Snazzy New Goggles

Who knew there were so many options of goggles for every scenario.

I have been using my regular-old Speedo mini-goggles for my pool workouts.

After doing some reading and talking to the guys from Bonzi, I decided to try out a pair of goggles with bigger lens and with a bit of a tint.

 I bought a pair of the Aqua Sphere Kayenne goggles and used them for the Reston swim clinic and 1-mile swim this past weekend.  I loved them!  There was very good suction without having to wear them very tight.  The larger lens provided a better field of vision...and bonus...they didn't fog up.

Overall, good purchase.

Extra credit anyone?

 After the swim, I decided to tack on some biking to round out the day. Since we were headed over the bridge any way, I brought my bike and gear.

In the heat of the afternoon, I headed out for the 28 mile ride from Centreville, MD to the Chestertown River.

Instead of the country roads, I took the bit more traveled Route 213. It had the advantage of being a bit more populated and had a nice bike shoulder.

The route had some rolling hills, but the majority of the route was flat...which meant you had to keep up your speed and there were no places to cheat!  Surprisingly I only encountered a single cyclist on the route.  There seemed to be more big trucks on the road vs bikes.

I rolled along past beautiful farms, flowing crops that were waving in the breeze and last but not least --- I saw lots of interesting road kill. You would think a raccoon and deer would be expected, but instead I saw foxes, 2 long snakes (yuck!), lots of birds, a beaver (!!!!), a few pets and squirrels.

The way out was difficult because it was hard to expect what was coming next and there was a pretty strong head wind. Needless to say, rolling home was a blast.

I felt pretty good. 1-mile swim in the morning. 28-mile bike in the afternoon.  Bonus!

Ready set...go!

LATE BREAKING NEWS ----  I FINISHED 7th IN MY AGE GROUP AND 4th IN MY AGE GROUP AMONG THE WETSUIT GROUP.  HOLY COW!!!!!!!!!

Second open swim is done. Woo hoo! I completed the 1-Mile Jim McDonnell annual lake swim in Reston.  See http://www.restonmasters.org/jmls/.

Again, thank goodness I came out yesterday for the clinic and practice swim.   Getting a preview of the course and a feel for the water was definitely a confidence builder.

Luckily I was able to hook up with a handful of the other Snapple trainees and even Coach M.  We were all geared-out in our Snapple tri suits.  Check us out.

Before we knew it we were lining up to hear the pre-race information session and then were lining up into our waves. Again, since I was clueless about my speed, I seeded myself to finish in 50 minutes. That meant that I was in the third to the last wave. When you're back with the normal folks it's actually a good time. Everyone is chatty and just hoping to finish.  No drama in the fun zone.

We were all zipped into our wet suits, had out timing chips attached to our ankles, yellow swim caps on our heads and goggles securely attached.  Note to self --- these wetsuits are hot and zipping in too earlier and sitting in the blazing sun is not a good idea.

As each wave entered the water for the in-water start, we all advanced forward a foot toward the water. I'll admit it, I started getting butterflies. I haven't swam in a real race since high school!

Before I was able to move into full panic-mode, we were in the water and getting ready to start. Me and about 15-20 of my new best buddies (that's about how many folks were in each wave) were treading water waiting for the word to go.  Surprisingly the water was very warm --- in the 70's.  That's a bonus for me since I don't do well in colder water.  Once I hit water in the 60's it's not pretty.

In short order we were off!  It was a bit odd to start swimming from a treading water position.  Luckily, I positioned myself off to the side and did not experience the crush of people pushing forward.  I realized pretty quickly that I screwed up my seeding, which may have meant that I didn't experience the pushing and shoving of the initial few hundred meters. As I turned into the dog-leg I realized I was catching and passing the wave in front of me. Sorry guys! This dog-leg was hard yesterday and it was hard again. First, it's longer than you think. Second, we were warned that the first 200 meters of any swim are hard as the body adjusts to the swim.  Below is the course map.

Just like yesterday, wearing the sleeved wet suit was kinda gross. It felt hot and I felt like it made my arms feel heavy. Heavy is not good.

I was much better at sighting this time vs yesterday. I will say that that's the hardest part. It's one thing to put your head down and just stroke it out. When you have to sight it messes with your rhythm.  Bi-lateral breathing was definitely a bonus in this situation.  This time I cut the buoys tighter and hoped I was swimming much straighter.  I also made sure to not follow the leader and instead rely on my own navigational skills.

There were definitely a few times I felt tired or needed to take a better looks around. At those moments, I swam a few strokes of breaststroke, which by the way, isn't that easy when wearing a wet suit!  There were also moments that I got out of the groove or just felt off.  Mostly, I felt my technique deteriorating for whatever reason.  Likely it was because I was anxious.  At those moments I forced myself to relax and revert back to thinking about my technique vs just trying to swim fast.  Being more efficient is always smarter.  I found this approach to really work for me.

I also really focused on kicking more consistently.  Yesterday I seemed to pull more than I kicked which is a bit nutty since I got tired early.  I forced myself to focus on kicking throughout the swim.

During yesterday's swim I think I focused too much on being overwhelmed by the distance and how long the distance seemed once it was in front of me.  Today, I focused on cutting the swim into more attainable segments.  That approach was much better and I felt more confident.

I continued passing a few people after the turnaround point. My goal was very simple --- finish this damn thing with some pride.

The return back to shore is basically a long straightaway. It can be intimidating. It just seems long, but you feel energized since you are almost done.  The entire time I kept hearing that phrase from the movie Finding Nemo -- "just keep swimming." I know. I'm a loser.

As I saw the last buoy marking the final turn I decided that this was the time to turn on the jets and just go for it. I cut the corner tight --- actually tighter than I thought because I was fighting for position next to this guy who was also cutting it tight too.  I probably should have done a better job bilateral breathing around this corner so that I moved more efficiently around the corner and into the straightaway.

Once I made the final turn, I basically put my head down and swam hard into the finish. I knew I'd have a little bit of energy to surge forward, but then would fall apart. I was kicking and pulling for dear life. I just wanted to crush this guy next to me...which I did. Ha ha!

As I made it to the boat ramp I was preparing myself for the next challenge --- standing up, having the blood rush to my extremities and run across the finish line. I definitely felt the wobble that folks describe once I stood up and started running. All I was thinking was that I had to keep pushing forward because my time included this mini-run. 

I'm still not sure what my time ultimately was, but it definitely was better than 50 minutes. More importantly, I completed two swims at distances slighter greater than what I need to do during my upcoming race.

I "think" I'm ready for the swim leg.

Open Water Swimming

Today was the big day --- my first open water swim. Like all things, instead of easing into the distance I dove right into a 1 mile swim. Yowzers!

The Reston Area Triathlon Club (aka "The RATS") sponsored the region's annual 1 and 2-mile distance swims in Reston.

Just over 200 athletes showed up to hear the words of wisdom and frankly to also get a preview of the course.

Today was the swim clinic and practice swim. I am so freakin' happy that I paid to attend the practice before tomorrow's race. We received lots of valuable, practical information from veteran distance swimmers and we able to ask a ton of questions. As always, I'm super impressed by hearing the stories of those who've gone the distance --- one guy has done the Chesapeake Bay bridge swim twelve times, another swam Alcatraz and one guy even did a swim marathon --- that's 26.2 freakin' miles in the water. Impressive!

Before we had time to worry about how to integrate all this information into our own swim we were putting on our wet suits and lining up into our waves. As we moved forward to the starting line an official checked our names off the list and checked the numbers on our swim caps. Later as you exit the water you give the race officials your swim cap and they check you off the list.

In short order, we were walking down the boat ramp and were off and swimming.  Since I wasn't sure of my speed I ended up seeding myself somewhat further back. Oh well. Live and learn.

First off, swimming in a sleeved wet suit is weird. You are super buoyant, but the range of motion feels odd. I wonder what it would feel like to go sleeveless.  I did liberally use Glide and didn't have any rub issues on the swim.

Second, the first quarter mile was hard, I'm not gonna lie. There was this longer than expected dog-leg part of the course that seemed much longer than I expected.  You're also getting used to the wet suit, swimming with people, trying to swim straight and sighting the buoys properly. We were warned that the first 200 meters was going to be tough as your body got used to the swim. 

You're also a little hot in this sausage suit.  During the first quarter mile, I ended up pulling at the neck area and let some of the water into my suit.  That definitely helped.  I learned after the swim that dumping some water into your suit before you zip it up will make the suit fit better overall.  Live and learn.  Definitely a good lesson learned.

I finally got things going and was off and swimming. I was surprised how much further the distance was than I thought it would be.

I think I learned a few important points:

* I need to sight better and not get caught up following folks vs really looking where I am going. You can easily start following a clueless fellow swimmer.

* I need to keep kicking.  I have a tendency to pull harder than I kick.  What a waste.  KICK BABY KICK.

* and finally...take a couple deep breathes before jumping in, don't panic and just have fun!

Turbo Tuesday

Ok, to be fair, I'm no turbo but Tuesdays at Conte's sure does make you want to just get better and better so that you can move up in the pack.   I was happy not to be in the very back of the pack.

Today was a gorgeous night. A good number of riders were out, but definitely not the swarm of bikers that came out for free BBQ and Beer Night.

Again we looped twice up the wicked neighborhood hill. For whatever reason it felt harder this time vs the last time. Clearly the Chinese food I ate for lunch was not the best option.

We then did a few loops down Military. I had a good ride, but made an error getting behind someone who ended up being a bit slower. I wasn't able to zoom down the hills like last time during my first loop.  The good news is that I was better prepared as I moved up the hills by ensuring I was in the right gear during the downhill so that I could take advantage of the speed as we turned back up the hill.

After the ride, I headed back into DC via bike. Here's a picture of my ride along Constitution Ave.  Just fabulous.

Doing The Dew(ey)

I got hooked up with a group of girls to participate in the upcoming  Dewey Beach Sprint Triathlon in September. Woo Hoo.

I'm participating in a relay and will be covering the bike. Looks like it'll be a real sprint. I'll be doing a 7-ish mile bike leg. That's gonna fly by!

I noticed that the swim will be in the ocean. How cool! Next year I'll have to sign up as an individual so that I can do the whole thing.

Flip It And Reverse IT

Man...I'm tired.

I followed the suggested work-out...with a slight modification. We flipped our brick. We ran 6 miles and then biked 20 miles.

THE RUN:
Let's be serious. It was hard. Ever since I took 3-4 weeks off to heal this bum hip it's been a difficult road back. I'm seriously sucking wind each time I go out.

Though I'm glad that I actually can take a few steps without wincing in pain, it's as if I'm starting at square one again. It is incredible how much of your base is lost so quickly. Slowly but surely I'm motoring back to my half-marathon training distances...emphasis on "slowly."

Though we did 6 miles, I definitely took advantage of the rest moments waiting to cross the street every once in awhile.

THE BIKE:
We decided to bag The Bike Rack ride and instead. rolled over to Hains Point and rode loops for 20 miles. It was a 3 mile loop. At times it was monotonous, but it was good to get the distance in. Given the location on the water you would race half of the loop against the wind. Hello resistance training!! The other half was more manageable.

There were lots of fancy cyclists out there. I continue to be in awe of the them.

Needless to say, I'm super proud of what we accomplished today!

Biking Explorer

Somehow I got talked into exploring a route from home to downtown DC via the new Metropolitan Bike Trail --- courtesy of The Husband. It was a great day and a great ride.  Here's a picture of the trail as we headed toward New York Avenue.

Another good opportunity to get out on the trails and navigate the wonderful world of dealing with traffic.

The ride was mostly flats and rolling hills EXCEPT for a monster double-hill in Brookland. It was a beast, but offered a great workout.

We rolled onto K Street for a pit stop and then headed over to Union Station to check out the fancy new indoor commuter bike rack --- The Bike Station. Talk about fancy --- lockers, indoor bike racks, someone to watch your stuff all day and even changing rooms!

From Union Station we linked back onto the MBT and finally headed home via our neighborhood trails.

Making Deals

Somehow I was able to run 5 miles this morning with the Road Runners. Yay!!!! I am so happy.  Don't get me wrong, it was hard, but somehow I was able to keep going.

We started at Capitol Hill and headed to Georgetown.  As we looped back all I wanted to do was stop and start walk/running.

I was a bit tired --- probably just feeling lazy from not running much --- and at times felt mentally weak. I decided to use my old trick of making deals with myself --- "if I keep running and get to that street then I'll let myself walk" or "just get to that next spot and if I'm still tired I'll walk."

Somehow the tricks and being pushed by the girls kept me going.

Yay! Now...I just need to keep pushing a bit on the run portion of my training, as well as continuing to strengthen my hip muscles.

It's all about the bike

After today's transition clinic, I headed over to the Georgetown Bike Shop and had them look over my bike and picked up a few things.

Somehow I walked in at a quiet time --- very unusual for a sunny Saturday afternoon.

They did a little tune up and checked my set-up. I of course picked up a few things --- including a tire changing kit, an extra water bottle, a bento box for my top tube and tri shoes.

I biked back to my car and decided to head back to my home trails vs fighting the crowds in DC.

As always, my trails are open and quiet. I headed out for a two hour ride and ended up connecting through three different trails.

All in all, a very productive day.

Transitioning and the Cops

Finally...I now understand this whole transitioning this! Everyone talks about how transitioning among the different disciplines is a sport unto itself...and they are right!

A group of us headed over to the Cycle Life USA store in Georgetown for a Transitions Clinic. It was fantastic. Close to 30 attendees and the speakers were very knowledgeable. It was interesting how many folks are tri newbies too.

They broke everything down into segments --- first nutrition, then "what's in your bag on race day", then the swim, the bike and the run.
The Swim
Sounds like this is the area that scares folks the most. I'm hoping my prior abilities will give me some confidence, though there won't be a trusty black line to follow or a handy lane line on race day.
It was helpful to learn where to line up for the swim so that you aren't crushed --- go wide people!
It also was extremely helpful to understand how to get the heck out of your wet suit without stumbling around and following over.

Bonus Swim Info
If ya gotta pee once you have the suit on...just let it flow. Don't even try and get outta the thing before the swim.

There was a guy who took the "bring everything" notice seriously. He was wearing a wet suit, cap and goggles in the middle of the park. Needless to say, the old folks walking their dogs couldn't figure out what was going on.

The Bike/The Run
This segment was really helpful. We moved the discussion over to the park across the street and learned how to rack our bikes and set up our transition area. This seriously was critical for me. The pix above is of our initial set up.

We also learned how to get on/off the bike. I can guarantee that I'll be taking the more conservative approach on race day vs the folks who will have their shoes rubber banded to their pedals and will somehow put their feet in their shoes once they get going. I barely can walk and talk at the same time...so I'm gonna avoid the more aggressive "time-saving" approach.

Just as we were on the cusp of incorporating all that we had learned...a cop showed up and kicked us out of the park for not having a permit. Dammit! Talk about a let down. He seriously couldn't have showed up 15 minutes later so we could have practiced at least once?! Such a bummer.

Transition Plan B
We moved over to the area outside of the store and sort of set up little transition areas. In waves we did each of the segments. Happy to have gone through the movements, but bummered that it wasn't in the park.

Bonus Bike
At the end we learned how to change a tire. I pray that someone who has a clue is around when I blow a tire or if one blows --- it's the front vs the back. I did finally pick up the relevant tools and put them in my bike pouch so at least I'm ready.

Lessons Learned
Getting in/out of these cycling shoes is gonna be a bitch. All those buckles and clips are annoying vs one/two big velcro flaps. I should get tri-shoes.

Tying your shoe laces is over-rated. I need to get those speed laces.

Three deep cleansing breaths at the first sign of panic will solve all your problems.

Who knew you needed to take a class to learn how to put on your clothes?

I'm a super hero or something like that

Last night I FINALLY got around to trying on my wet suit for the big swim. I bought it a month ago and realized that I hadn't even taken it out of the box.

Luckily a set of detailed instructions were included. Don't be fooled...it's not like throwing on a dress.  As I inched my leg into the suit I prayed that I had selected the correct size. Inch by inch I wormed my way into the suit as instructed.

I didn't realize that the suit would be so delicate and could easily tear if you pulled with too much force.
Within a few minutes I had the suit on and was zipped up. Surprisingly it didn't look as horrific as I had imagined.

Should I admit that I was going to fill my bathtub with water and get in just so that I knew how the suit would feel wet? Better not...because that would be just weird.

The suit is hanging in my closet waiting for it's first splash-down.  I've gotta say, I don't think I ever thought I'd have a wet suit hanging in my closet.

Go Guppies!

As I was swimming my laps tonight I noticed that the neighboring two lanes were filled with little kids learning to dive into the pool and swim one lane of freestyle.

It was the most adorable thing to see the kids line up, crouch down, put there hands over there heads like little arrows and muster the courage to fall forward into the deep end of the pool. Watchful parents were overhead. Swim coaches were at the water's edge encouraging them to drop in.

As you can imagine, there were many belly flops. With each belly flop, the little guppies would pop up out the water, smile and then immediately start their stroke across the pool. The guppies would repeat this drill many times. Over and over again most would fail and yet come right back to the pool's edge to try again.

All I wanted to do was watch these little guppies and cheer them on. Go Guppies Go!

Feeling like a fancy cyclist

Oh my God! I just wrapped up a Tuesday night ride at Conte's in Arlington. What an incredible experience.

Over 100 riders of all levels --- A, B and C classes --- rolled out via police escort (!!!!!!) out to the neighborhood behind the store and on to Military Road.

It was awesome to roll through the streets of Arlington with cops posted at every intersection along the way holding traffic for you as the wave of cyclists cruised along. Yes, I did feel kinda fancy.

Our C class leader grouped us into two waves and we began our loop through the neighborhood. Thank goodness our leader warned us that at the bottom of the hill we should immediately drop to the easiest gear and get ready to climb.

HOLY SHIT! As I rounded the corner I literally was faced with a WALL that was masquerading as a hill. I cranked away and as I got to the short plateau before the next ascent I thought I would go into cardiac arrest. IT WAS FLIPPING AWESOME! Nothing like your heart jumping out of your chest to remind yourself that you are alive.

We cruised around the neighborhood catching our breath and then began the Military Road loop --- which is a combo of incredibly fast-paced descents and challenging extended hill work. WOWZERS! We did this loop twice.

The descents were like a roller coaster ride. At one point I literally zoomed by a speed indicator set up to notify cars of their speed and was jazzed to see my speed posted.

As you cruised the loop, the much better riders would swarm you and all you could be is incredibly impressed and at the same time immediately decide never to eat again.

At one point as I was climbing an extended hill I heard a buzzing noise. Suddenly a swarm of A class riders buzzed by at lightening speed. It was as if the climb was nothing to them. I literally felt like a pack of wolves left me in the dust. Incredible to see the experienced riders at work.

I think I learned a lot about myself tonight: (1) I LOVE THE SPEED of the descents even though it scares the crap out of me, (2) I really need to better master the gears and (3) I really need to build more power in my legs to keep cranking.

Luckily this time around in a group ride I didn't fall, didn't get a flat and didn't drop a chain. I did get screamed at by a fellow rider who thought I was coming to close on her tire without notifying my intention to pass. I apologized and clarified that there was no way in hell I was in any condition to pass and instead I was moving closer to the curb to get out of everyone's way as I moved to an easier gear to catch my breath. I'm all about safety, but this chick was wound a bit too tight.

I freaking loved this ride. Very challenging, but at the moment you think you might die it suddenly eases up and you have time to recover. Folks wait for you and make sure you are ok. There's also so many folks out there that it would be hard to get lost. As a newbie to the bike and this ride I was very appreciative.

After the ride we headed back to the store for BBQ, drinks and some socializing. All in all, this is a keeper.
I'm totally adding this to my weekly training log...forget the physical benefits and confidence building (which are definitely HUGE), it's great to see folks who are much better than you are doing their thing. All I can say is...WOW.

Cool Blog re transitions

I have been enjoying this dude's blog --- Fat Cyclist.  Good suff.  Here's his recent comment re transitioning.
My Ironman Training is Progressing Apace

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Road ID

Man...this photo is pretty shitty!.  Anyway, I got my new RoadID in the mail. I have one for my shoe that I got when I started training for the Army 10-miler last year.

Now that I'm biking I need another one since dragging around my license is a big pain in the pass and my shoeID doesn't fit on any of my biking stuff.  Since I'm usually out alone biking or in new surroundings it gives me peace of mind that I have something on me with emergency contact info.

Just like my recent CPR and first aid training --- I have to never need to use my RoadID.

It's a double

It's Saturday at lunchtime and I've already knocked out a 4-mile run and a 60-min bike. After this week's slacking I felt like it was necessary.

Re the run:
I met up with the ladies from DC Road Runners for an informal run that starts at the Capitol every Saturday morning. I can't believe how long it's been since I've run with this crew! Three weeks is a heck of a long time to not run regularly and I'm here to tell you that it's complete bullshit that your base evaporates so quickly. Ugh. I was not rockin' the run. I seriously felt like a lumbering mess out there.

We decided just to knock out 4-miles, which frankly was more than I planned to do. I was grasping on to the fantasy that a 2-miler would cut it. Unfortunately that is unacceptably lame so I chugged along for the 4 miles while the larger group pushed on to do 6-8 miles. Jealous much.? Hell yes!

I headed home and then immediately jumped on my bike to knock out a scheduled 60-minute/11-mile ride. I headed out on the Paint Branch Trail and circled the lake a few times to kill time and add some mileage. Relatively uneventful ride.

I do need to spend time figuring out all the gears on this bike vs just jamming through them without a clue. I was convinced I was going to drop a chain today when I moved from one ring to another.