the day before the big day

well first off last night I did .25 miles in the pool in 11 mins flat and I was taking it easy. Hopefully this pace stays the same for tomorrow.

Just got back from the bike store where I bought a new water bottle, the kind that fits between the aero bars with a straw so you don't have to get out of aero and reach down to get the water bottle. Bought a new tire for my road bike (i found a nice slash on it the other day, plus that tire is 3 years old). Finally I got a utility bag that attaches underneath the back of the saddle to store a co2 cartridge, spare tube and other utility items in case I break down.


Off to drink some water and gatorade!

super short brick

9 mile bike, 1.68 mile run....47 mins and change worth of work. The good news is is that the transition from bike to run was seamless. It felt like I was just starting to run with just a walking warmup. I hope this wasn't because I did a super short bike before the run.

I know I am prepped and ready for this weekend. Just gotta do a short .5 mile swim tomorrow @ some point to sharpen up the arms.

I still wish I did the biking portion last night.

flew like a bird

...up a hill :)

Went on a small group ride tonight and we brought out a new rider onto the road. We went at a nice steady zone 1, zone 2 pace which was great because I haven't ridden since my 60 miler last sunday. My legs felt AWESOME. In fact I wish I did the biking portion of my race tonight. I would have murdered the bike portion, at least I hope I would have.

So we took it easy until the last hill which I always see a BWM on...which I did. I let it loose up that hill and that hill felt like it was as flat as a pancake. I flew up that thing! It was awesome...

another 1 mile swim

Did it without stopping and did it in 45:00 mins flat. I did some sorta interval work where I would swim a length, then power the next length back as hard as I could go, then repeat 4 more times. Did that 2x at various spots during the swim.

I am really starting to see more and more that I am just not a fast swimmer. Yeah I know I can bike super fast if I wanted to or I could just go in an all out sprint while running if I wanted to, but with swimming, I just can't see to go fast for longer than 25 yards, and even while doing that I just feel sluggish.

I think its time to start consulting the pros. The Y has a Master's swim coach and I think I am going to contact him to see if I can get some private lessons and be a sponge and soke up as much knowledge as I can.

60 miler

Wasnt sure how I would do, but I ended up doing an 60 mile ride in 3.5 hours....17.1 mph average. Woah! And when I finished I didn't feel totally wasted. YES!

This was a pretty hilly ride with a lot of small ups and downs and one constant uphill, that wasn't too steep but was constant enough.

Here is my route.

2nd OWS

Completed my 2nd OWS around noon today. I didn't go as far as last time (maybe a half mile this time) but that wasn't really the point. I just wanted(not really for pleasure) to get into some cold water to get used to the feeling of it. I brought a thermometer this time to get an exact measurement. The water was about 59-60 degrees, and it felt colder than in the pond last weekend. I was having some second thoughts about doing this because it felt that much colder.

I did it anyways. This time around thought (because the water was prolly colder) I had a harder time breathing when I get my chest into the water. Of course when I stuck my face in the water it hurt and it was hard to breath. What was strange is that it took me less time this time to get my breathing going.

However, it was a bit wavey and the waves were tossing me around a bit so I couldn't get my rhythm going on the way out to the bouy I was aiming for. When I turned around to go back I finally found my form and went back stronger and was able to sight better. I was happy to get out of the water.

Next weekend is going to be interesting. I looked at the swim times and there were no swim times above 20 mins! It takes me 23 mins just to swim a half mile in a pool and that is usually when I am cranking. YIKES! Might be a good thing though...I won't get run over by others :)

windy brick

5 laps around SUNY purchase followed by a 2 mile run.....so an official brick.

The whole experience felt easier (which is good!), but individually the bike part hurt because my right thigh felt like it had a flame thrower going at it. By the last lap I was finally able to get cranking fast. Actually at one point I got this awesome tail wind which allowed me to listen to the mechanics of the bike and the sound of the wheels. It was an awesome sound as I just knew I was flying!

The beginning of the run is always hard and started up the gradual hill portion. My bowels kept acting up! jeez thats annoying!!!! Other than that when I finally stopped running it didn't hurt that bad, which is good!

took a day off and an early AM swim

Here is a first....i took a day off yesterday! I felt so depressed for not going out there and killing myself. The doppler on weather.com kept showing nasty lines of showers and thunderstorms, so I bailed on my ride. Instead it was just cloudy and not a drop of rain hit. WTF!

It was prolly for the best. I had worked out for 9 days straight without a break. Even though I feel like I am going to lose all of my form because of the one single day off, I need to keep reminding myself that if anything, the day off is going to make me stronger.

It must have helped because this AM I swam a mile (in a little under 50 mins...yikes!) and my arms didn't hurt at all. Actually what hurts is my back....which still hurts as I write this. So thats not good!

I also tried something during the swim. Instead of breathing every stroke, I tested out breathing every 2 strokes. I immediately swam a LOT faster doing this. However, holding my breath that long and doing it everytime just sapped me so I did it every now and then. It did flick a light in my brain though....I could go halfway and do bilateral breathing. I think it is time to start doing this.

1 mile swim

did it in 47 mins and change. And I did it straight through! Thats a first!

That time is good...but, a competitive time would be more like 36 mins and change. One day....

I am heading up to NH for the weekend. I have two goals. Do the ~60 mile Gonzo pass ride and do another OWS which will be around just under 1 mile. A 5 mile run would be cool too if I have time.

good run this AM

I actually got up this morning to go running. I didn't want to get up, but I did.

Ran 4.5 miles in just under 40 mins. 8:51 mile pace. I will take that!

I can finally feel my running form come back to life.

recovery bike/swim

Biked my recovery route....14.5 miles in a little under an hour.

Swam .5 miles in less than 25 mins...which is crazy cuz I took it easy!

harriman state park kicked my ass....

twice!

harriman has this hill that on paper looks like a short and steep climb....well its actually a long and steady sorta steep hill that didn't look that bad in the car....but on the bike it feels like you are dragging a 50 pound weight. The hill was like climbing Mt Ventoux, the first time. It basically sucked.

So this all means what?

The hills that I climb in Greenwich and Westchester are either not enough or I am not doing enough of them. I am going with not doing enough of them plus not doing enough long rides.

Well now I know what I need to do!

Oh and ride that hill more times.

Route

and a run

4.25 miles in 37:33....so an 8:50 min/mile pace. Talk about mental garbage. I hit this one point in the run where I just wanted to stop or shorten the run and call it a day to save my legs for tomorrow's bike ride. I won't get any better with that attitude!

The run still hurt but I am glad that I finished it as planned.

first OWS

OWS = open water swim. Just got back from it. We (a group of die hard westchester cycling club members) were guessing that the water was about 60 degrees. Fortunately I had one my new wet-suit. Wow that thing makes a difference!.....until you put your face in the water. haha!

I didn't feel cold at all. But once my face went INTO the water I had some breathing issues and start to hyperventilate a bit. Fortunately because the wetsuit is so boyant that I just rolled over onto my back and just hung there and caught my breath. Once my breathing calmed down I was able to start swimming in a rythm, sort of...basically I would inhale then blow my bubbles in the water but I was still breathing a bit fast so I sorta breathed in through my nose a few times which disrupted my rythm. It just took a few minutes of ugly swimming before I was FINALLY adjusted to the water with my face in the water and I could just go.


The next big hurdle was sighting. I would swim about 10 strokes, stop, look up where my target was (which was a big rock on the opposite shore), and repeat. When we got to the other side it felt good to stop and rest. I couldn't get over how warm the water felt!

On the way back I swam a lot better and stayed in a much more consistent rythm. I worked on my sighting this time. Our fearless leader told me that about ever 5th stroke lift your head up straight to breath and sight. This at first was easy, but after awhile start to take a toll on form and strength. That was ok because it is a necessary thing to do with this type of swimming and prolly will make me stronger.

Overall swimming in the pool helps a lot, but still isn't enough to make an OWS easier. I just need to do one more OWS before the race June 1st.

Here is the swim route.

indoor brick tonight

It just isnt the same being indoors. I did 40+ mins on the stationary bike then 15 mins on the dreadmill. The transition from bike to dreadmill is too easy. I still got a workout in and I broke a pretty good sweat. That counts, right?

easy brick last night

3 hard-ish laps around SUNY Purchase then two more laps but really easy. Then an easy 1.68 mile run to top it all off.

Its pouring today and probably wont stop. Looks like it will be indoors for me tonight. BLAH! Oh well, I forgot to watch "Lost" last night so I will have something to watch on the indoor bike.

cycling tonight

Did the same route as last wednesday. The legs were a bit sore from the run yesterday. I was still able to power through some flats pretty fast. Good ride.

Route

run and swim

ran 4 miles....FINALLY getting some more mileage in...i havent ran more than 3 miles in one go in for what feels like 2 weeks! YIKES! did it @ around a 9 min mile pace, which is good!
the weather was absolutely perfect today.

the swim was good, faster than last nights. I think this is the first time i have swam 2 nights in a row. Did half mile last night and a bit over a half mile tonight (40 laps vs 36). my arms were sore @ first but then soon settled in.

Basically these next two weeks are gonna be a boot camp experience.

swim/bike/run

Back in action this week. Started off the week tonight with a .5 mile swim, 20 min indoor bike and a 15 min run on the dreadmill. Man that thing still sucks!

I am hoping to do some damage this week. First triathlon is on in less than 3 weeks!

fast ride tonight

Did some hills, but mostly some fast speed work on the flats. It felt GOOD.

Route


26.36 miles

Took 01:29:22 and averaged 17.7 mph....not bad! It felt good to do some damage tonight.

easy walk/run

wanted to do a constant run, but ended up being a walk/run.....walk a block, run a block, repeat

my outer right calf muscle is really tight still and wont loosen up

its ok, i am biking tomorrow night anyways so i have till thurs for the muscle to loosen up

bike and swim

Easy recovery ride around 1 hour

just spun and no hard stuff...went up one hard-ish hill to get things going a bit

swam .5 miles in 25 mins....i wished it was faster, but i never stopped and felt strong the entire time. could have gone longer but no need to

race results are in

http://threadsandtreads.com/tt_results_biathlon2008.htm

Came in 96/234 finishers and 6/14 in my division.

My official time is:

1:11:35

greenwich cup biathlon

Finished my duathlon in 1:11:38. YES! I AM HAPPY ABOUT THAT TIME!

I don't think they recorded split times, but I did look up and see that my first run (2.5 miles) was finished in 20 mins flat, or an 8 min mile. 8 mins! YES! Thats crazy! At the brooklyn duathlon in March I ran a 9 min mile on the first run stretch and for me then, that was a new record. A minute difference! YES!

The biking portion of the race was my strong point again. I was zipping past people again. But this time, I was using my TT bike. Man that bike is fast! Or rather, I hope the engine on the bike is fast ;)


I felt very confident on the TT bike and when I hit the hill I just got into my lowest gear and cranked up it. Kinda troubling, but at times I wanted to puke on the bike I was going so hard. I even thought I was going too hard and that I would crap out on the 2nd run.

Which didn't happen. Of course the begginning of the 2nd run was slow and it hurt, but soon my legs adjusted and I went into autopilot mode. I knew I was going to finish, but just had to "do it."

My right calf cramped up again and I felt it throughout the 2nd run. Fortunately it was not as bad and doesn't hurt as bad right now. We shall see tomorrow how that goes.

Again, I gotta do more bricks. Its as simple as that! Overall, I was pleased with the race. I think I came exactly in the middle of the field. A big confidence boost today!

actually swam tonight

And it was a good swim too!

Did a half mile in about 20-25 mins....i think. I am happy. I guess that means that I still have "got it."

This past week has been strange. I need to read up about what tapering is all about again....decrease volume, keep intensity the same or up it a bit. Thats what I SHOULD be doing...of course I think I gotta keep the volume up a bit more during these type of weeks.

The race is sunday. The weather is not looking that great. What's tearing up the midwest right now is gonna tear us up this weekend. I hope that there will be a 2 hour window of sunny blue sky from about 7AM to 9AM....then it can show up.

a different kind of triathlon

This morning I ran. After work I biked. Then after I biked I was pulled in (VERY last second) to help a friend move. And move we did....3 hours later....up a 4 or 5 story walk up.....blah....

I don't know how many flights of stairs that I did, but it sucked.

I am not helping anyone ever move again. Moving sucks and there is nothing lighter to say than that.

I am going to bed.