Summer means the lake

Getting my swim back. Tomorrow I'll extend another 100 for a total of 900. I think my stroke technique is getting better. I'm trying to extend further and keep my arms in the water longer. I think I'm faster, but I don't really remember my splits from before. I've been taking some great rides these past few days. The heat is starting to have an effect on my training. My biggest discomfort is the sweat running in my eyes. We're taking our boat to the lake on Monday. I'm going to try my hand at open water swimming for a little distance I think. Today I did a strength workout with some friends. I was going to cut out early because I needed to do a four mile run. One of my friend says, "Hey you do two more reps with us, and I'll run four with you." I reluctantly buckled and said okay. I got revenge on the run. He was tired at mile 2 and dying after about mile 3. After 4.45 we walked it in.

Training training training

I got back in the pool week before last. I've been working on getting back some running endurance, and the bike is going great. I've been on some great rides lately, and one that was a little harrowing. I got into some horrendous hills thinking I would only have to hit them once. Then I got to the low water bridge. The creek was high and I thought about carrying my bike across, but saw gravel road and decided to go back the way I came. It was tough! I gained some confidence in my climbing ability though. I ran an 8k race a while back and got a fairly decent time. I ran in the rain, but it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. My good friend Don gave me decent Brooks hat and I'm happy to say I've used it a few times since then. I'm looking forward to my next race in Willard on June 19th. I guess I better get registered.

We just finished our SORT recerts and I have to say that all this exercise was a huge help. I finished out obstacle course in the top 5, and felt great afterward. The physical challenges were met pretty handily, but the mental ones were a little tougher. Some written tests were challenging and our MO course was a BITCH! Passed it, officially on the first attempt. Unofficially, after the third and final attempt. Glad it's over for another year.

Trying to maintain

Took a fantastic ride on Sunday. I found the plaques in downtown Springfield that mark the spots where Wild Bill Hickok and Dave Tutt stood for their infamous gunfight in which Hickok gunned down Tutt over a gambling dispute. In total I rode 22 miles on a crisp spring afternoon. Today I took a tough hilly ride that was not so glorious, but it has given me some confidence in hill climbing. My legs are burning tonight. I emptied out my hot tub while I was out riding, and now I wish I could get in it.

I'm somewhat back on a training schedule I'm already having difficulty getting a balance with real life. I got back to interval training. I did a workout with the fellas the other day that included sections of the SORT obstacle course as well as some other challenging tests of strength. Hopefully I won't injure myself in the process. I plan to run an 8k race on Saturday. I'll register tomorrow. I'm pretty sure Don and his girl Ronna are doing it as well. We'll see who else shows up. I would kind of like to see if my 5k time has improved, but I think I'd rather challenge myself a bit on the 8k. I should get back to swimming in May. Hopefully I won't lose much over the month's break.

Back in training

I started right back where I left off. My next race is in about two months. I think I'm looking to compete in this one. If I can get my average speed on the bike up to 16-17, and get my 5k time a few seconds better I can improve on my outing in Claremore. I have to admit that I wasn't even thinking about longer distance races, but now I am.

My other hobby has definitely taken a back seat though. This is what I feared. I'm hopeful that when the new wears off of Triathlons I'll find the drive again. I find lately that my time in the studio is not as enjoyable as it once was. I think that will end when I get a few projects off my backlog. After I get a couple of dioramas finished, I'll start some new work and see of lightning strikes. Till then, it's run/bike/swim!

Claremore OK Sprint Tri done

I'm happy to say I did respectably well in my first triathlon. I was thrilled with the swim result and moderately happy with the bike, and slightly disappointed with the run. All in all it was a terrific experience. I plan to do at least two more this summer. After that I'm considering a half marathon in October. That ought to fill my year. There will probably be a 5k or two in the mix as well. The event Chris and I ran last Sunday was full with four hundred participants. Three-hundred-forty-one finished. I can't thank my friends the Lamphears enough for helping us out by picking up our packets and taking some extra pictures of us. Mike was especially helpful with advice and encouragement along the way. I feel like I have a base to work from now. I want to shave four minutes off my time when I do this event next year. The miraculous thing is, I feel great, no significant joint pain, no real muscle soreness. I am ready to train again. My next Tri will be June 19 in Willard MO. I'll be back in the pool early in May, if not sooner.

One week to race day

This time next week, hopefully I will be chilling after a good supper waiting for my first race. When I first decided to do this I was looking only to complete a race. Now I'm looking to finish with a respectable time for my age group. Barring injury or damage to my bicycle, I think I'll do okay. I've been timing my swim and get about 2:10/100y. My ride is pretty good with average speed around 18mph, and my run is decent at about 7-7.5 mph. After this race, I think I'm going to take a week off and reassess for my next race in June. I have never enjoyed training more than I have these last three months. I look forward to each element every day and I've even managed to build on the foundation I started with in January.

Next week, I have to be out of town for a training session. There will be a certain amount of PT I'm sure. Outside of that, I'll take it a little bit easy before race-day.

Stay tuned for results a week from tomorrow.

BRICK!

My first Tri is coming up soon. April 11th in Claremore OK. Chris Tallman and I are going to go down and stay the night and then get up early and try to act like we're athletes. I've been working hard, and I know Chris will be up to the challenge by race day as well. He has done this before, but it's all new to me. I have talked to more experienced friends about tri-athlon logistics, and I think they have given me some good advice. I'm still worried about the swim, but more about being competitive than completion. I've managed to get up to 700y in a session and that's pretty close to my theory of going double distance on all three events. I'll do my first brick Sunday. It'll have to be indoors though. I plan to go 40 min. on the trainer and then 20 min. on the treadmill at about 7 mph. Since I've been training in the pool, I've managed to get more confidence. I've gone from swimming 25y and having to rest to swimming 100y and still having some gas in the tank. It's encouraging, but I still lack the confidence to just crank out 500m. It's coming though.