The results have just been posted, and I'm laughing. More on that in a minute.
I ran the National Capital Sprint Triathlon today. My third triathlon, second at the sprint distance, and best and most fun race yet. I was faster, I was more comfortable, I was more confident, and I finally had family in attendance.
jeff tagged me, so here goes:
q: what are you training for now?
a: I'm currently focused on triathlon season, which around here runs until Labour Day. My last triathlon of the year will likely either be a full sprint distance (half olympic), or an olympic distance.
Really, though, this year's triathlon season is just training for next year. I'm still on a mountain bike, and I'm still "learning" swimming (though proper form and technique may be years in coming), and so being "competetive" (with my own perceptions, not other people) is still a ways away.
Beyond that, I'm trying to keep my Sunday runs long, in preparation for a fall half-marathon. It will be attempt number 4 at that distance, and I have yet to have a truly "happy" race there.
q: if you are raising money for a cause, what is it and why is that cause important to you?
a: I'm not fundraising at the moment, though I've run more than a few charity events/races over the last few years.
In particular, we always try to do Run For the Cure. Based on the declining health of a family friend with breast cancer, I have a feeling we may do some fundraising this fall.
q: what is the furthest distance you've run in your training and what is the furthest distance you will run before your event?
a: The furthest training run I've done for any event was a 34km (21+mi) training run for my marathon last year. In preparation for this fall's half marathon, I'll probably do at least one run of 22-24km (~14 miles).
q: what is your favorite flavor of gu? (or other sports gel)
a: Vanilla Power Gel. Honestly, though, I'm lucky, in that I have yet to encounter anything food/drink-wise that I can't handle while running.
q: How many days a week do you run?
a: Right now, I aim for 3, and occasionally fall short. During the winter, when I'll be swimming twice a week but not biking at all, I'll aim for 5 times a week, but probably be happy with 4.
q: Are you injured in any way right now? if so,what are you doing about it?
a: I'm not injured, but biking each of the last two days has my quads a little tight. All-in-all, I've been super thankful for how little pain/injury I've faced this year. Unfortunately, the lone exception was in my big race.
q: what is one item of running clothing/gear (shoes don't count) you can't run without?
a: It's almost talismanic, but double-layer polyester socks. They do a fantastic job of keeping blisters and other foot ailments at bay. I'd probably be fine running in single-layer, but I've gone so far with double-layer that I'd probably be afraid to run more than a few kilometers without them.
q: do you have a talisman you are planning on taking to your event? if so, tell us!
a: Heh, I'd never thought about it before, but I supposed I do.
I have a lot of technical running shirts, and I'll wear pretty much any of them on a run. But for a race, there are generally only a few I'll wear. For a while, my running shirt of choice was my Bushtukah Booth Centre 10k race shirt, since I set my 10k PB there last fall. Since I broke that PB on Canada Day, I wore my HBC Canada Day Road Race shirt to my last triathlon.
q: Share one thing about yourself we don't know.
a: My continued endeavours into running and triathlon are effectively delaying the pursuit of another lifelong goal. It is my firm intention to become an ACBL life master, someday. For now, though, I'm happy enough devoting my spare energy into outdoor pursuits.
It took me a day or two, but I figured it out. My ride times were suspiciously fast, and I knew it wasn't the new route.
The computer only counts time when the bike is moving.
I picked up my bike on Monday, all nicely tuned up, and with a new toy installed. I bought a computer - a Cateye Velo 8 (similar to this one). It's a tiny little thing, I could probably cover it completely with two thumbs. It's basically a fancy spedometer, giving current, average and max speed, as well as trip distance and time.
I'm starting to get that familiar ache in my shoulders on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's a sure sign that I'm getting what I want to be getting out of swimming.
Today's main set was 6x100m freestyle, on 2:15 (first 3) and 2:25 (last 3). I have a feeling that my pace was somewhat consistent around 1:50, giving me lots of rest between sets. My technique came and went as I got fatigued, but that's to be expected.
We also did pool-wide sprints of the 4 I.M. disciplines. I was pleased at how strong my butterfly was; I think I only breathed three times in 25m and was rewarded with beating a few of the faster lanes. My breaststroke was pretty quick, too, but any ego inflation was lost in the backstroke. I don't think I'll ever wrap my mind around racing that stroke.
I still feel as though I'm recovering my strength after a month's layoff, but despite my perception my times were pretty decent, today. I just need to do a better job staying relaxed and anaerobic, and the ability to improve my form and technique should follow pretty quickly.
I'm a bit sad that the Tour de France is over. I've watched more TV the last 3 weeks than I had all year, but it's been inspiring, engaging television. As cool as the Tour was, I'm looking forward even more to next year's race. While people did try this year, nobody really took Armstrong to the limit. Competition makes for better entertainment, and the race next year should be a bit more competetive.
Some photos of the trail run, taken by a friend of mine.
Q: What do you call it when you swim, then work, then run?
A: A workathlon =)
Graham Beasley Sprint Triathlon:
500m swim + T1: 16:26 (127/210)
20km cycle: 39:29 (94/210)
5km run + T2: 26:26 (63/210)
Overall placement: 86/210
I seem to be falling a bit behind in my blogging, so here's what I've missed.
We were out of town this weekend, visiting my nephew north-east of Toronto. He lives in a small town, so when I'd studied the map on how to get there, I'd decided in the back of my mind to run an out-and-back along the highway east of town on Sunday morning.
I left work Thursday night, on my bike. On a whim, I decided to try an alternate way home. Rather than winding through the recreational paths through the city, I decided to take the country roads home.
I rode my bike to and from work yesterday. ~25km (15mi) each way. I wasn't terribly fast or strong. My legs felt a bit heavy, a sensation I attributed to my return to swimming the day before. The strong wind didn't really help, either.
This morning I was back at swimming. I was determined to focus more on pacing myself, and on technique and form. That, along with the fact that the sets were easier, led to a much more pleasant swim. I still feel that I've lost a lot of the arm drive that I had in May, but at least I wasn't out of breath quite so often.
After swimming, I drove home, had two bowls of Honey Nut Cheerios, then I biked in to work again. I knew that it would be a tough ride, especially when I discovered that the wind was nearly as strong as it was yesterday. I tried to focus on cadence, rather than power, keeping my turnover high, even if it meant being in a lower gear that I felt I could do. It didn't make me any faster, (and possibly made me slower,) but it kept my legs fresh, and I arrived in decent condition.
While my cycling still isn't terribly strong, being able to handle the commute, especially on back-to-back days, is giving me a huge sense of accomplishment.
After a month's hiatus (brought on by equal parts pool cleaning and desire to sleep in), I was back at master's swimming this morning. The summer session runs for July and August, and unfortunately features one coach for a very full pool.
Most of the people who returned for the summer are serious swimmers, so I found myself in the second-slowest lane. Which was fine, because I was slow. We did 50m repeats, and by the second 25 my arms were rubber. There was just no strength in my pulls at all. I still managed to do do 50s in the 45-55 range (depending on how far into the session we were, and how much rest I'd had), and one of the guys I knew from the winter commented that I hadn't lost my speed. Nonetheless, the feeling of power in the water is gone.
The good news is that I'll be in the pool twice a week from now on, fixing that little problem. The bad news is that, with one coach for 30-40 swimmers, I'll likely be fixing my problems largely on my own.
jeff and jon both tagged me! (see below)
I set out to do a reasonably long run this morning. I was hoping for 16-20km, but ended up with 15, partially because of Friday's race, partially because my running brain is bad at addition, and partially because that's the route I wanted to run.
We all got up super-early for the HBC (Hudson's Bay Company) Canada Day Runs. I did the 10km, my eldest did the 1km run, and we all did the 3km walk.
I got up at 5am, and we left the house around 6:40. I ate breakfast and had a lot of water to drink. I also spent at least half an hour in the washroom.
A sign of things to come, and NOT a good one.
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