January 2011
1 post
SF Riding
Anyone know of any good bike loops in the San Fran peninsula/bay area?
December 2010
1 post
November 2010
1 post
Alcatraz here I come!
Really wanted to do escape from alcatraz but not looking to chance the lottery, I found a race that has open registration for 400 with the same swim, the bike out and back over the golden gate, and the run is famous “double dipsea”!
http://www.envirosports.com/events/alcatraz-xxxi-triathlon-escape-from-the-rock/details
August 2010
1 post
“Running takes you home when you are not”
July 2010
2 posts
1 tag
Different Tri Experience
Did a sprint in update NY on July 4th weekend. About 140 participants. What a different experience, it was the complete opposite of my half-IM experience.
Highlights were;
About 10% of the swimmers decided to not wear goggles, and/or were wearing board shorts, and or did some variation of swimming other than freestyle
A 20-something year old hottie swam in her underwear - not complaining,...
1 tag
Ten Things You Should Already Know By Now
1. What’s important today won’t matter tomorrow
Yeah, so you got a problem. Sleep on it, sunshine. Put it off. Most problems can be safely ignored. You’ll be amazed how often they sort themselves out.
And the gravity of any given problem is inversely proportional to the hour of the day. At three in the morning, you’ve got an insurmountable issue. After four whisky and cokes at nine in the...
June 2010
2 posts
3 tags
Mooseman = Done!
What a day! Despite the hills and the pouring rain for the ENTIRE RACE, I legitimately had a great day. I remember thinking several times during parts of each leg, that there is nothing more I’d rather be doing… 6 months ago if you told me I’d think that while I’m swimming, biking and running 70 miles, I would have said you have the wrong person.
My recap;
Pre-Race:...
Mooseman 70.3 this weekend! Bib#761. Time to put my last 20weeks of training to the test!!
May 2010
4 posts
3 tags
hydration practice
I spent the previous months training in cold weather, rain and snow, or indoors with controlled temps… I forgot it can get hot out! My last tri was in early May, After the short swim in a cool but comfortable lake and got on the bike, it was already over 80 degrees and sunny. Over the next hour and a half ride, the day gave way to pure sun and approached 90 degrees. I kept jamming away on...
“The best way out is always through.”
– Robert Frost
Me vs. SUV
I’m 1-0 versus an SUV on my bike. Some lady, thought getting cigarettes at 7-11 was more important than my life. She made a right turn 15ft in front of me going ~21 in aero, needless to say by the time I got to the breaks and locked up my slicks, I planted into the side of her truck. I was able to hit her with the side of my bike and took most of the impact with my shoulder (hurting today)....
1 tag
bassman recap (my 1st tri!)
My 1st triathlon is in the books and everything went relatively smooth. I spent so much time the day before being anxious and excited, that by the time my feet were in the water, I was calm and collected. The race was in southern New Jersey, and they pegged it as an “international distance tri” although, I cant find another race the same distance - it was close to olympic.
.52mile...
April 2010
4 posts
1st open water swim
With my 1st tri coming up Sunday I wanted to make sure I got a feel for the wetsuit, the cold water, and not seeing past your hands in the merky bay. All I can say is wow! Sooo glad my 1st time doing that was not also my 1st tri!
The Bad:
+ I couldn’t see my fully extended hand, so aside from a glimpse here and there of seaweed or a jelly fish that just hit my face, it was the same as...
Having a tough time with recovery week and not doing much, especially after watching ironman kona repeats from the last 3 years on the universal sports channel!
Bike week over, recovery here I come!
Finished up my “themed” base2 with a bike week and onto a much needed recovery week! 5 sessions and 120miles later, I’m about wiped, especially after this long 3 week stretch of theme weeks. Looking forward to a light recovery week then a nice mix of things in base3.
Weekend rides were somewhat challenging with some aggressive winds and the temperature hovering between not hot...
Run week over
Base2 run week is over after a 90min run this morning. After some tailgating, a little sunburn, and drinking yesterday I paid hard this morning once I got to minute 50 but pushed through. While it somewhat sucked it was probably good to push through despite the circumstance, a little mental toughness although I’d be shocked to ever see “party day” on a training schedule. Coming...
March 2010
2 posts
3 tags
swim week over!
Base2 for my half-ironman training consists of theme weeks, the 1st of which is swim week and I am glad to say its over! 6 swim sessions in 7 days with almost 5miles in the pool at all different RPEs. I’m pretty new to swimming, only really started taking it seriously, so thats an accomplishment in itself, but I guess I’ll have to see in future sessions if there was a payoff in...
4 tags
knowing is doing
As I train I continue to learn things about triathlon and myself, many of which cannot be taught, read about or explained, they have to be experienced. So far, just about each week has been something new. A new schedule, a new injury, a new personal best, a new unrelated obstacle, a new sacrifice. All of these things are a function of training itself and can only be experienced to be...
February 2010
5 posts
3 tags
on to base1!
Prep period over and feeling good about putting in the time. So far its straight forward enough to follow the swim, bike, and run schedules but my biggest surprise through training has been how important it is to understand nutrition. Proper recovery through eating what your body needs, staying hydrated, and getting enough sleep are all just as important as getting the time in each discipline....
http://www.trainingbible.com/resources.aspx →
Solid white-papers by Joe Friel on understanding AeT, body chemistry, and fatigue (under ‘training tips’)
3 tags
perpetual motion freestyle →
Presentation by Total Immersion founder with a great description of the methodology. Having already watched easy freestyle, this was a good addon and helps explains some of the exercises scientifically - excited for my next day in the pool
2 tags
a solid 1st week
With over 1.5hrs in the pool, 2.0hrs on the treadmill, and 3.15 on the (boring)spin bike, over 8 sessions this week… it was a good intro for the weeks to come. With the exception of a few moments here and there, I felt strong during this 1st week. One thing it did do was open my eyes to a few new aspects of the sport. Specifically sleep and nutrition - so I’ll start looking more...
“And miles to go before I sleep,
and miles to go before I sleep.”
2 tags
training mantra
Tomorrow I embark on my formal half-ironman training plan, pretty excited and after the last 10 weeks of specific prep feel strong and ready to swim, bike, and run.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been using a training mantra to distract my mind from what my body is doing to sneak through a few extra minutes (end of a Frost poem I found on a tri forum someone else using)…
The woods are...
January 2010
6 posts
2 tags
training plan for my 1st ironman 70.3
After reviewing a handful of half ironman training plans, I found the plan I am going to follow as I get ready for the Mooseman on June 6th.
The following plan is a 20 week plan with; a prep phase, 3 4-week Base sets, a pre-race build and a taper to get ready for race day, created by Scott Herrick that I found on BeginnerTriathlete.com.
...
2 tags
Motivating yourself →
3 tags
(re)learning to swim
When I first got in the pool to start swimming, I was semi-confident. Knew it was going to take time to get to the point where I can swim over a mile for the Ironman 70.3 but between growing up on an island, in the pool or at the beach every summer, and even some lessons at camp, I thought I was good to go… Well I was good, but for about 50m, then I looked like I never swam before -...
2 tags
once you get your speedo...
… there’s no turning back!
OK, its not a speedo in the true sense of the word - they’re tri-shorts meant for all 3 legs of the race, but tip toeing around the gym in spandex shorts would have probably been a deal breaker had I thought it through. Then again, you kinda feel like a superhero in them, like aquaman in the pool.
Unfortunately there’s no great way to go from...
2 tags
my new training partner
My partner at the gym to train for these triathlons is my Timex Heart Rate monitor, and I think its going to be the key to me training effectively in something I’ve never done. After a ton of research, I landed on this watch;
I found it on Amazon.com for half of what Sports Authority and Dicks were selling it for… amazing. Here’s that link
So what does it do?
With the...
December 2009
1 post
3 tags
getting started on the bike
EDIT: Rookie mistake. these are not tri shoes, the key difference is the straps go the opposite way so you can leave your shoes on your bike and pedal. (faster transition)
My start on the bike is at the gym because its winter. I quickly learned if you’re going to be using the bike at the gym to train for a REAL bike, make sure you’re on the Spin bike and not the one with the cushy...
November 2009
1 post
6 tags
it starts here
It all started mid-November 2009… a friend asked me to join him at the gym and said he was going to do an indoor triathlon… just a simple 10 minute swim, 30 minute bike, 20 minute run… I said why not. At the time I was in OK shape after a few months of crossfit (http://crossfitinvictus.com), so it wasnt dreadful… but, barely made the swim, biked pretty easy, and ran a mile...
