Triathlon # 3, Complete!

But just the second actually since last September.  Last Sunday was a repeat location and length
of the fall one, except in mid December, it was 45 degrees at the start, but felt much colder.  Much colder. Despite wearing full wet-suits, the missus and I weren't ready for the extreme cold.  One person needed assistance back to shore after the first 100 feet.  We weren't that bad but almost.  Another athlete more or less collapsed during the bike portion and needed assistance.  An ambulance took him away but we believe he was okay.

Upon exiting the water my hands were so cold it was difficult to to take off my wet-suit.  That and dizzy, very dizzy.  That translated into a 6:50 transition to the bike race compared to a 4:53 transition in the fall.  The bike ride was better, save for the cold fingers and toes.  While I rode 18.9 mph, versus 17.8 in the fall, my wife rode 15.4 vs 17.3 in the fall.  Cold hands don't grip handlebars in confidence or strength.

Finally, upon starting the run, it felt odd to run and push off without feeling your big toe.  However, after the first two somewhat awkward miles, I was able to run 3 seconds per mile faster than in the fall, without having to sprint the last few hundred yards.  My wife ran 13 seconds per mile faster than in the fall, her only split that was an improvement.  She ran 7:47 a mile to my 8:47 per mile.

What did we learn?  Only to do running races or maybe duathlons in the winter months but do NOT swim!  Really.  Even with better gloves, nope. Not gonna happen.

On a very positive note, my wife and I want to continue and do more.  We look ahead to Spring and hope to find some runs and tri races that will continue to inspire and challenge us.

Specificity of Training

    Tough word, specificity. But I use it because I don't train very well SPECIFICALLY for triathlons. Once upon I did but today it's more about chasing a tennis ball than anything else. Playing tennis is about short anaerobic bursts and changes of direction. It actually compliments my ice hockey play well but not useful for much else. Riding my bike is great too, but if it's not followed by a moderate run it does me little good.
    After completing my triathlon back in September I know that I need to do less swimming, almost no biking (alone) but I need to practice both running by itself, or more importantly, running after biking. The next triathlon, same distance and same location, looms less than 2 months away. By doing the 2 transitions smarter and more purposeful I can easily shave off 2+ minutes. A new stiffer, faster bike has been in my garage for 2 weeks now. I rode it this week for about 12+ miles, the same distance as the triathlon distance at about 1 mph faster (17.7 to 18.7) on a similar oval, nearly flat course. That isn't much but over 12 miles will also save about 2 minutes. It never hurts to lift weights and be well rounded.
     However, ultimately you have to practice your weaknesses. That should really mean that I need to be in the pool 3 days a week but we know that will never happen. So this Saturday I will have that new bike on Pacific Coast Highway along the ocean, and before that I will be swimming with friend and solo-athlete (I HEART SWIMMING) Brad as we brave the cold Pacific currents to make it to the buoy in the distance...and back!

The Best Laid Plans of...

     It's done! We did it! WE? My wife and I.  She kicked butt, me, not so much. The title of this turns on that familiar phrase to suggest I COULD HAVE PLANNED BETTER! Let's do a plus and minus column. On the plus side I planned and executed some things well.

Positives +

• I brought extra bike tools and supplies, they were used up til 5 minutes to race time (more about that later)
• I packed a water bottle with tap water just to wash my sandy feet off before biking and running
• I planned on not swimming in a straight line and was prepared for this confusion in the murky bay

Negatives -

• I didn't plan my two transitions very well and they took me over 7 minutes (my wife who didn't know they were even TIMED!) did both in less than 4 minutes total.
• In my nervousness over the swim, I forgot for the first 100 meters to use my nose plugs that dangled around my neck.  Treading water I swallowed a big salty mouthful as I tried to get them into place.  (not a highlight of the day)
• I showed up with a 7-10 year old front tire/tube combination that would not hold air the morning of the race.  I needed help at 15 minutes to race time by a kind racer whose fingers were less stressed then mine and we got the new tube in with 5 minutes to spare.  Another racer (at t-minus 5 minutes) borrowed my pump in vain and couldn't inflate his tire, and had no back-up.  Hopefully he borrowed a bike, even a spectators, so he could complete the race.

       

Neither a positive or a negative, I correctly knew the difficulty I would have swimming in a straight line, without the ease of swimming pool markings on the bottom of the pool to keep me in my lane. So when I had planned on swimming 30 strokes of crawl, followed by 60 breast strokes, I found that way too stressful to be swimming that long "blind". The new math was 10 crawl strokes followed by 20 breast strokes so I could keep a straighter path. While breast stroking and I could easily see, I saw one swimmer just ahead of me swimming off to a 30+ degree angle before he looked up to correct himself. My wife said that the best swimmers in her heat were doing the crawl but looking UP and FORWARD (and not to the side) to breath. We will have to practice that before next time.
         Also, I relied on my old running trick of finding someone to run with, talk, relax a bit, and then say goodbye and move on to someone else 30 to 50 yards ahead. And then repeat. I also did the same with a guy on the bike. But he and I rode for maybe the last 5 miles together as he rode at a fair pace and I had to "save something" for the run. But I did the bike at 17.75 mph pace which was okay, not great but I am fine with it. My wife, riding just 5K less than I, rode 17.3 mph, on a bike heavier by maybe 5 lbs, heavier and wider tires, and a flat handlebar. She's an animal! My run was done in 27:24 or about exactly 9 minutes a mile. I swear the last half mile I was doing under seven-thirty pace but it probably was a minute slower than that and just felt fast to me. Again, I probably had 2 to 3 catch up to you, talk and then leave you behind experiences over the 5k and it served me well. My wife ran her 2 miles at exactly 8 minute pace. Hum... I think she should have been drug tested after the race!

         While my first triathlon 29 years ago left me with a "wow, that was fun" kind of feeling I didn't have that same thought when I finished 4 days ago. "Wow, I am glad that was over" and I had a mild sense of accomplishment was all I could muster, but still it was overall a good experience and one I hope to repeat before next years race. I was disappointed that I didn't come in around 1:20, instead I ran in at 1:32 but had I been mindful of the transitions I could have easily dipped under the 90 minute mark. But this was more about getting reacquainted with competing. The 27-ish year old couple who I saw near me at both transistion times were also relaxed and friendly and we talked casually as we not so hurriedly put on our various shoes. So call it a SOCIAL TRIATHLON for me, rather than a full-on "pedal to the metal" grind. I did run hard but since my legs were not sore the next day indicates I probably had left a bit too much gas in the tank during the race. I would estimate that if my wife had done the same triathlon distances as I she would have beat me by 5 to 7 minutes. As it was she was the 2nd women at the Super Sprint distances and was only beat by a women who was in the 21-30 age group. Not bad for a 44 year old who had never done even a competitive 5k in her life. And she only missed winning by 14 seconds. I am now eyeing another tri a month from now, with an open water ocean swim. Same distances pretty much (except for 100 extra meter swim) so we will have to see. I would hate to lose this well earned conditioning I came up with. We'll see.

The Last Week

Or is it, the last weak?  From my background in distance running (albeit 25 years ago), the last week (or even 10 days) is the week to taper, or cut back on your training.  There is an old adage:  you can't win the race in the last week but you can lose it (by over-training).

The training we do today benefits us 2 weeks from now, not 2 to 5 days from now.  Tapering is great!  You get to cut back on the training and begin to recoup strength from all the swimming, cycling and running  from the weeks before.

This triathlon (now 3 days away) is special because about 3+ weeks ago I asked my already fit and athletic wife if she was interested in also doing it.  Yes (!) came her reply about a day later.  While I will struggle most in the water, that is her strength.   It will be her first tri and her distances just a bit shorter.  She will swim 300 meters, me  500.  She will ride 15k, me 20k.  She will run 2 miles, me 5k.  And to make sure it's a family affair our two sons will be there, taking pictures and hopefully not getting hit by a bike.

Watching my wife train, I reminded her that running alone is nice but running without an immediate transition FROM cycling is a different animal altogether.  Fresh leg running and running after cycling have as much in common as Miley Cyrus and good manners.  Not so much.

I rejoiced in my final swim yesterday before school.  That was the first time I used a swim cap, and also wore a pretty thick, long-sleeved rash guard that I will also be wearing Sunday.  I just have one more bike-run to do tomorrow and that will be it.  Oh, except for shaving my legs.  Shaving not so much for less drag in the water, but more for if I were to crash in the bike portion as smooth legs slide on pavement.  Hairy legs rip skin as they hit the asphalt.  I know this from experience, but that's a story for another time.

Taking 30 years Off

      Ok, full disclosure.  I am not, nor have ever been a couch potato.  A couch radish maybe, but not a potato.  I began with x-country running in high school when I made the mistake of watching the team run laps a week before high school started and the coach asked if I had any tennis shoes (I must have been barefoot that day).  "Yes I do".  "Okay then, wear 'em and see you tomorrow."  That was 1975.   I was a skinny, 15 year old boy with some fitness from hockey (this was in MN) but not many other endurance skills. Later  I went to college and ran 10ks, half and full marathons, probably finishing ahead of maybe 60-70% of the other runners.  I was a decent, but not a great runner.

I also have the fact going for me that I have never been large.  At 5-9, and 155 lbs, I am only just 7-8 heavier than when I graduated high school (those 8 lbs were added during my wife's first pregnancy, really)

The "taking 30 years off" title refers to the one triathlon I did in 1984.  I was in Oregon and though many freshwater lakes are in the state, we had a pool to swim in.  Since pools are limited in size, we had 2 to 3 to a lane and you had to estimate your time so they could put you into a lane with similar ability swimmers.  I was in the 2nd, slower heat and when I got out of the pool (probably 500 meters), there may have been one or two swimmers still in the pool.  Or maybe I was DEAD LAST, I choose not to remember!

What I DO remember is that it was great.  Okay, not the swimming part, but everything after that.  I had a decent road bike, purchased for $275 (think $700 today) a few months before and liked to tour the Oregon countryside.  Guessing at the distance today, I assume we rode somewhere in the 10-15 mile range.  While I was  s   l   o   w  in the water, I was fast on the bike and passed many of those fish that had lapped me in the pool.  No one passed me on the biking portion.  Same with the running.  While I may have gotten out of the pool 123rd out of the 125 that started, I probably finished in 60 to 70th place.  It was a terrific experience.  Not for so much finishing strong though, what made it very enjoyable was how interesting it was.  Running 10k's had grown monotonous.  I didn't realize it at the time when I was running, but doing a triathlon was MORE than 3 times as interesting!  Three times you had a start, a middle and an end.  I found it very enjoyable MENTALLY!

SO that brings us to today, 29 years later. My triathlon looms large in a few days, in four days to be exact. Stay tuned.