Sunday, June 29, 2008

Less than 100 days

Haven't posted much lately. Work has been nuts and I've been trying to train as much as possible. I looked at the counter today and it says I am less than 100 days from HIM.....wow. I am glad it is not sooner. I still have quite a bit of work to do. The last three days I have really had some good work though so I think I will be okay. I have been having some issues with motivation. I am sure we all go through it but it seems that Friday really seemed different. I did a 30 minute swim followed by a 30 minute run and it really felt good. I had a 2 hour ride on Saturday and followed it up with a one mile tranisition run to shock the legs. Really really felt good after the work. Today was a one hour run. It was a good run and I have felt great today as well. Fortunately I have not felt much tension in the left achilles this weekend. It has bothered me off and on for a couple of weeks and I have really laid off the running as much as I dared.

I am focused for the week. Several good workouts planned. Have a good week.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Tri It In Spanish Sprint

Wow... My sprint today was like every race I have done this year....HOT! However the run was a grass trail with some shade....spotty but covered about 30% of the course. It was really nice. The bike was 15 miles of rolling hills...big wind today too - I didn't really notice it until the turnaround when the about four miles it was right on the nose and hard.

The swim was open water in a water ski lake that several people had seen a couple of snakes in this morning.....those people included my wife. I convinced myself they were harmless water snakes and since I was number 33 into the water, 32 people would have chased them away before I got in the water. Near the end of the swim there was some tall grass in the water that kind of grabbed at you. That was interesting.

The half mile ride out to the main road was on a very bumpy patched asphalt surface that was pretty rough. Once out on the road, the ride was very nice. The drive was uphill on the way out which obviously means downhill coming back in....doing 20+ bouncing around was pretty cool....and a bit nerve racking.

I hit T2 very close to a couple of other guys in my age group and I knew I needed to get after the run (my weakest event) to stay ahead of them. They were on my tail the whole way and ended up finishing within about 30 seconds and a minute. I was pretty jazzed that I didn't get run down. I thought I had done pretty well in my AG but there were some added this morning that didn't go in the swim with us. As soon as I have final placing and times I will post them

This was the first race for Tri-sition Area, a new tri shop in San Antonio and they did a marvelous job. The course was great, the race started on time (big deal with me), and they had plenty to eat and drink post race. If you ever are in Texas and have a chance to do one of their races I highly recommend it. For a small event they had great stuff. The t-shirt was a technical, dry fit shirt and the goodie bag included a latex swim cap, a pair of Yankz! and some Hammer gel (apple cinnamon - which IS the greatest gel flavor ever). This was a great first race.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Bike Fit


Went for a pro bike fit yesterday. Wow, what an experience. The fitter and I spent almost three hours working on set up. This angle, that angle, this length, that length, pedal this, pedal that, how does this feel, how does that feel....

It just went on and on but when the position was dialed in, the feeling was really amazing. He told me I would know when we found the right spot - no matter what the angles, measurements, computer, manual, etc. said and he was right. And THEN we did more tweaking to be sure. What an experience. My fit ended with a test ride. After all I had heard about fits, I don't think anyone talked about a test ride. He said it was part of the deal...all that work had to result in a better ride. So a short test was in order. Man, it felt different. Much more powerful and comfortable.

All I can say is if you haven't done this yet, you should. I rode this morning (really couldn't wait to get on the bike to see how it felt) and then bricked into a run. Not real long, a 30 minute ride and 40 minute run but I can say my legs have never felt better coming off the bike. I will be anxious on a longer brick how it feels. I look forward to the next ride.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

A Big Weekend

What a weekend!

Friday night began with a mile swim...nice and easy in the outdoor pool at the club. IT was very hot last week and swim felt great. Nice and easy and worked right through it.

Saturday morning continued with the Real Ale Ride in Blanco. Blanco is in the HILL COUNTRY of Texas. It really is the HILL COUNTRY. The climbs in a 30 mile ride totalled over 1500 feet and there was one downhill where I clocked at 47.3 mph. The only time my bike has gone that fast is in the rack behind my truck. It was a tough, tough ride. Hot and windy. Why is it that most uphill are always into the wind?

Sunday morning was a new beginning. My daughter, wife and I all completed the Heart of Texas Sprint Triathlon in San Antonio. It was a great day and my daughter finished second in her age group. Everyone is well after the race.

The Heart of Texas Series is a set of 7 races throughout the summer that add distance to one of the three events every two weeks throughout the summer to the championship race. They are all held on the Fort Sam Houston Army Base in San Antonio so the course, while open, is very protected and there are numerous volunteers from the service. There were also at least two Intrepid Heroes as competitors. If you don't know, an Intrepid Hero is one who was injured in service and is re-habbing at Brook Army Medical Center here in San Antonio. Each swam, biked, and ran with a prosthetic leg. I will never be half as tough as those men. I have said before and I will say again, thank you for your service and your sacrifice.

CapTexTri 2008 Slideshow