HITS Triathlon - Olympic

Did the Olympic triathlon at HITS in Ocala this morning.  It was a well run race.  More on that later.  First I have to be chronological.

Friday afternoon I come home early from work and started putting my tri stuff together.  It was the first race of the season and I was totally discombobulated or a CF. My oldest son was doing it too.  So I was making sure he did not forget anything. We finally got loaded up, out the door, on the road, and arrived there at 5:20.

Bulky and Rainbow were there.  We walked around and checked out the venue.  It was nice. We found out that the run was a trail run.  This was going to be challenging.  The CL laid out a plan for me for the race.  Overall time did not count.  I was supposed to swim HARD, bike easy, and run HARD.

So the four of us are looking at the dinner the race was providing and opted out.  I just do not trust food prepared in mass like that.  There was chicken and pasta, etc.  A lot of good stuff but just did not want to take a chance.  Then we went to Cracker Barrel.  Never again.  Food was ok but not what we needed.  Then I spent the next hour driving around the area completing my nutrition fill for the race, because I forgot a bunch of stuff in Orlando.  Bulky and Rainbow gave some gels and drink mix. Thanks girls.

The morning getting ready was uneventful.  We got to the race without incident parked and got ready.  Transition was really nice.  They had wood boxes that held your bikes and stools.  Yes I said stools.  Here is a picture of one.

One more thing about this race.  On Thursday or Wednesday a young girl drowned in the lake we swam in.  Very sad story.  I knew this but did not tell any one because it would do no good.

Finally, its race time.  #1 son takes off in the sprint and I get to see him come out of the water.  Very proud of him!  Now its the Olympics start.  It is a mass start of about 100 people.  The horn sounds and we take off.  I am swimming hard and then realize I cannot breathe and I begin to panic.  Not good.  On one of my gasps I notice there is a guy running in the water.  REALLY?  its that shallow.  So I put my feet down and hit bottom.  So I adjust my wetsuit and relax while I am walking along and then start swimming again.  Much better.  I know what happened I did not warmup properly, so when I started out hard, I screwed my body up.  NOTE:  you need to warm-up.  Need to talk to the CL about this.

The rest of the swim was uneventful.  Tried to catch a few people but couldn't.  Came out of the water in 31 minutes.  Slower than expected but I do not think that the course was measured right.  I was 21 out of the 100 so I was exactly where I was supposed to be.????

I get to my bike and start my easy ride.  It was not as easy as I wanted because there were some hills to deal with especially right out of transition. There was one long downhill I got up to 31 mph with a HR of 125.  That was way cool.

Got back into transition and sat down on my stool to put on my running shoes.  That was very nice and started the run.  I got to the trail and stayed on the sides to avoid the soft sand.  The CL wanted me to run 6.2mile in under one hour.  I think she knew this was trail run.  I did good from the outset except when I almost stepped on a snake in the middle of the bleeping trail.  Walked the water stops and ran the rest.  Finished strong.

All in all 2:55 to do the whole thing.  HITS gives out 1st place awards for each age other than the awards for  the overall.  I won my age, but I was the only one in it.

It was a good day.

Train Hard, Train Smart
XXX

CLs Training Secrets Revealed!!

I found it!  This is what she uses to create our workouts.

Who would have thunk?  Boy are we dummmmm!

Thursday - Bike Trainer workout or not

Today we show up at 5:30am or o'dark thirty.  The CL was not feeling well and was not at practice.  She tried calling and texting me but I did not look at my phone this am.  I hate getting sucked into work stuff before I workout.

We got to run one mile then we did this really intense bike workout. After that we got to run 2 miles at a 10k pace.  Nice.

We all did good.  Bulky and I were jabbing back and forth. Snacky ran the bike workout.  We got a great group.  A lot of us are racing this weekend.  I am doing an Olympic distance on Saturday. 

CL gave me my race plan.  Swim hard, bike easy, and run hard.  I need to run the 10k in less than an hour. I am pretty sure I can it that goal.  Stay tuned to my blog on Saturday for the results.

Train Hard, Train Smart
XXX

A little lifting, stretching, and swimming

After the Tour de Cure I had a business trip which took me pretty much off the grid for 2 days.  I did lifting, stretching, and resting during this time period.  Wednesday I was back in the pool swimming 2,550 yds.  The CL took it easy on me today and put in a slower lane.  I was not having to compete with Snack Lady and the other speedsters.  Once I got my breathing down, it was a good day in the pool. 

The CL is making us bring running shoes on Thursdays bike training.  This does not bode well for us.

I will let you know tomorrow.

Train Hard, Train Smart
XXX 

Tour de Cure Ride

Today was Tour de Cure.  Our team rode a variety of rides 25 to 102 miles.  I went 77 miles.  We all hooked up at the start and started just before 8am.  As with most mass starts it was chaos in the beginning but it soon thinned out.  The roads got narrower as we road so we had a nice pace line. The CL was enforcing a doable pace of about 16 mph.  My heart rate did not get over 100 for a long time.  That was due to being in the pace line and the low speed. 

At one time I pulled into the wind for about 8 miles.  It allowed me to get into aero and just ride.  I kept the speed steady which is hard at the front of the pace line.  If you go too fast you lose the line, too slow and they pile up behind you.  The CL eventually told me to go to the back of the line.  I may have stayed out there all day long.

Well, we hit a rest stop and Stevbra wants ease the chafing in his pants so he puts on some chamios butter.  What he did not realize is that the kind he bought had menthol in it.  So it started a kind of tingling burning in places that are uncomfortable.  After a while he said it felt kind of nice.  He now had a pair of cool balls.  So his new nickname is Cool Balls or CB. 

If that was not enough CB, then comes up to a red stoplight and forgets to unclip and falls.  Not a good day for the CB.

We get to the last rest stop and have 9.5 miles to go.  I jokingly say to the CL that we should not go less than 20 all the way back. She is in front and throws down the hammer.  Bulky and I respond and hang on.  We are into a headwind and she is going about 20 to 22 mph.  We hit a light bad and loose the rest of the group.  The CL, Bulky, and I just keep powering on.  Finally, the CL lets up and I move up to the front and put the hammer down. She had pretty much wasted herself trying to drop me and Bulky.  My legs were just too fresh.  I still feel fine from the ride. 

CB, Snack Lady, and Hairy Scary catch up to us and we finish strong. 

It was a good day. 

The CL tells me later that she was purposely trying to drop me to test me to see if I had taken easy during the day.  I guess I passed. 

Later we had drinks and food at the Tap Room.  It was a good time.

That is all for now.

Train Hard, Train Smart
XXX

Week of 3/12

This week was filled with swimming and running.  A lot of leg work was done.

Monday - Swam 1800 yds and ran a mile.
Tuesday - Bike trainer workout
Wednesday - Swam 2700 yds and ran 2 miles at 10k pace.  Rolled my ankle too.
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Ran 60 minutes no HRM on the beach. It was fun. No ankle problems.
Saturday - Ran 6 miles - First mile in zone 2 then 4 miles at 10K pace and then last mile at zone 2.

Not a bad training week for being out of town for 2 days.

Train Hard, Train Smart
XXX

Ironman Florida 70.3s bike ride

So we drive over to Haines City and go out on the bike course for this half ironman coming up in May.  There was about 12 of us.  The route is a little bit hillier than I thought it would be.  Mostly rollers none the hills that I am not accustom to.

Well we are about 35 miles out and one of the girls starts to bonk and have mechanical issues.  We have a work around on the mechanics, thanks to the CL, but the bonking is a long fix.  About this time I am fed up with the pace line, too.  I let fly some choice words.  I was pissed.  So I just decided to hang with the CL and this girl and get her back to the start.  It took some time, but we made it.  We even had to walk up a hill.

I then got some more water and rode backwards on the route to meet up with the group.  I was about 5 miles out and met up with them.  We then rode back.  On the way back we lost Crampy to cramps.  He stopped and we had to go back in a car and get him.  Crampy refuses to hydrate properly and not overpush when riding.

We then started the long trip home.  It was a good ride.

Train Hard, Train Smart
XXX

Garmin's HRM

Garmin makes a great Tri GPS watch in the 310XT.  The new 910XT is that much better but I have a 310.

So this past week the heart rate monitor (HRM) decided to stop working.  I would be running or walking and it would show a HR of 50.  So I did all my zone training by pace.  It worked out but was not optimal.

So I ended up buying a new one from Amazon.  What a pain!

Garmin, if you read this your HRM needs to last more 8 months or you need to lower the price to $25.

Where the H..... have I been?

Wow! What a week!  My last post was Saturday, March 4th.  Sunday was filled with a lot of family obligations and just other things.  I did manage to run 5 miles at a zone 2 pace.

Monday we swam at the Lake Nona Y pool for the first time in weeks. The water was warm, but it was 50 degrees on the deck.  We swam 2750 yds.

Tuesday was a rest day, but I went out of town on an annual quail hunt and managed to shoot 49 quail with my hunting buddy that morning.

Wednesday, I was hunting again.  35 this time.  Came home and ran 5 miles at varying paces.  That was hard.

Thursday was bike class.  Fun as usual.  Over an hour on the bike.

Friday was a 3 mile run in low zone 2, stretching, core, and weightlifting.

Saturday is a long story.  See the next post.

Train Hard, Train Smart
XXX

50 miles on a bike in the wind

Today we rode 50 miles in what seemed to be a gale force wind.  We went out towards the airport first.  On the stretch to the end of the airport loop we were into the wind.  A few of the team went strong and hammered into the wind.  They were definitely outside of zone 2.  I hung back and let them go.  When we stopped a prearranged point, I rode up to them and told them that the CL was not going to be happy.  I moved away from the group when CL showed up.  I did not want to get any shrapnel (sp?) when she exploded on them.  And she did.

We stayed together from there on out except for when PD got a flat.  CL hung with him and we met at a prearranged rest stop.  The rest of the ride was uneventful. There was the usual bantering back and forth.

CL pushed herself to hard.  She such a good coach, but like most coaches thinks she cannot show any weakness.  I told she needs to do her workouts and I was going to keep her honest.  Her job is to keep me honest.

Distance: 51miles
Time: 3 hours 16 minutes
HR I have no idea the damn monitor stopped working
Calories: Garmin says 1500 but the internet says 3000

We also ran 2 miles off the bike.  It was hard.  It was hot.  I took about 20 minutes to do that.  It was a zone 2 run.

Train Hard, Train Smart
XXX