B2B Saturday part 1

B2B Saturday, part 1 Got up at 3:40 am and began the frantic activity. Ate a Powerbar and started a banana. had a good bathroom movement and hoped that would be all til at least I was done with the swim.  Putting on my tri suit was easy. Putting on my wetsuit is very hard. I use mineral oil to help it slide on.  It is very tight. I put on an old hooded sweatshirt and old shoes too. The hoody and shoes would be abandoned at the beach for donation for Goodwill (not sure the shoes would be wanted though). Got my T1 bag and special needs bike bag and duffle bag for after. Drove downtown parking on a unrestricted street. Walk down to the Hilton at 5:15. Get on a bus and sit next to a lady from Denmark. She was temporary living with her husband in Virginia due to his work. She had torn ligaments in her shoulder but still wanted to race before she had her surgery.   Her goal was 15 hours.  Got to T1. Our bus nearly got hit as it did a 3 point Uturn in the street. I handed in my T1 bag and then my spec needs bag. It only had a can of Walmart brand chocolate shake like a Slim-Fast.  Had to Go no 1 so I hit a portapotty.  Had to undo wetsuit arms do my business and struggle to get arms back in suit.  Got on a trolley car for the beach. I was the last one on this car unfortunately as I will explain.  I think it was 6:15 at this point.  Sat next to a guy from Florida who wasn't used to the cold temperature. We talked about this and other races.  So anyway this trolly had NO WINDOWS! The announcer at T1 who kept yelling at us to go get on a shuttle bus/trolly said they were all heated. So the nice breeze as we traveled in the 38 degree air was just great!!!!  And then the driver took a wrong turn at the island and finally someone told him. We got going back in right direction again. 6:30 or so drop off at beach area. 1 hour to go. Went where there was three big propane heater units and some non athlete guys could not get them to start or at least two wouldn't. I got into it and got one of them (with missing knob) to start after reading the directions. It did not heat well. Worked on another one with another athlete and it got going after 10 minutes of work.  Bladder was starting to feel full, but was not going to remove my wetsuit. I was in a crowd of people. Stage fright. I had to put myself in a zen like trance while leaning against the box van (Goodwill) just a certain way.  After 5-10 minutes success. It was a wonderful feeling. But now my shoes were wet so not so good. This is a rare occasion when it is acceptable to pee in your pants. You have to grab those opportunities! At about 7:20 or 7:25 the officials began herding us toward the beach start area. We walked about 3 minutes thru the dunes to get there. I took off my shoes and hoody and ran up to the other athletes in the huddle but turned around and got my shoes and coat back on. This was during the time they were saying a prayer and then the national anthem. It was so cold!  In a few minutes I took them off again and the starting horns sounded. I was near the back of the pack but didn't care. Off into the water I went. 

B2B Friday

B2B Friday So I got to Wilmington at 7 am Friday after maybe 3 hours of sleep. That sleep occurred off the side of the road at some dumpy old restaurant near the state line. I should have left for Wilmington at 8 pm and gone interstate as much as possible and gotten there about 2 am. Then slept 2 to 10 am.  Anyhow, I drove around downtown awhile then parked way out from downtown on a free (no parking meters or restrictions) street. Walked around downtown and used the bathroom at Cape Fear Community College. Went back and slept for a few hours but not well. Got back downtown to the convention center at 11:45 and the packet pickup line was long. missed the noon athlete meeting. So with time to kill i shopped at the expo. Got valve extenders for my spare tubular (the spare may have been useless otherwise). Got some special Yankz shoelaces and a Powergel (Kona flavored).  The shoelaces were to replace regular ones on my Asics shoes I might wear on Saturday.  So I went into the ballroom for the 2 pm athlete meeting at about 1:30 and sat at a big round table. I talked to a lady from Raliegh NC. She was going to do her first 70.3 race.  The meeting from 2 to 3:30 ish.  Drove to T1 or Wrightsville Beach. Took 30 minutes due to heavy traffic and construction on the draw bridge to the island.  Unloaded and prepared the bike. Lubed the recently cleaned chain and pumped the tires to 110 psi. Went and racked the bike and walked around trying to visualize how I would run in and where my bike would be amongst the 2200 bikes.  Drove back to the downtown area and walk to convention center (with a duffle bag containing all my stuff for T2 and then some)  at about 5:30 pm. I went to the athlete dinner (4 to 6 pm). It was while the 5 pm athlete meeting was occurring so the place was packed full of people.  It was a great buffet style meal. Pasta, some grilled chicken etc Realized I had to turn in my T2 bag by the 6pm cutoff. Got it in at 5:58 I think.  I chose my Zoot shoes and hoped they would be ok for a marathon. Went back to buffet and ate more dessert.  Left and got to truck about 6:30 pm and headed to hotel. Had to check in, unload all my bags to the room. I relaxed a bit but still had to pack T1 bag and organize for the morning. Watched some TV and got on Internet. Set alarms for 3:30 and after.   Didn't get to bed til midnight. Bad me. 

Beach Bound

Beach Bound I'm headed to the coast (Wilmington NC) this Thursday night. Driving scenic highways at night (SC 76 & 34) May sleep soon. Don't want to wake up late Friday morning and have a long drive.  Burnt the heck out of my thumb at work Wednesday. Size of a nickel is worst area. Huge bubble blister. Very painful.  Got a glob of molten plastic on it. Not sure how to best protect it Saturday.  Fire ants maybe bit me Monday as I changed my oil. Must have been in their path. Swollen and sore. My hips hurt and my left quad is still not right. Weak and worst if I squat. Right knee pain sometimes still. Kneecap gets sticky after a long ride.  It is going to be 36 degrees Saturday morning. I have stuff to wear but it is never easy to judge what best to use. Warm up to 64 maybe during the day.  So I guess I am prepared to suffer. The run will be toughest. Hope I hold up. Will be looking forward to finishing and being able to rest. 

Oct 7 thru 17: bad luck

10/7/13 - 10/18/13 Beach 2 Battleship Iron distance triathlon on Oct. 26. Only a  week away.  I am not sure what to say about my training for this period except it is not good outlook due to the dog incident and previous left hip injury.  On Tuesday October 8, I headed out for a few hours on the bike. I crested a hill and began to descend. I notice a woman walking with her dog in the road. The dog was unrestrained. I went slowly and as far away from them as possible. Then the dog, a large boxer type, charged after me , caught up to me and ran into my front wheel.  I hit the asphalt on my right side. I was badly hurt.  I will omit the details of the incident after that but I went home and treated my wounds. Went to the doctor the next day. A lot of skin missing on my hip but also elbow, hand, and shoulder. No broken bones but severe bruising.  I'm hoping it all will heal up for B2B and I think the skin will be renewed well enough. I can't swim for awhile. Went to gym and simulate swimming movements with weights.  I have been able to do some biking. My only hope of holding onto my fitness rests in my biking.  Some short runs reveal my left hip still has a lingering pain.  I am unsure if I will be able to finish the marathon at B2B. Will the pain become too much in my left hip?  Should I even try?  I will have to just wait and see. 

sept22 to oct6

September 22: Sunday night after 3rd day of work ran 3 miles easy pace (28 minutes). Then ran 3 miles at a fast pace (22 minutes). Then ran 2 miles easy pace for 8 miles total. Ended this 7 days [5 day (65 hours) work week} with about 11 hours of training. Sept 23 - Monday: 70 mile ride on the tri bike. Mostly rolling hills. Hard effort, but temperatures were luckily in the mid 70's so that was nice. 18.8 mph average. Later in the day swam 1000 yards. Sept 24 - Tuesday: 22 mile bike ride then a big swim of 3000 yards. Sept 25 - Wednesday:just work, it was raining anyhow. Sept 26 - Thursday: 9 mile run after work. Sept 27 - Friday: 36 mile ride then ran a 5K and did some upper body and core exercises. Sept 28 - Saturday: rode 98 miles in the mountains on my heavy Specialized bike. climbed 8000 feet. Paris Mountain, Ceasars Head, Dupont Forest, Flat Rock, Watershed, home. On the way down a big hill right before crab creek road a big van passed me and went into the other lane giving me plenty of room, but there was a small car coming at me and they freaked out and swerved into my lane then back into their lane just as the van was getting back into my lane. That was a scary situation. The van driver should have waited for a clearing or the small car should have applied their brakes. Anyhow after I got home I ran 5 miles hard/fast. I used a few calories today. Sept 29 - Sunday: Wait I woke up at 12:30 pm. I made French Toast with 6 or 7 pieces of whole wheat bread and 4 eggs and milk. Got to get some calories. Went to the Y (on my bike with panniers) and swam 100 laps or 5000 yards or 3 miles in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Take the long way home, slow and easy in Greenville for about an hour; so I biked maybe 16 miles today. This last week got in 22.5 hours of training. I think this will be my peak number. Sept 30 - Monday: ran zero miles after work. October 1 - Tuesday: Ran after work. First mile slow (10:00), 2nd mile medium (8:00), 3rd mile all out (6:12). Thought I was going to pass out at the end. My arms were hard to hold up. I walked for a few minutes to catch my breath. Then ran a mile at 9:00 pace and a 5th and final mile at 8:00 pace. October 2 - Wednesday: Rode the tri bike again late in the day. Wade Hampton to SC14 to SC 80 to SC101 south to Woodruff. I made the 25 miles to Woodruff in 1 hour and 8 minutes. Back home with 20.7 mph average. I used a water backpack thing (like a Camelback) which is not what a road biker is supposed to do but it was convenient. Went to the Y and swam a mile without stopping. Went to gym and did upper body strength training for 15 minutes. October 3 - Thursday: Mid afternoon rode the heavy bike to the Swamp Rabbit trail and changed into my running shoes. Locked up the bike at the Swamp Rabbit Cafe. Ran 8 miles (out 4 and back) at a good pace. Rehydrated and took off again. Got slower and left buttocks and hip got sore and very minor soreness in the right knee. At 16 miles i almost gave up due to the hip pain and the lateness of the day. I went and ran a half mile before I realized I left my cell phone on the picnic table next to my bike so I turned around and went back. That was it. I changed and got back on the bike and went home. 18 miles on the bike. oct 4 and 5: just work. Oct 6 - Sunday: after work and internet, etc I started to run. about a half mile into the run the pain in the left hip came back very bad and I had to stop running. For about 10 minutes i walked and stretched in a church parking lot. It was dark. I saw a deer run into the woods. Actually I had seen many deer lately run into the woods as I approached in the dark. Anyhow, I resumed running very slowly and with very small strides. the pain was minimal. I continued this way until i completed 3 miles. The pain was at bay so I did another 3 miles up Broad Street. The pain started to slowly come back as I came back to the start and it started to rain. Got 6 miles in total. The pain in my left hip is a big concern and I will have to stop or curtail the running for awhile. Only 3 weeks until B2B.

Peak training for B2B

9/21/13 Still ramping up for Beach 2 Battleship Iron distance triathlon   on Oct. 26. Only 5 weeks away.  9/9: did a 77 mile ride on the tri bike. Mostly rolling hills. Hard effort in hot sun.  1500 yard swim.  9/10: 22 mile ride and 3000 yards swimming.  9/11: just work 9/12:  6 mile run after work 9/13: 30 mile ride then swimming 9/14, Saturday: rode 130 miles in the mountains with 8500 feet of climbing. Took it slow. Rode up to Saluda, NC then over west to Hendersonville. Continued thru Dupont Forest and then Ceasars Head. SE to downtown Greenville. 9/15, Sunday,  3 mile run. bike and swim I can't remember how much.  These last 7 days I got in 21 to 22 hours of training.  9/16: Ran 6 miles after work.  9/17:  no training?? 9/18: rode the tri bike again for an hour or more then joined up with the Gusto bike shop group. At the 4 mile loop I sped up and a couple of guys chased me for a few laps and they gave up!  Very hard effort for half an hour or so. 50 miles total. Some swimming too, maybe 1500 yards. I joined the Y and will swim there now. The apt pool is overloaded with fallen leaves.  9/19:  Ran 20 miles Thursday. Swamp Rabbit trail - hot and sunny. Actually I joined the 6 am group with the Greenville police chief but I got there 10 minutes late so only got in 4 miles. Three news crews were there reporting. Slept til noon then did the other 16 miles in 5 and 6 mile chunks. A bit scattered. Joints and muscles sore at a normal level so that is good! Swam a bit in evening. 1000 yards. Left calf very tight and sore.  9/20: ran 6 miles after work.  9/21: no training.  The strange spasm in my left quad muscle may finally have gone away. It took several weeks. Was hurting my maximum power or standing and climbing on the bike. Been taking magnesium supplement for the muscle. Still not sure what to think.  Some long hours of training still ahead. I am at peak/maximum training levels now. 

After Langley Pond Tri

Blog update 9/8/13 Been trying to recover from Langley Pond international triathlon 8/31 and also ramp up for B2B late October.  Langley was down by Augusta, GA so I tried to see the Masters course while I was down there, but it is well hidden. Saw some of the downtown. There is a nice trail called the Greenway in North Augusta, SC that I may try if I ever get back down there.  After my event I went to a trail system in or near Aiken. Called Hitchcock Woods or Cathedral Arch Trail.  I was considering running long, but due to a hard race and high heat I only ran 3 miles. More for horses those trails but very serene woods.  So anyway the tri went pretty well overall and I came in ahead of my 2011 time (same course) and got third place in my age group. My first ever podium finish so to speak.  Increasing long runs. I got in a 16 miler a few days ago (Thursday) on the swamp rabbit trail in 90 degree heat. Biked there and back for 19 miles as well. I was stretched to my limit on last two miles of run. Off Friday, Saturday I ran 3 miles easy, and tonight Sunday I ran a moderate 7 miles with a few bursts.   I plan on running 18 miles in about 10 days if I am up to it. A strange spasm in my left quad muscle won't go away. It started after the tri. Not severe or frequent, but I am very concerned about it. Never had such a condition. It really only shows up after I do a deep knee bend or climb stairs with a load.  Need some big rides soon like 80 - 100 miles.  Try for that tomorrow. Also need to get in the pool. Some long hours of training ahead.