bone chilling wind.  I don't know why I look to doing this race every year but nonetheless we needed to do it to get more race time under our belts.  I felt better about this race compared to the one I did 2 weeks prior.  I did have a tendon on the top of my foot acting up and thought it may be a problem but it didn't cause too many issues.  The gun went off and we took off.  My first mile I felt good and my time was looking good, in the mid 7 min per mile range.  As I got into mile 2 I could feel some asthma kicking in so I had to really concentrate on my deep breathing.  My time lipped a little to upper 8's low 9's per mile.  By mile three I was feeling a little better and getting more into my groove which is what typically happens in a race for me.  I could tell my endurance is still down compared to last year.  I came in and didn't like the time but they had me clocked a little better, a 8:35 mile.  I waited for Ann to come in and she did well considering it was her first race of the year.  I looked at the unofficial times for us and saw I was 48th in a field of around 300 but didn't think I would podium so we left since it was just too cold to hang around.  Yesterday I looked online at the results and wouldn't you know it....I came in second AGAIN in my age bracket!  Damn!  I wish we would have stayed now!  Oh well.

Great couple days of workouts!

So Sunday we went to the gym.  I did some"speed work" on the treadmill.  I ran 2 miles and did it in 15:45 so I was happy I was able to get it down below 8 min per mile.  Even when I train outside I rarely do that speed!  Hopefully it's a start of a good thing.

Ann swam on Saturday, so she wanted to do some lifting.  I had her do chest and core.  She did an awesome job, benching over 120 pounds and was able to hit 135 pounds for one rep!  She also was able to go p in weight on Pec Deck and Cable Crossovers.  She finished up with a medicine ball bounce for 3 sets and 3 sets of Kettle ball swings!

First "Brick" of the year!

Decided to try my first "Brick workout of the year.  Started off on the treadmill and ran 2 miles at around 7 MPH or so and came out to 16:20 for a time.  Then jumped on the bike and kept in the 90 RPM range for 10 miles.  Of course I didn't want to end it there so I jumped back on the treadmill and ran another mile.  So in effect I guess I did a super sprint Duathlon!  LOL!

Chris

Triathlon Endurance Training

My endurance for whatever reason is down from a few months ago so I've been trying to add more metabolic training to not only burn some fat but to build up endurance.  Yesterday I had a simple but effective workout:

10 minute cardio warm-up on the elliptical machine

5 sets of the following:

2 minutes boxing

1 min wall sit

30 seconds plank

30 seconds decline situps with medicine ball

On about set 4, I started to crash/bonk.  I took a short break then decided to push through.  Good and short workut that burns a lot of fat and helps with endurance.   

Ann