Good morning.
I completed my third triathlon yesterday. It was the Chicago Triathlon an Olympic/International distance event. The 3 legs consist of a .93 mile swim, 25 mile bike and 6.2 mile run.
This is my first year competing in triathlons and I have really come to enjoy all of the training and competitions. It's all kind of fun. I have to say I have truly come to love the water. And, as I've said before, when I see water now I have an urge to just jump in. I really do! It's like a water appetite.
One of my triathlon competition goals is to place in the top 10 of my 50-54 age group. I have a ways to go to meet this goal. Yesterday I placed 21st out of about 148 other 50-54 age groupers.
Perhaps, my expectations are too high with this being only the third triathlon of my life. I mean, who am I, coming from a running background expecting to light my age group on fire.
Looking at race results and separating the various tri-disciplines into their respective singularities one can assume that, "hey, I can do that." But, in reality, when competing in the event with the disciplines back to back to back, it is a different story. Believe me.
I have news for my age groupers though. I am willing to train harder and PAY MY DUES! I will continue to learn how to excell at this wonderful sport.
THE RACE: INTRODUCTION
Yesterday was a hot and humid day with temps in the 90's, all sun and high humidity levels. The effects of this weather would take it's toll on me and others during the run. This would have been another marathon cancellation day. They don't cancel tri's as far as I know. Interestingly there were not any serious health related problems yesterday which is great.
SWIM:
Standing in the wave group was very hot. You have your wetsuit 1/2 way on with your upper body still exposed to the air. As you get closer to the start you must finish doning the suit. Then the swim cap. You stand there waiting for your wave to move up. Sweet is literally pouring down your face soaking your wetsuit.
I wanted in that cool water, badly. Finally we were allowed to jump in. The water felt so cooling and good after being beaten up by the early morning sun.
I positioned myself in the front of our wave to the far left of the swim lanes. This was a treading water start. I wanted to be away from the wall to the right because that is where the weaker swimmers will be in case they have trouble. There is a rope there in case they need to grab it.
The gun went off and I swam like hell going quickly from a vertical treading body to a horizontal swimmer. I swam hard the whole way. There was some contact during the swim because of how narrow the course was. My breathing was good. I was surprised at how easily some people pulled away from me.
I sighted well during the whole .93 mile swim. It helps to slightly look up under water so you can see the feet of other swimmers. Then you can make course adjustments. Even though I was not the fastest swimmer I did pass a lot of people from other waves that started before us. It was like a race. Just cruising and passing. At times I would have to block a leg with my arm so it would not hit my face and other time I'd have to just swim around others or swim through a narrow shoot between two swimmers.
When I got out of the water at the swim exit I checked my Garmin, 30 minutes. Not what I expected. Note to self:
MEASURE THE DISTANCES AT OHIO ST BEACH!
As I said, I swam hard and thought for sure I'd have a 27 minute swim. So, I will measure my swim distances at Ohio St Beach to see what the actual distances are.
After leaving the water the run to the timing mat and T1 was about 450 yards. That is a long run to go to transition. A decent par 4 distance. This also adds a lot of time to your swim time since your swim time will consist of swimming time and running time to T1.
Swim Time: 32:32
BIKE:
The bike went pretty well. My average pace is slightly over 20 mph and I need to work on increasing my pace. When I look up other triathlete's bike times the one's who do well average 23-25 mph. I need to reach this level. I'm told it takes some time and I will put in the time neccessary to get there.
The ride went smoothly along Lakeshore Drive. I passed a lot of people but also got passed a lot as well. It's kind of amazing how one can think they are really pusing the bike pace and then someone goes by you like you are standing still. We all kind of look the same but they have that extra biking muscle strength.
Lakeshore Drive has it's bumpy areas and because of this there were water bottles all over the road that needed to be avoided. We also shared Lakeshore Drive with auto traffic. There were orange cones separating the bike lanes and car lanes.
One of my favorite moments came when I looked at the car next to me and saw a young boy looking at me with huge wide eyes. I looked at him and smiled and stuck my toungue out and shook my head up and down. He just stared at me. Then a while later I looked over again and there he was. I smiled again and he gave me a smile and a little tiny hand wave. I can still picture his face.
Bike Time: 1:14:58
THE RUN:
HOT!!
Most of you know that I love heat. I do most of my runs during the hottest time of the day. Maybe all of my run training in the heat got me through this run. It was brutal.
At times I wondered if I'd finish. There were many many walkers, shoulders slumped, heads down.
I just kept "chugging" along. I felt faint at times and slightly dizzy at other times. Just kept chugging. This had to be the longest 6 mile run of my life.
Finally the finish line neared and as I crossed I was so grateful. The ice cold towel that was place on my back by a volunteer was so appreciated. God that felt good. It took me a long long time to cool down. I sweated for hours. My run cap just kept dripping and dripping and dripping.
Run Time: 50:45, 8:11 pace
TOTALS:
RANDY J EGGE #5712
CHICAGO, IL
Age: 50 Gender: M
DistanceIntermediate
Clock Time02:44:21
...Overall Place467 / 3863
Gender Place414 / 2693
Division Place21 / 148
Swim00:32:32
Trans100:03:21
Bike01:14:58
Trans200:02:42
Run00:50:45
Swimrank1036
Bikerank1222
Mph20.2
Runrank261
Pace00:08:11
Another triathlon, another learning experience. All fun though. I have to say that I felt a certain level of achievement after completing the olympic distance event. It's not the longest event but still takes some effort and guts to complete. I will never take an olympic distance tri for granted. Respect, yes!!
I have to say I felt sorry for some of the competitors yesterday. Their day was done in the first few minutes of the swim. As I watched the waves go off before me you could see the struggle and distress on their faces. They would turn over and float on their backs. God bless them. I hope they don't give up.
My next event is another 1/2 Ironman. It is the Ironman Branson 70.3 on Sept 19. Once again my goal is the same......????
Thanks for reading.
-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."
* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin
Monday, August 30, 2010
Chicago Triathlon Report
Good morning.
I completed my third triathlon yesterday. It was the Chicago Triathlon an Olympic/International distance event. The 3 legs consist of a .93 mile swim, 25 mile bike and 6.2 mile run.
This is my first year competing in triathlons and I have really come to enjoy all of the training and competitions. It's all kind of fun. I have to say I have truly come to love the water. And, as I've said before, when I see water now I have an urge to just jump in. I really do! It's like a water appetite.
One of my triathlon competition goals is to place in the top 10 of my 50-54 age group. I have a ways to go to meet this goal. Yesterday I placed 21st out of about 148 other 50-54 age groupers.
Perhaps, my expectations are too high with this being only the third triathlon of my life. I mean, who am I, coming from a running background expecting to light my age group on fire.
Looking at race results and separating the various tri-disciplines into their respective singularities one can assume that, "hey, I can do that." But, in reality, when competing in the event with the disciplines back to back to back, it is a different story. Believe me.
I have news for my age groupers though. I am willing to train harder and PAY MY DUES! I will continue to learn how to excell at this wonderful sport.
THE RACE: INTRODUCTION
Yesterday was a hot and humid day with temps in the 90's, all sun and high humidity levels. The effects of this weather would take it's toll on me and others during the run. This would have been another marathon cancellation day. They don't cancel tri's as far as I know. Interestingly there were not any serious health related problems yesterday which is great.
SWIM:
Standing in the wave group was very hot. You have your wetsuit 1/2 way on with your upper body still exposed to the air. As you get closer to the start you must finish doning the suit. Then the swim cap. You stand there waiting for your wave to move up. Sweet is literally pouring down your face soaking your wetsuit.
I wanted in that cool water, badly. Finally we were allowed to jump in. The water felt so cooling and good after being beaten up by the early morning sun.
I positioned myself in the front of our wave to the far left of the swim lanes. This was a treading water start. I wanted to be away from the wall to the right because that is where the weaker swimmers will be in case they have trouble. There is a rope there in case they need to grab it.
The gun went off and I swam like hell going quickly from a vertical treading body to a horizontal swimmer. I swam hard the whole way. There was some contact during the swim because of how narrow the course was. My breathing was good. I was surprised at how easily some people pulled away from me.
I sighted well during the whole .93 mile swim. It helps to slightly look up under water so you can see the feet of other swimmers. Then you can make course adjustments. Even though I was not the fastest swimmer I did pass a lot of people from other waves that started before us. It was like a race. Just cruising and passing. At times I would have to block a leg with my arm so it would not hit my face and other time I'd have to just swim around others or swim through a narrow shoot between two swimmers.
When I got out of the water at the swim exit I checked my Garmin, 30 minutes. Not what I expected. Note to self:
MEASURE THE DISTANCES AT OHIO ST BEACH!
As I said, I swam hard and thought for sure I'd have a 27 minute swim. So, I will measure my swim distances at Ohio St Beach to see what the actual distances are.
After leaving the water the run to the timing mat and T1 was about 450 yards. That is a long run to go to transition. A decent par 4 distance. This also adds a lot of time to your swim time since your swim time will consist of swimming time and running time to T1.
Swim Time: 32:32
BIKE:
The bike went pretty well. My average pace is slightly over 20 mph and I need to work on increasing my pace. When I look up other triathlete's bike times the one's who do well average 23-25 mph. I need to reach this level. I'm told it takes some time and I will put in the time neccessary to get there.
The ride went smoothly along Lakeshore Drive. I passed a lot of people but also got passed a lot as well. It's kind of amazing how one can think they are really pusing the bike pace and then someone goes by you like you are standing still. We all kind of look the same but they have that extra biking muscle strength.
Lakeshore Drive has it's bumpy areas and because of this there were water bottles all over the road that needed to be avoided. We also shared Lakeshore Drive with auto traffic. There were orange cones separating the bike lanes and car lanes.
One of my favorite moments came when I looked at the car next to me and saw a young boy looking at me with huge wide eyes. I looked at him and smiled and stuck my toungue out and shook my head up and down. He just stared at me. Then a while later I looked over again and there he was. I smiled again and he gave me a smile and a little tiny hand wave. I can still picture his face.
Bike Time: 1:14:58
THE RUN:
HOT!!
Most of you know that I love heat. I do most of my runs during the hottest time of the day. Maybe all of my run training in the heat got me through this run. It was brutal.
At times I wondered if I'd finish. There were many many walkers, shoulders slumped, heads down.
I just kept "chugging" along. I felt faint at times and slightly dizzy at other times. Just kept chugging. This had to be the longest 6 mile run of my life.
Finally the finish line neared and as I crossed I was so grateful. The ice cold towel that was place on my back by a volunteer was so appreciated. God that felt good. It took me a long long time to cool down. I sweated for hours. My run cap just kept dripping and dripping and dripping.
Run Time: 50:45, 8:11 pace
TOTALS:
RANDY J EGGE #5712
CHICAGO, IL
Age: 50 Gender: M
DistanceIntermediate
Clock Time02:44:21
...Overall Place467 / 3863
Gender Place414 / 2693
Division Place21 / 148
Swim00:32:32
Trans100:03:21
Bike01:14:58
Trans200:02:42
Run00:50:45
Swimrank1036
Bikerank1222
Mph20.2
Runrank261
Pace00:08:11
Another triathlon, another learning experience. All fun though. I have to say that I felt a certain level of achievement after completing the olympic distance event. It's not the longest event but still takes some effort and guts to complete. I will never take an olympic distance tri for granted. Respect, yes!!
I have to say I felt sorry for some of the competitors yesterday. Their day was done in the first few minutes of the swim. As I watched the waves go off before me you could see the struggle and distress on their faces. They would turn over and float on their backs. God bless them. I hope they don't give up.
My next event is another 1/2 Ironman. It is the Ironman Branson 70.3 on Sept 19. Once again my goal is the same......????
Thanks for reading.
-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."
* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin
I completed my third triathlon yesterday. It was the Chicago Triathlon an Olympic/International distance event. The 3 legs consist of a .93 mile swim, 25 mile bike and 6.2 mile run.
This is my first year competing in triathlons and I have really come to enjoy all of the training and competitions. It's all kind of fun. I have to say I have truly come to love the water. And, as I've said before, when I see water now I have an urge to just jump in. I really do! It's like a water appetite.
One of my triathlon competition goals is to place in the top 10 of my 50-54 age group. I have a ways to go to meet this goal. Yesterday I placed 21st out of about 148 other 50-54 age groupers.
Perhaps, my expectations are too high with this being only the third triathlon of my life. I mean, who am I, coming from a running background expecting to light my age group on fire.
Looking at race results and separating the various tri-disciplines into their respective singularities one can assume that, "hey, I can do that." But, in reality, when competing in the event with the disciplines back to back to back, it is a different story. Believe me.
I have news for my age groupers though. I am willing to train harder and PAY MY DUES! I will continue to learn how to excell at this wonderful sport.
THE RACE: INTRODUCTION
Yesterday was a hot and humid day with temps in the 90's, all sun and high humidity levels. The effects of this weather would take it's toll on me and others during the run. This would have been another marathon cancellation day. They don't cancel tri's as far as I know. Interestingly there were not any serious health related problems yesterday which is great.
SWIM:
Standing in the wave group was very hot. You have your wetsuit 1/2 way on with your upper body still exposed to the air. As you get closer to the start you must finish doning the suit. Then the swim cap. You stand there waiting for your wave to move up. Sweet is literally pouring down your face soaking your wetsuit.
I wanted in that cool water, badly. Finally we were allowed to jump in. The water felt so cooling and good after being beaten up by the early morning sun.
I positioned myself in the front of our wave to the far left of the swim lanes. This was a treading water start. I wanted to be away from the wall to the right because that is where the weaker swimmers will be in case they have trouble. There is a rope there in case they need to grab it.
The gun went off and I swam like hell going quickly from a vertical treading body to a horizontal swimmer. I swam hard the whole way. There was some contact during the swim because of how narrow the course was. My breathing was good. I was surprised at how easily some people pulled away from me.
I sighted well during the whole .93 mile swim. It helps to slightly look up under water so you can see the feet of other swimmers. Then you can make course adjustments. Even though I was not the fastest swimmer I did pass a lot of people from other waves that started before us. It was like a race. Just cruising and passing. At times I would have to block a leg with my arm so it would not hit my face and other time I'd have to just swim around others or swim through a narrow shoot between two swimmers.
When I got out of the water at the swim exit I checked my Garmin, 30 minutes. Not what I expected. Note to self:
MEASURE THE DISTANCES AT OHIO ST BEACH!
As I said, I swam hard and thought for sure I'd have a 27 minute swim. So, I will measure my swim distances at Ohio St Beach to see what the actual distances are.
After leaving the water the run to the timing mat and T1 was about 450 yards. That is a long run to go to transition. A decent par 4 distance. This also adds a lot of time to your swim time since your swim time will consist of swimming time and running time to T1.
Swim Time: 32:32
BIKE:
The bike went pretty well. My average pace is slightly over 20 mph and I need to work on increasing my pace. When I look up other triathlete's bike times the one's who do well average 23-25 mph. I need to reach this level. I'm told it takes some time and I will put in the time neccessary to get there.
The ride went smoothly along Lakeshore Drive. I passed a lot of people but also got passed a lot as well. It's kind of amazing how one can think they are really pusing the bike pace and then someone goes by you like you are standing still. We all kind of look the same but they have that extra biking muscle strength.
Lakeshore Drive has it's bumpy areas and because of this there were water bottles all over the road that needed to be avoided. We also shared Lakeshore Drive with auto traffic. There were orange cones separating the bike lanes and car lanes.
One of my favorite moments came when I looked at the car next to me and saw a young boy looking at me with huge wide eyes. I looked at him and smiled and stuck my toungue out and shook my head up and down. He just stared at me. Then a while later I looked over again and there he was. I smiled again and he gave me a smile and a little tiny hand wave. I can still picture his face.
Bike Time: 1:14:58
THE RUN:
HOT!!
Most of you know that I love heat. I do most of my runs during the hottest time of the day. Maybe all of my run training in the heat got me through this run. It was brutal.
At times I wondered if I'd finish. There were many many walkers, shoulders slumped, heads down.
I just kept "chugging" along. I felt faint at times and slightly dizzy at other times. Just kept chugging. This had to be the longest 6 mile run of my life.
Finally the finish line neared and as I crossed I was so grateful. The ice cold towel that was place on my back by a volunteer was so appreciated. God that felt good. It took me a long long time to cool down. I sweated for hours. My run cap just kept dripping and dripping and dripping.
Run Time: 50:45, 8:11 pace
TOTALS:
RANDY J EGGE #5712
CHICAGO, IL
Age: 50 Gender: M
DistanceIntermediate
Clock Time02:44:21
...Overall Place467 / 3863
Gender Place414 / 2693
Division Place21 / 148
Swim00:32:32
Trans100:03:21
Bike01:14:58
Trans200:02:42
Run00:50:45
Swimrank1036
Bikerank1222
Mph20.2
Runrank261
Pace00:08:11
Another triathlon, another learning experience. All fun though. I have to say that I felt a certain level of achievement after completing the olympic distance event. It's not the longest event but still takes some effort and guts to complete. I will never take an olympic distance tri for granted. Respect, yes!!
I have to say I felt sorry for some of the competitors yesterday. Their day was done in the first few minutes of the swim. As I watched the waves go off before me you could see the struggle and distress on their faces. They would turn over and float on their backs. God bless them. I hope they don't give up.
My next event is another 1/2 Ironman. It is the Ironman Branson 70.3 on Sept 19. Once again my goal is the same......????
Thanks for reading.
-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."
* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Excitement For Tomorrow
Good morning.
I write/type as usual from my favorite worn brown leather chair, hot coffee in hand. The morning view is the same as it's been for many a day this summer. The sky is clear as the sun makes it's appearance, casting yellow hues all around. Another solid day of sunshine and 80 degree temps awaits.
The weather for tomorrow's Chicago Triathlon looks just as good. It will be nice to set up my transition area with no worries or planning for rain. It will surely simplify the whole process. I will go minimalist with gear.
Yesterday was the opening day for the Chicago Tri Expo. I went and picked up my athlete package and goody bag. I also went for another reason.
Running Away Multisport has the only Guru Dynamic Fitting Unit, a bike fitting computerized machine. They invited me to get a free bike fit on the machine at the expo. As I was going through the process people were walking by and checking out the system. I would guess I pedaled for one hour as Brian made minute adjustments Many viewers were interested. It will be interesting to receive the results.
My training leading up to the event has gone well.
Thursday was a 6 mile easy pace run in 50 minutes and yesterday an open water 1.4 mile swim at Ohio St Beach.
My swim times are really coming down. I do the same course so the distance remains mostly the same. The Garmin times do vary. Yesterday when I hit 1 mile I stopped to check the time. I have to say, this had to be some error. The Garmin showed, 20:18. No way! I was bummed because I really wanted an accurate result.
I pressed the start again and finished the swim. End result, 33:40. So, this was a 1.4 mile swim in 33 minutes. That is a PR. I still have a lot of energy when done. I am interested to see how fast I can get in the water.
When I swim tomorrow at the Chicago Tri I will swim as hard as possible but within reason. I will start at the front of my wave and take off at the start. I am not concerned with breathing or anxiety. My one concern is catching swimmers from previous waves. I hope I can just haul ass.
Hopefully the bike and run go well also. We will see.
I am heading back to the expo today and also checking out transition and start areas.
Until tomorrow......
-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."
* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin
I write/type as usual from my favorite worn brown leather chair, hot coffee in hand. The morning view is the same as it's been for many a day this summer. The sky is clear as the sun makes it's appearance, casting yellow hues all around. Another solid day of sunshine and 80 degree temps awaits.
The weather for tomorrow's Chicago Triathlon looks just as good. It will be nice to set up my transition area with no worries or planning for rain. It will surely simplify the whole process. I will go minimalist with gear.
Yesterday was the opening day for the Chicago Tri Expo. I went and picked up my athlete package and goody bag. I also went for another reason.
Running Away Multisport has the only Guru Dynamic Fitting Unit, a bike fitting computerized machine. They invited me to get a free bike fit on the machine at the expo. As I was going through the process people were walking by and checking out the system. I would guess I pedaled for one hour as Brian made minute adjustments Many viewers were interested. It will be interesting to receive the results.
My training leading up to the event has gone well.
Thursday was a 6 mile easy pace run in 50 minutes and yesterday an open water 1.4 mile swim at Ohio St Beach.
My swim times are really coming down. I do the same course so the distance remains mostly the same. The Garmin times do vary. Yesterday when I hit 1 mile I stopped to check the time. I have to say, this had to be some error. The Garmin showed, 20:18. No way! I was bummed because I really wanted an accurate result.
I pressed the start again and finished the swim. End result, 33:40. So, this was a 1.4 mile swim in 33 minutes. That is a PR. I still have a lot of energy when done. I am interested to see how fast I can get in the water.
When I swim tomorrow at the Chicago Tri I will swim as hard as possible but within reason. I will start at the front of my wave and take off at the start. I am not concerned with breathing or anxiety. My one concern is catching swimmers from previous waves. I hope I can just haul ass.
Hopefully the bike and run go well also. We will see.
I am heading back to the expo today and also checking out transition and start areas.
Until tomorrow......
-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."
* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Race Simulation
Good morning.
Another beautiful day in Chicago. In fact, this whole week looks awesome. Solid sun with temps averaging around 80. The weather for this Sunday's Chicago Tri looks great as well. It may be a little warmer and more humid. Cool!
I am tapering this week but also fine tuning my swimming, biking and running.
Yesterday I went to Ohio St Beach for a race simulation workout. I want to position myself near the front of my swim wave and start fast so I can swim without congestion.
After donning the wetsuit I wadded into the greenish blue water. I placed my Garmin on top of my head and covered it with the swim cap. I do this so the Garmin does not lose satalite reception.
When everything was in order I pressed start and took off as fast as I could for a few hundred yards. After the torrid start I settled into a good solid pace. Not all out though. My breathing was excellent. I have come to realize that breathing while swimming is an acquired art.
I breathe "almost" like I do while running. I take a fast, small breath and when my head is under water I breathe out as I turn my head for the next breath. It is a smooth non-stop process. There is no holding the breath. Air in air out.
Also, I make sure that the middle of my head stays in contact with the water. No looking up to breathe, only a small left head turn. There is only a small window of opportunity to get that important breath. Sometimes, if I look left and see water the breath I so desire will have to wait for the next attempt.
I have also come to realize that my lungs and body do not need gobs of oxygen. The body has acclimated to less air.
I swam hard using good catch and solid pulls. The goal was to round my usual 1/2 mile bouy and head back. When the Garmin signals one mile with it's strong vibration I would stop to check the time. Why? Because one mile is slightly farther that the swim distance in the Chicago Tri and I wanted to see what to expect while competing.
Vibration....I stop, pull off the swim cap and check the time. I was so happily surprised when I saw 24:29. I just swam a mile in 24:29, wow. And, I could have gone faster. How awesome.
I placed the Garmin and swim cap back in place and swam hard to the finish. End result: 1.41 miles in 34:17. Love it. I felt good but a little fatigued. No problem.
Later in the day I went for a moderate fast twitch run to reinforce speed to my legs. All in all a great day.
Split Time Moving Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Pace Avg Moving Pace Best Pace Avg HR Max HR Steps Calories
1 0:09:04 0:08:55 1 0 5 9:04 8:55 7:05 124 133 0 67
2 0:08:13 0:08:08 1 10 0 8:13 8:08 5:12 135 145 0 69
3 0:07:16 0:07:17 1 3 0 7:16 7:17 5:48 150 155 0 67
4 0:07:07 0:07:07 1 0 3 7:07 7:07 5:16 153 160 0 66
5 0:07:21 0:07:22 1 0 4 7:21 7:22 5:22 155 161 0 68
6 0:07:37 0:07:35 1 0 8 7:37 7:35 6:03 157 163 0 72
7 0:00:35 0:00:36 0.07 8 0 8:25 8:33 6:53 162 163 0 6
Summary 0:47:17 0:47:00 6.07 21 21 7:47 7:44 5:12 144 163 0 415
-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."
* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin
Another beautiful day in Chicago. In fact, this whole week looks awesome. Solid sun with temps averaging around 80. The weather for this Sunday's Chicago Tri looks great as well. It may be a little warmer and more humid. Cool!
I am tapering this week but also fine tuning my swimming, biking and running.
Yesterday I went to Ohio St Beach for a race simulation workout. I want to position myself near the front of my swim wave and start fast so I can swim without congestion.
After donning the wetsuit I wadded into the greenish blue water. I placed my Garmin on top of my head and covered it with the swim cap. I do this so the Garmin does not lose satalite reception.
When everything was in order I pressed start and took off as fast as I could for a few hundred yards. After the torrid start I settled into a good solid pace. Not all out though. My breathing was excellent. I have come to realize that breathing while swimming is an acquired art.
I breathe "almost" like I do while running. I take a fast, small breath and when my head is under water I breathe out as I turn my head for the next breath. It is a smooth non-stop process. There is no holding the breath. Air in air out.
Also, I make sure that the middle of my head stays in contact with the water. No looking up to breathe, only a small left head turn. There is only a small window of opportunity to get that important breath. Sometimes, if I look left and see water the breath I so desire will have to wait for the next attempt.
I have also come to realize that my lungs and body do not need gobs of oxygen. The body has acclimated to less air.
I swam hard using good catch and solid pulls. The goal was to round my usual 1/2 mile bouy and head back. When the Garmin signals one mile with it's strong vibration I would stop to check the time. Why? Because one mile is slightly farther that the swim distance in the Chicago Tri and I wanted to see what to expect while competing.
Vibration....I stop, pull off the swim cap and check the time. I was so happily surprised when I saw 24:29. I just swam a mile in 24:29, wow. And, I could have gone faster. How awesome.
I placed the Garmin and swim cap back in place and swam hard to the finish. End result: 1.41 miles in 34:17. Love it. I felt good but a little fatigued. No problem.
Later in the day I went for a moderate fast twitch run to reinforce speed to my legs. All in all a great day.
Split Time Moving Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Pace Avg Moving Pace Best Pace Avg HR Max HR Steps Calories
1 0:09:04 0:08:55 1 0 5 9:04 8:55 7:05 124 133 0 67
2 0:08:13 0:08:08 1 10 0 8:13 8:08 5:12 135 145 0 69
3 0:07:16 0:07:17 1 3 0 7:16 7:17 5:48 150 155 0 67
4 0:07:07 0:07:07 1 0 3 7:07 7:07 5:16 153 160 0 66
5 0:07:21 0:07:22 1 0 4 7:21 7:22 5:22 155 161 0 68
6 0:07:37 0:07:35 1 0 8 7:37 7:35 6:03 157 163 0 72
7 0:00:35 0:00:36 0.07 8 0 8:25 8:33 6:53 162 163 0 6
Summary 0:47:17 0:47:00 6.07 21 21 7:47 7:44 5:12 144 163 0 415
-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."
* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin
Monday, August 23, 2010
Chicago Tri Week
Good morning.
This is, Chicago Triathlon Week.
The International/Olympic event is Sunday and it is the largest triathlon in the world. So, I expect the city will be flooded with guests as the week progresses.
I am looking forward to putting forth a good solid effort for this event. The more you compete the more you learn about your abilities and limits. I feel like I can push myself much harder than in past triathlons without bonking. You really only learn this through trial and error.
So, on Sunday it will be, BALLS OUT!!
My goal for this event, like all triathlons I compete in will be a top 10 finish. I have not done this yet but when I look up previous racing results I know I am totally capable of doing this. I would be happy with a finish time of 2:20:00.
Time will tell.
This weekend was full of activity.
I skipped the swim Saturday morning because of the weather and decided to do a sort of long run instead.
I travelled 11 miles on a very humid morning. The heat/humidity really did not affect me. I threw in a few faster, sub 8 miles in the middle of the run. The 7:18 mile was quite easy as I did not even feel like I was trying to get there. Then I slowed for the last couple miles.
When I was done I actually had the thought, "11 miles should not seem that easy."
I also really enjoyed seeing my running friends on the lakefront path.
Split Time Moving Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Pace Avg Moving Pace Best Pace Avg HR Max HR Steps Calories
1 0:09:06 0:08:43 1 0 5 9:06 8:43 6:58 113 126 0 58
2 0:08:25 0:08:17 1 10 0 8:25 8:17 6:53 126 130 0 61
3 0:07:52 0:07:41 1 3 7 7:52 7:41 5:53 133 138 0 62
4 0:07:25 0:07:16 1 0 13 7:25 7:16 3:09 141 147 0 63
5 0:07:18 0:07:14 1 11 7 7:18 7:14 6:40 150 154 0 66
6 0:07:45 0:07:34 1 7 5 7:45 7:34 7:01 145 151 0 61
7 0:07:39 0:07:21 1 5 9 7:39 7:21 6:01 150 154 0 67
8 0:08:16 0:08:04 1 16 0 8:16 8:04 6:52 147 151 0 69
9 0:08:14 0:08:02 1 0 4 8:14 8:02 6:19 145 148 0 64
10 0:08:18 0:08:15 1 0 12 8:18 8:15 7:13 145 151 0 62
11 0:08:15 0:08:10 1 8 0 8:15 8:10 6:41 147 150 0 65
12 0:00:03 -- 0.01 0 0 9:43 -- 8:12 148 148 0 0
Summary 1:28:42 1:26:37 11.01 60 60 8:03 7:52 3:09 139 154 0 698
Sunday morning was the Buffalo Grove bike ride with the Chicago Tri Club. We went our customary 38 miles. This ride is always interspersed with fast and slow sections. There are some good hills to climb but the ride is becomming easy for me. I need to either go longer, harder or both.
Later in the day I went for a 6 mile run. I wanted to do this run so I could finally run 40+ miles for the week. It has been a little while since I've done that. In the past I had been running 40+ almost every week. But, with tri training one must make some adjustments. The run looked like this:
Split Time Moving Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Pace Avg Moving Pace Best Pace Avg HR Max HR Steps Calories
1 0:09:46 0:09:42 1 0 4 9:46 9:42 4:02 119 127 0 65
2 0:08:31 0:08:26 1 10 0 8:31 8:26 6:37 125 133 0 60
3 0:08:12 0:07:53 1 2 0 8:12 7:53 7:04 131 134 0 62
4 0:08:22 0:08:23 1 0 4 8:22 8:23 6:27 132 136 0 62
5 0:08:55 0:08:52 1 0 4 8:55 8:52 5:47 129 135 0 56
6 0:08:24 0:08:13 1 6 8 8:24 8:13 6:07 132 149 0 48
7 0:00:02 -- 0 0 0 9:34 -- 8:03 132 132 0 0
Summary 0:52:15 0:51:29 6 19 20 8:42 8:34 4:02 127 149 0 353
Have a great week.
I almost hit 140 combined miles for the week and I feel great. This week will be a taper easier week leading up to the Chicago Triathlon.
-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."
* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin
This is, Chicago Triathlon Week.
The International/Olympic event is Sunday and it is the largest triathlon in the world. So, I expect the city will be flooded with guests as the week progresses.
I am looking forward to putting forth a good solid effort for this event. The more you compete the more you learn about your abilities and limits. I feel like I can push myself much harder than in past triathlons without bonking. You really only learn this through trial and error.
So, on Sunday it will be, BALLS OUT!!
My goal for this event, like all triathlons I compete in will be a top 10 finish. I have not done this yet but when I look up previous racing results I know I am totally capable of doing this. I would be happy with a finish time of 2:20:00.
Time will tell.
This weekend was full of activity.
I skipped the swim Saturday morning because of the weather and decided to do a sort of long run instead.
I travelled 11 miles on a very humid morning. The heat/humidity really did not affect me. I threw in a few faster, sub 8 miles in the middle of the run. The 7:18 mile was quite easy as I did not even feel like I was trying to get there. Then I slowed for the last couple miles.
When I was done I actually had the thought, "11 miles should not seem that easy."
I also really enjoyed seeing my running friends on the lakefront path.
Split Time Moving Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Pace Avg Moving Pace Best Pace Avg HR Max HR Steps Calories
1 0:09:06 0:08:43 1 0 5 9:06 8:43 6:58 113 126 0 58
2 0:08:25 0:08:17 1 10 0 8:25 8:17 6:53 126 130 0 61
3 0:07:52 0:07:41 1 3 7 7:52 7:41 5:53 133 138 0 62
4 0:07:25 0:07:16 1 0 13 7:25 7:16 3:09 141 147 0 63
5 0:07:18 0:07:14 1 11 7 7:18 7:14 6:40 150 154 0 66
6 0:07:45 0:07:34 1 7 5 7:45 7:34 7:01 145 151 0 61
7 0:07:39 0:07:21 1 5 9 7:39 7:21 6:01 150 154 0 67
8 0:08:16 0:08:04 1 16 0 8:16 8:04 6:52 147 151 0 69
9 0:08:14 0:08:02 1 0 4 8:14 8:02 6:19 145 148 0 64
10 0:08:18 0:08:15 1 0 12 8:18 8:15 7:13 145 151 0 62
11 0:08:15 0:08:10 1 8 0 8:15 8:10 6:41 147 150 0 65
12 0:00:03 -- 0.01 0 0 9:43 -- 8:12 148 148 0 0
Summary 1:28:42 1:26:37 11.01 60 60 8:03 7:52 3:09 139 154 0 698
Sunday morning was the Buffalo Grove bike ride with the Chicago Tri Club. We went our customary 38 miles. This ride is always interspersed with fast and slow sections. There are some good hills to climb but the ride is becomming easy for me. I need to either go longer, harder or both.
Later in the day I went for a 6 mile run. I wanted to do this run so I could finally run 40+ miles for the week. It has been a little while since I've done that. In the past I had been running 40+ almost every week. But, with tri training one must make some adjustments. The run looked like this:
Split Time Moving Time Distance Elevation Gain Elevation Loss Avg Pace Avg Moving Pace Best Pace Avg HR Max HR Steps Calories
1 0:09:46 0:09:42 1 0 4 9:46 9:42 4:02 119 127 0 65
2 0:08:31 0:08:26 1 10 0 8:31 8:26 6:37 125 133 0 60
3 0:08:12 0:07:53 1 2 0 8:12 7:53 7:04 131 134 0 62
4 0:08:22 0:08:23 1 0 4 8:22 8:23 6:27 132 136 0 62
5 0:08:55 0:08:52 1 0 4 8:55 8:52 5:47 129 135 0 56
6 0:08:24 0:08:13 1 6 8 8:24 8:13 6:07 132 149 0 48
7 0:00:02 -- 0 0 0 9:34 -- 8:03 132 132 0 0
Summary 0:52:15 0:51:29 6 19 20 8:42 8:34 4:02 127 149 0 353
Have a great week.
I almost hit 140 combined miles for the week and I feel great. This week will be a taper easier week leading up to the Chicago Triathlon.
-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."
* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin
Friday, August 20, 2010
Swimmin Bikin and Runnin oh my!
The last couple days I have stayed busy with training.
Wednesday was a 15 mile bike interval workout on the trainer. My speed bursts followed the P90X workout my wife was doing. Thirty seconds here a minute there. It was fun. Took out some monotony.
Thursday was another 1.4 mile open water swim in Lake Michigan. This swim was a training PR with a time of 35:30. The catch and pull felt very strong and I was not even tired when finished. I will go hard in the Chicago Tri next weekend and especially at Branson 1/2 IM.
Later Thursday afternoon I went for a Garmin free 8 miler. That was kind of interesting. Just running by feel and grooving to the tunes. Sweat was flying from the hat.
Today was a 40 mile recovery bike ride with a neighbor friend.
Tomorrow I am looking forward to joining the other triathletes at Ohio St Beach for my Saturday morning open water swim. I may do a 6 mile speed run later in the day.
Sunday will be a 40 mile bike with the Chicago Tri Club and maybe a run later. If I run 10??? I will have my first 40 mile running week in a long time.
Next week is the Chicago Triathlon and I will have a very mini taper.
Have a great weekend all.
-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."
* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin
Wednesday was a 15 mile bike interval workout on the trainer. My speed bursts followed the P90X workout my wife was doing. Thirty seconds here a minute there. It was fun. Took out some monotony.
Thursday was another 1.4 mile open water swim in Lake Michigan. This swim was a training PR with a time of 35:30. The catch and pull felt very strong and I was not even tired when finished. I will go hard in the Chicago Tri next weekend and especially at Branson 1/2 IM.
Later Thursday afternoon I went for a Garmin free 8 miler. That was kind of interesting. Just running by feel and grooving to the tunes. Sweat was flying from the hat.
Today was a 40 mile recovery bike ride with a neighbor friend.
Tomorrow I am looking forward to joining the other triathletes at Ohio St Beach for my Saturday morning open water swim. I may do a 6 mile speed run later in the day.
Sunday will be a 40 mile bike with the Chicago Tri Club and maybe a run later. If I run 10??? I will have my first 40 mile running week in a long time.
Next week is the Chicago Triathlon and I will have a very mini taper.
Have a great weekend all.
-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."
* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Flying Through The Water
Good morning.
Had an interesting open water swim yesterday in Lake MI.
Had a regular start and just worked on a smooth stroke. As I swam I would watch the still sand on the lake bottom go by. The lake was very clear.
Soon I passed the bobbing red 1/4 mile bouy. I new it would not be long until I would be rounding the 1/2 mile bouy and heading back.
That's where I was wrong!
A couple hundred yards from the 1/2 mile marker I notice that my progress was slowing. I thought it may be my imagination. Nope.
All of a sudden I ran into a current. It was like swimming into one of those endless pools where you go nowhere. I would watch the sand bottom to gage my forward progress. There wasn't much.
At times I wondered if I would make it to the bouy. At times I would actually laugh at what was happening. I was grateful for the wetsuit. Conditions like this could make some people panic and cause them to tire themselves out and who knows what could happen then. I would sight the bouy and decided to swim until I made it.
After a while I saw the underwater ropes attached to the bouy. They were stretched to the max. Good thing I could see them because I would not want to get tangled in them. As I rounded the bouy I noticed a couple largemouth bass several feet down enjoying the current.
The swim back was just the opposite. I was cruising. The sand bottom was flying by. It seemed like each pull stroke would move me 5 feet at a time. It was like flying through the water. This was fun. There were no waves but I still felt like I was body surfing.
A fun 1.4 mile roundtrip swim in 36 minutes.
-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."
* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin
Had an interesting open water swim yesterday in Lake MI.
Had a regular start and just worked on a smooth stroke. As I swam I would watch the still sand on the lake bottom go by. The lake was very clear.
Soon I passed the bobbing red 1/4 mile bouy. I new it would not be long until I would be rounding the 1/2 mile bouy and heading back.
That's where I was wrong!
A couple hundred yards from the 1/2 mile marker I notice that my progress was slowing. I thought it may be my imagination. Nope.
All of a sudden I ran into a current. It was like swimming into one of those endless pools where you go nowhere. I would watch the sand bottom to gage my forward progress. There wasn't much.
At times I wondered if I would make it to the bouy. At times I would actually laugh at what was happening. I was grateful for the wetsuit. Conditions like this could make some people panic and cause them to tire themselves out and who knows what could happen then. I would sight the bouy and decided to swim until I made it.
After a while I saw the underwater ropes attached to the bouy. They were stretched to the max. Good thing I could see them because I would not want to get tangled in them. As I rounded the bouy I noticed a couple largemouth bass several feet down enjoying the current.
The swim back was just the opposite. I was cruising. The sand bottom was flying by. It seemed like each pull stroke would move me 5 feet at a time. It was like flying through the water. This was fun. There were no waves but I still felt like I was body surfing.
A fun 1.4 mile roundtrip swim in 36 minutes.
-----
" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."
* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin
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