On May 15, 2012,
in Certainly, you’ve heard of the bucket list. Or at least the concept of a bucket list. It’s a list of things that you’d like to accomplish before you die. Or turn 40. (To some, those milestones are one and the same).
Of course, The Bucket List was a movie back in 2007 starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. This is not so much about the movie but more about the concept.
So many of us have lists of things we’d like to accomplish during our lifetime. Some folk’s lists are more altruistic than others. For example, you could want to “rescue a dog or cat from a shelter”, “make a tangible difference in someone’s life”, “find a cure to cancer” or just “be happy”. Other folk’s list are more selfish, and could include things like: “earn a million dollars”, “own a Ferrari”, “Find a beautiful wife/husband”.
Multisport athletes are no exception to the rule. We love to have lists of things we either want to do, things we want to buy, or things we’d love to accomplish.
For the longest time, my bucket list included (1) do a marathon and (2) become an Ironman. My list wasn’t a “do it before I die” list, but rather a “do it for my 40th” list. I set out in 2009 to do both of these things, and lo and behold, I did. In February 2009 I ran my first marathon (26.2 with Donna, The National Marathon to End Breast Cancer) and… Read the rest
photo: www.cyclelicio.us
Yesterday’s ride was one of the more difficult rides I’ve experienced in a long time.
“Dude,” you might say “you live in Florida. How hard can any ride be for you? Riding there is flatter than riding in my bathtub.”
Yes. It is indeed flat here. But it can be notoriously windy here as well.
I get that it can be windy all over the place. In fact, I suspect that the US plains are equally windy as Florida for the simple virture that there are few trees out there to slow down the wind.
I’ve got to tell you, though, yesterday was WINDY. That wind made for one rough bike ride.
My ride yesterday was not all that long. Just 25 miles. But, OH MY GOD it was hard. The headwind was absolutely brutal. I rode 12 miles into a head and crossing wind. Despite being in my aero bars and working my a$$ off the entire time, I never got above 16mph. I got blown around like I’ve never been blown before. I literally thought I was going to get blown over once, and I was riding my training wheels – not even my aero wheels. It was unbelievable. I can only imagine what folks experience out in Kona where they face the Trade Winds during the race.
As rough as the first half of the ride was, the second half was a walk in the park. I topped 30mph… Read the rest
Photo: Gregg Matthews/NY Times
They say that practice makes perfect. The more you do something, the better you become. Faster. Stronger.
They also say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Both are true statements. But only one applies. At least when it comes to my swimming ability and proficiency.
I’ve never been the fastest swimmer around. I’m not the slowest either by any stretch, but no Ryan Lochte am I. Over the past several years, I have seen my open water swim times come down pretty nicely. For example, at IMKY in 2009, I swam the 2.4 miles in 1:35:xx, or roughly 2:15/100yds. I went slightly faster at IMFL two months later, coming in at 1:24:xx (1:59/100yds) in a wetsuit swim. Last year I experienced perhaps the greatest improvement I’ve seen in my swim. Take for example my first “big” race last year – Rev3 Knoxville. I did the Olympic race, and finished the wetsuit-legal swim in 33:13 (2:01/100yds). Three months later, I did a non-wetsuit Olympic race in 32:03 (1:57/100yds). Big-time improvement.
So…proof that I’m not fast, but getting better in general.
I’ve been swimming more this year than the past several years, and I’m able to notice a big difference in my ability.
Part of the change is a result of some coaching I received. Even though I thought my stroke was OK, I received some coaching that I was cutting my recovery and starting my catch way too early. Basically I wasn’t extending… Read the rest
Today’s tidbit of advice….just because someone looks like a pro, don’t assume they are.
Here’s the back story to that advice. It’s actually a slightly funny story.
Rewind almost 24 hours. I arrive at my local swimming hole to do my “typical” swim set. 2500 yards. Nothing special. A warm up, a nice kick set, a pull set, some 50′s, some 100′s and a couple of 250′s. Like many triathletes, I go to the pool arms loaded with supplies. Water bottle. Workout in plastic ziplock bag. Fins. Kick board. Pull buoy. Goggles. Team Trakkers visor (it’s now a retro clothing item). The requisite triathlon race shirt.
There were lots of kids doing swim practice, so I had to jump in and share a lane with a younger lady and a dude who appeared to be roughly my age (of course, he could have been 20 years younger than me – but anyone who looks post-adolescent and pre-retirement is “roughly” my age).
I swam off and did my warm-up. As I was stretching and getting ready to start the main set, the guy started hitting me up with questions.
“Why do you have those fins?”
“Every time I swim, my legs sink. What should I do differently?”
“I need new goggles. What kind are yours?”
Some of his questions were easy, low hanging fruit (like the goggles question). Other questions required a master’s degree in swimming to answer. Luckily, John – one of the swim team coaches – was on the… Read the rest
My friend Jeff considers the sport of triathlon to be one of five elements, not three. Yes, the main elements are swimming, biking and running. Considerable time is often spent, however, in the fourth and fifth elements…better known as transition.
As most of us know, T1 is the transition from swim to bike. T2 is the transition from bike to run. For those among us who are efficient and speedy, these transitions can be relatively quick (like 60 seconds quick). For others, valuable minutes can creep by while we are in transition.
I should know. I am notoriously slow in transition. The graph below shows my transition times from the races I did in 2011.
Of the four races, only Hammerhead was a non-wetsuit swim.
These times…well, they are GLACIAL. Almost 5 minutes in T1 in Knoxville? No excuse.
I’ve often just told myself that slow transitions are part of the way I race. I’ve settled with being slow. Here’s the reality…it’s free time. Essentially, going fast in transition is a near effortless reduction in overall race time. Take, for example, Knoxville. I wanted to go sub-3 hours. I didn’t. I went 3:00:26. Had I not spent six minutes 44 seconds in transition, I would have met my goal.
Transition time is free time. It just doesn’t come without practice.
This season, I’m going to be working on getting faster in transition. How, you might ask? I’ve been listening to folks (well….previously I’ve only heard folks chatter… Read the rest
I currently have perhaps the lowest amount of running fitness that I’ve had in three or four years. I can literally (and quite sadly) count the number of times I’ve run in 2012 on one hand. While I’ve started working on that, the bottom line is that runs hurt.
My quads hurt and get tired. My heart rate spikes. I’m not really enjoying running right now – because I’m so out of “run shape”. Almost every time I run, I get just a little bit into it, and start having thoughts about stopping.
You know. Thoughts like, “just walk 50 yards.” Or, “I just need to catch my breath.” Many of us fall into this trap. In fact, I suspect it’s thoughts like these that keep lots of folks from ever really getting into shape. They fight with themselves, and eventually just give up. I’m no stranger to these thoughts (as evidenced by my prior writings on the mental aspects of endurance sports).
This morning during my run, the same thing happened. I got about a mile in, and was ready to stop. Only this time I didn’t. Instead of having that internal conversation with myself regarding the merits of walking or not walking, I decided to completely take my mind off of it.
How?
I started counting. Each time my left foot hit, I counted. I counted up to 250 paces, and then started over. I did it until I was done with my 4.5 mile run.
Guess… Read the rest
Well, here we are at the end of the first month of 2012. The year is roughly 8% done. 1/12th over. The clock is spinning, and of course there’s no stopping it.
And I’m officially behind where I wanted to be.
How sad is that?
Even though I’m not “really” training for much right now, I am supposed to be in the midst of a general “prep” phase that should last through February. At the beginning of the year, I laid out my plans for the year (here) which include swimming a quarter million yards, running at least 750 miles, and biking at least 1600 miles. Well, one month down, and I’m lagging against those goals.
So far, I have swum exactly 11,700 yards, cycled 16 miles, and ran exactly zero miles. That translates to 56.16% of my swim target, 12% of my cycling target and a big goose-egg on the run. Spectacular.
Why did I miss? No excuses here – I just didn’t prioritize my training compared to other things. I didn’t get my butt out of bed in the mornings to run or ride the bike trainer. I let work get in the way (dang – who needs a job anyway?). I spent time with my family. Valid reasons for not training, for sure, but those things don’t do anything to help meet my training goals – or my weight, for that matter.
And so, I’ve recalibrated my targets for February as a… Read the rest
On January 29, 2012,
in
Disclosure: The producers of TriMadness strongly discourage the behavior described below. Do not attempt this at home. The producers neither condone nor support the after-effects of said activities. The risk is yours. Be afraid. Very afraid.
Not actually me. No armpits were seriously hurt in the making of this post.
”Feel the burn!”
It’s an all-too familar refrain in the gym. Muscle-bound weighlifters shout it at each other. Football players think it as they run suicides. Triathletes feel it after sitting on their bike for too long without some sort of anti-chafe balm.
TriMadness experienced something reminiscent of the photo above last night after having completed…….a swim workout!
Paint the picture: Last night’s workout consisted of 3500 yards with an emphasis on focusing on arm-work. Namely my catch and pull. The workout went really well. Hit most of my intervals, kept my heart rate in check, felt good about my stroke. All was great in the world.
I had a social engagement following my swim workout, so I proceeded home, took the requisite shower and started getting dressed. And then came the most painful thing I have experienced in years.
I put on deodorant.
And then someone apparently held a blow torch underneath my armpits. For an hour.
Immediately upon spreading a little Old Spice Swagger, I screamed like a little girl, started hopping up and down, waved my arms as if I were trying to take flight, and looked for something cool to place… Read the rest
This past weekend was full to the brim with activities in the TriMadness household. The plethora of events that happened lend themselves well to a random-type post, so here you go…
- I am typically what you might call mechanically challenged. Especially when it comes to my bike. Now, of course I can do the basics….like change a tube or tighten my brakes. But, I’ve never been one to do what I’d call more serious stuff (even though in the grand scheme of things, most of what I’d call “serious” isn’t really). Like many triathletes, I own two sets of wheels. My problem at this point is that I only have one cassette. Considering myself far too miserly to just go buy another cassette, I’ve adopted the stance that I can just swap the cassette between wheels. Herein is the problem. Before this weekend, I didn’t know how to really do the swap myself, so I would always take my wheels to my local bike shop and pay them about $20 to do the swap for me. Finally, my miserly self reared its ugly head and drove me to purchase a chain whip and cassette tool this weekend. I’m quite happy to report that on Saturday I successfully removed my cassette, thoroughly cleaned the cogs, and then reinstalled the cassette upon my 2nd set of wheels. I was quite satisfied with myself.
- I finally broke down and set up my bike trainer. I’ve realized that there simply isn’t enough daylight
