Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Miracle Hill training ride
5-22-10 Joined up with a good group to ride up Ceasars Head, along the East Fork French Broad river in NC and back to Pumpkintown. I rode there and back home so I got in 110 miles overall on Saturday . It was real foggy in the morning and all the way until we got into NC. Then the sun came out. Rode with Doug Guth mostly. He was marking hazards as we went. It is funny now but one time he stopped right in front of me at a bridge and I nearly collided into him. I was scared but glad we didnt. No problem. At the start of the ugly climb up Walnut Hollow he painted a sad face and a smiley face at the summit.
i thought it would rain that day and was running late so no sunscreen. yep sunburn on both forearms.
I am trying to raise money for the Miracle Hill Ministries so if you can give me even a dollar I'd appreciate it. Im going to ride tha 100 mile route. Go to the following link to donate:
www.miraclehill.org/whats-going-on/cycling/
If you want help with this let me know.
Thanks.
i thought it would rain that day and was running late so no sunscreen. yep sunburn on both forearms.
I am trying to raise money for the Miracle Hill Ministries so if you can give me even a dollar I'd appreciate it. Im going to ride tha 100 mile route. Go to the following link to donate:
www.miraclehill.org/whats-going-on/cycling/
If you want help with this let me know.
Thanks.
daughter is now a USAT member
I got my youngest daughter a membership to USA Triathlon. She seems willing to try a youth triathlon july 31. We went to Furman on Sunday and checked out the entire course. We went in and looked at the pool, figured out the transition area, rode the bike course then she ran the run course. I was proud of her. Now for tthe training she will need to do. I will be taking lots of notes Im sure to guestimate her finishing time. Need to work on T1 and T2 techniques. Wish she had a lighter bike. Hers weighs almost 35 pounds.
longest swim yet
Just got done swimming at the YMCA I swam 110 laps for about 5500 yards or 3.35 indoor swimming miles. I didnt know I would go that far but not surprised. It took me 2 hrs 10 minutes to do the 100 laps or 3 miles so I beat my old record by about 10 minutes. It is weird that the first 30 to 60 minutes seem so hard on my heart and then it shifts to easier breathing and heart rate but then the fatigue on the muscles starts kicking in. Takes awhile to warmup and get a rhythm going.
I got real bad cramps in my calf at about 90 laps. I drank 40 oz of sports drinks during all of this. Afterwards I had a cocktail of Powerade, creatine and whey protein and a protein snack bar. Hopefully my calf cramps will settle down. It is weird that my arm muscles do not seem to cramp. I guess pushing off the wall all the time gets to the calf. My shoulders and back are sore but not too bad.
I guess I could do the 2.4 miles of a full triathlon but the water conditions make it so much more challenging.
Did a variety of strokes (breast, side, back, some experimentation with dolfin kick/butterfly) but mainly freestyle. I did 500 yards in 9'40" which is also a best for me.
I am ending my Y membership at the end of May and I knew that this would be my last long indoor swim like this for about 7 months. I expect to join back up in January 2011. It will be swimming at my apartment pool from now on. It was nice being indoors while it was blazing hot during the early afternoon and not getting sunburned.
I got real bad cramps in my calf at about 90 laps. I drank 40 oz of sports drinks during all of this. Afterwards I had a cocktail of Powerade, creatine and whey protein and a protein snack bar. Hopefully my calf cramps will settle down. It is weird that my arm muscles do not seem to cramp. I guess pushing off the wall all the time gets to the calf. My shoulders and back are sore but not too bad.
I guess I could do the 2.4 miles of a full triathlon but the water conditions make it so much more challenging.
Did a variety of strokes (breast, side, back, some experimentation with dolfin kick/butterfly) but mainly freestyle. I did 500 yards in 9'40" which is also a best for me.
I am ending my Y membership at the end of May and I knew that this would be my last long indoor swim like this for about 7 months. I expect to join back up in January 2011. It will be swimming at my apartment pool from now on. It was nice being indoors while it was blazing hot during the early afternoon and not getting sunburned.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
long ride
I rode solo to Ceasars Head today. 64 miles. It was hot and lost 5 pounds. Left knee sore a little. Did the climb in under 43 minutes. Felt like I lacked power today.
Lake Murray Triathlon
THe night before the event I ate 3 huge burritos or soft tacos and much more at about 8 pm.
I got up at 2 am by the grace of God. It took me until 4 am to get it all ready and into the car. I hoped that the little worn out car would get me there. That was goal one. I drove down I-385 and I-26 with no problem. Then into Newberry and down route 76 into Prosperity. A quaint little town. I got to Dreher Island State Park at around 5:30 am. Plenty of time to prepare. I went down to the boat ramps just before 6 am and contemplated swimming in the lake. My second goal for the day was to survive the lake swim.
At 6am the packet pick up opened up and I got mine and my timing chip. Went back to the car and got the bike together and put my numbers on helmet, bike and shirt. Took my stuff to the transition area. Talked to Al Olivetti of Go tri Sports about renting a wetsuit for $30. Thought about it and knew it would be an advantage (increased floatation)to have one but decided to go without. I figured that the experience would be tough but mainly because of the crowd and being disoriented not from the "cold" (77F) water. I ran easy from about 7:20 to 7:35 for some warm up.
At 7:50 we all headed to the boat ramps and listened to the announcements and then to Leighton Lord who is a triathelete and is running for Attorney General. Then the national anthem. The open males went first then age groupers 35 and below I think.. Then us age groupers 40 and older got in. I just walked down the ramp and hoped for the best. The wind was light or none at all and thankfully the lake was fairely calm. We tread water and moved out to the dock end and waited. A guy on my left said "please dont kick me in the face".
At about 8:08 am we were off. I hit my stopwatch. I mainly did breast stroke for a while as we all got going. Then I would try to do freestyle and I would get bumped and get all disrupted and kind of freak out. Guys would come up on you and swim on top of you kind of. I kept looking out to the bouy all the time to make sure I was headed for it. The water was murky and you could barely see your hand in front of you as you swam. At the first turn it was crowded and I did breast stroke. From then on I did back stroke and side stroke, but not a lot of freestyle. Free style is the fastest, but also is harder to breath and such. I kept working and wishing for it to be over. The ladies that started several minutes after our group were coming up on us and then there was more bumping and crowed conditions. After the second and final turn I made another attemp to do free stroke and head towards the boat ramp. Had trouble making it out without vision correction. Just follow everyone else. I made it to the ramp and struggled to get my legs moving up it. I hit the stopwatch and it said 18 minutes something. I would find out later that I was 161 out of 220 guys in my swim time. I stank at this segment in a way but I was glad just to have survived my first open water experience.
Run up the ramps into the parking lot to the bike and change. I was a little cold and tired. Got on my socks, shirt, sunglasses and helmet. I forgot to put on my heart rate monitor chest strap but not a big deal. I would later realize I had lost my nose plugs after I had gotten out of the water. Maybe they fell off in the lake and I didn't even realize it. Anyhow I ran with the bike to the line where you were allowed to get on. I struggled with my shoes which were attached to my pedals already. I got going and soon felt incredibly cold. The water was evaporating off me as I rode. I started passing other riders as I got going. I think I downed a powerbar gel. I kept passing riders. These were men and women that were much better swimmers than I was. I was constantly passing people as I rode. I now think I must have passed hundreds of riders over the 16 mile course.
I would later find out that I was 35th fastest male on the bike segment and averaged about 22 mph. My homemade aerobars and helmet cover got comments. One guy thought maybe they were not so bad after he saw me pass by him. I did the 16 miles in about 43 minutes which was ahead of my estimate of 48 minutes.
Got to the transistion area about 1hour and 5 minutes into it and dismounted ran into my spot and changed into my running shoes. I laced them up and tied them up. Real triathletes have speedy zip laces or velcro or otherwise real quick ways of getting their shoes on.
I started my run with the feeling that I now had enough time to make my goal of 1 hour and 30 minutes. I thought I could do the 5K in about 25 minutes. The first mile was done in 6:45 so I knew I was doing ok and needed to be careful and slow down the pace a little. The 2nd mile was a 7:40. I was hurting but I kept on trucking. I wanted to stop and rest but knew that was just my body talking. As I came near the finish line a guy sprinted past me somehow. Why did he save his energy to the end and not meter it out?
I crossed the line as a guy announced my last name (wrong pronunciation). I knew they would be hounding me for my timing chip right away so I spotted a guy and just sat down on the ground as he took it off. I stayed down there a minute or two before I could get the strength to get up. I had finished in under 1 hour and 28 minutes. Beat my goal. Satisfied.
As I reflect on the event I remember thinking I am not going to do this again soon. Maybe not soon but I will again after a good long "rest". I wonder how to get faster on the swim mainly but also on all the segments. The swim in open water will need some work. A wetsuit (if legal), better vision correcting goggles, practice in open water, improve my swim technique and speed are some ideas.
I got up at 2 am by the grace of God. It took me until 4 am to get it all ready and into the car. I hoped that the little worn out car would get me there. That was goal one. I drove down I-385 and I-26 with no problem. Then into Newberry and down route 76 into Prosperity. A quaint little town. I got to Dreher Island State Park at around 5:30 am. Plenty of time to prepare. I went down to the boat ramps just before 6 am and contemplated swimming in the lake. My second goal for the day was to survive the lake swim.
At 6am the packet pick up opened up and I got mine and my timing chip. Went back to the car and got the bike together and put my numbers on helmet, bike and shirt. Took my stuff to the transition area. Talked to Al Olivetti of Go tri Sports about renting a wetsuit for $30. Thought about it and knew it would be an advantage (increased floatation)to have one but decided to go without. I figured that the experience would be tough but mainly because of the crowd and being disoriented not from the "cold" (77F) water. I ran easy from about 7:20 to 7:35 for some warm up.
At 7:50 we all headed to the boat ramps and listened to the announcements and then to Leighton Lord who is a triathelete and is running for Attorney General. Then the national anthem. The open males went first then age groupers 35 and below I think.. Then us age groupers 40 and older got in. I just walked down the ramp and hoped for the best. The wind was light or none at all and thankfully the lake was fairely calm. We tread water and moved out to the dock end and waited. A guy on my left said "please dont kick me in the face".
At about 8:08 am we were off. I hit my stopwatch. I mainly did breast stroke for a while as we all got going. Then I would try to do freestyle and I would get bumped and get all disrupted and kind of freak out. Guys would come up on you and swim on top of you kind of. I kept looking out to the bouy all the time to make sure I was headed for it. The water was murky and you could barely see your hand in front of you as you swam. At the first turn it was crowded and I did breast stroke. From then on I did back stroke and side stroke, but not a lot of freestyle. Free style is the fastest, but also is harder to breath and such. I kept working and wishing for it to be over. The ladies that started several minutes after our group were coming up on us and then there was more bumping and crowed conditions. After the second and final turn I made another attemp to do free stroke and head towards the boat ramp. Had trouble making it out without vision correction. Just follow everyone else. I made it to the ramp and struggled to get my legs moving up it. I hit the stopwatch and it said 18 minutes something. I would find out later that I was 161 out of 220 guys in my swim time. I stank at this segment in a way but I was glad just to have survived my first open water experience.
Run up the ramps into the parking lot to the bike and change. I was a little cold and tired. Got on my socks, shirt, sunglasses and helmet. I forgot to put on my heart rate monitor chest strap but not a big deal. I would later realize I had lost my nose plugs after I had gotten out of the water. Maybe they fell off in the lake and I didn't even realize it. Anyhow I ran with the bike to the line where you were allowed to get on. I struggled with my shoes which were attached to my pedals already. I got going and soon felt incredibly cold. The water was evaporating off me as I rode. I started passing other riders as I got going. I think I downed a powerbar gel. I kept passing riders. These were men and women that were much better swimmers than I was. I was constantly passing people as I rode. I now think I must have passed hundreds of riders over the 16 mile course.
I would later find out that I was 35th fastest male on the bike segment and averaged about 22 mph. My homemade aerobars and helmet cover got comments. One guy thought maybe they were not so bad after he saw me pass by him. I did the 16 miles in about 43 minutes which was ahead of my estimate of 48 minutes.
Got to the transistion area about 1hour and 5 minutes into it and dismounted ran into my spot and changed into my running shoes. I laced them up and tied them up. Real triathletes have speedy zip laces or velcro or otherwise real quick ways of getting their shoes on.
I started my run with the feeling that I now had enough time to make my goal of 1 hour and 30 minutes. I thought I could do the 5K in about 25 minutes. The first mile was done in 6:45 so I knew I was doing ok and needed to be careful and slow down the pace a little. The 2nd mile was a 7:40. I was hurting but I kept on trucking. I wanted to stop and rest but knew that was just my body talking. As I came near the finish line a guy sprinted past me somehow. Why did he save his energy to the end and not meter it out?
I crossed the line as a guy announced my last name (wrong pronunciation). I knew they would be hounding me for my timing chip right away so I spotted a guy and just sat down on the ground as he took it off. I stayed down there a minute or two before I could get the strength to get up. I had finished in under 1 hour and 28 minutes. Beat my goal. Satisfied.
As I reflect on the event I remember thinking I am not going to do this again soon. Maybe not soon but I will again after a good long "rest". I wonder how to get faster on the swim mainly but also on all the segments. The swim in open water will need some work. A wetsuit (if legal), better vision correcting goggles, practice in open water, improve my swim technique and speed are some ideas.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
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