4 Days From Austin Trek Triathlon

Good Morning, 

  Here I am 4 days from triathlon start. Check out  video for my fun inspiration for the day.
 I need to talk to my swim team coaches. Maybe we can incorporate this type of training at the pool? Make it a fund raiser for the team...people can come whack me with bumpers for a $1 a hit.  We could set something like this up for triathletes on the team prior to their races!!

It’s really like this in the water. Your adrenalin is surging, you feel dizzy waiting on the starter horn for your wave. Then it's a death metal mash pit in the water. Arms and legs wind milling everywhere. Like a pack of lemmings, surging forward, you can’t really see where you are going; it only matters now that you GO. The lake water is nasty, smelly and dank. There are slimy unspeakables entangling your feet as you run in... The faster you swim, the faster you get out.  I am Not fast(yet)!Try not to swallow the water. You'll only get a stomach ache.

  I am as ready as I can be. I haven't been 100 % for the last 2 weeks. I think I am finally broke from my pizza craving.... I was miserable last week after eating 3 Very small slices on Monday night(wheat allergy). Bad enough, my boss & I discussed if I should go to the ER to see if it was appendicitis. Allergies are up and so is asthma with this cooler weather I crave.  I know I can do it. I completed the distances for all events both days the last 2 weekends. The race is different though, it’s you and all of them. Those other triathletes.  Regardless I paid my fee, I want my technical shirt. I want my time! I need the floating euphoria of achievement. I even have the names of a few local cancer survivors to write into my jersey… I'll be running for them, when I don't want to run for myself!

 I don't know why it matters but it does. I won’t have anyone there on the ground supporting me.  Wake up at 7:30 Sunday morning and send out good vibes. I train alone.  I make my schedule; I break my schedule (I shouldn't). I will tri alone.  Mostly I want the good vibes when I am finished. Stupid from exertion. Unbelieving that I DID IT! When I need to be reminded to eat, to load Ms Bianchi & double check her, when I can't fall asleep driving the 3+ hours home.

 Enjoy the video. The picture is my pre-race photo from my first triathlon. The Skeese Greets. I'm a little leaner, a little more endurable. This race is a little longer, a little hillier.

 Wish me well, 

Simulated Self Supported Triathlon Training

Here's a quick note and a link to a few pictures from my last 2 weekend endeavors. I am getting ready to learn about triathlon first hand at the Skeese Greets Womans Sprint Triathlon

 I planned and completed 3 self supported sprint tris at training pace as training modules for myself.  I'll be completing my first sprint triathlon this Sunday!

 Last Friday I planned ahead & called TAMU Recc center to ask about lap lanes and opening. They opened at 8Am & for $10 I could get a day guest pass. Not bad when I only needed the pool for 10 minutes. I got some gear together & went to bed & couldn't sleep! I didn't want to sleep past the alarm. Finally I got up around 4AM.  This allowed plenty of time to get everything together. Breakfast was steel cut oats with a scoop of protein powder, blackberries & pumpkin seeds along with a cup of Scottish Breakfast Tea sweetened with grade B Maple Syrup( tasty).

 After my meal, my table transformed into T1 & T2( Transition Zones)

Running shoes, helmet with sunglasses inserted, gloves, camel-back( filled with weak green, peppermint & yerba mate tea & grated ginger) The caffeine drinks were to provide a little extra kick since I usually consume 1 cup of tea a day, while the peppermint and ginger were  preventive measures for gastrointestinal distress. Next was a few first aid items, naproxen sodium, Icy-Hot, sunscreen, mosquito spray.

 For foods & hydration I peeled several Cuties and halved them. These are the sweetest little oranges anywhere! Another baggie contained cubed cantaloupe. I also had a thermos of extra Vega Sports drink and a bottle full of green smoothie.  I remember how good the PB & J sandwiches were from ZentriCamp so I made 2 & cubed them. Lastly I whipped a banana, cacao nibs, and blackberry smoothie to put in the fridge for the afterward treat!. All IN All I had WAY too much food! I  drank 1/2 the watered down tea, 11/2 bottles of Vega Sport Drink, ate all the cantaloupe, 2 Cuties & 1 pb& j quarter throughout my trial.

When I arrived at the pool  this was the one day the TAMU team was in all lanes. I had to delay the start until 11:30 and swim at the Bryan Aquatic Center. Not too bad really. I swim there during the week. The humidity was between 90 and 88%, causing me to be sweating like crazy even with the temps only being in  low 80s. This would not have been an issue with an 8AM start, as the temps were in the upper 50s, but that's why its a trial. I spent more time driving to and from the pool than I did in the water.

 I thought I was organized but T1 took 29 minutes, most of it driving back home. Once in the house, the eldest cat needed a quick bite, while I was setting up my pit stop on the hood of the TDI. My next mistake was measuring out a bike loop in an online map and not driving the course. Its a good thing this 'course' was a test tri for me and me alone! If there wasn't a stop light, there was a stop sign on every single block. There was also a Bud Tour softball tournament in town, increasing traffic significantly. I never even made it into the big ring on the bike. My bike computer also wasn't registering anything. The silver lining from this casual bike loop was I didn't feel too at the beginning of the run.

Off the bike, I rolled it into the house & turned right around much to the furry worries confusion, to head back out.I already had my running shoes on, I biked in them. I slurped 2 cantaloupe cubes & grabbed the packet of Luna Moons. My run route was 2  'there & back' trips on the shaded path in the park across the way. In Texas people don't look for the closest parking spot, they search for shade. Its that important. My run is a walk-run combo. I started trotting. I was surprised at how ok I felt.  Running is hard for me! I'm migrating away from a fat collecting lifestyle, but this takes time. It was hot. Sweat was dripping to the pavement like a summer rain. I looped by the car  and gulped down Vega Sports drink and chewed a Luna Moon, I was too hot for anything heavier. I was slow and moving slower. My last loop I was beginning to feel the goose bumps heralding heat-sickness.

 I did it! Almost as slow the Colorado exposing a new epoch of rocks in the Grand Canyon. I gathered up my overabundance of pit stop goodies and went in grateful to get out of sopping wet gear. After a shower I finished digging a flowerbed and enjoyed nap.

Sunday I didn't feel any worse than after a regular workout, so I planned a new bike loop and repeated the swim, bike, run test. I did cut off time on the bike, slowed down on the swim, and speed up a little on the run-walk. The problem is, I really only have two speeds at this juncture... Forward or Not Moving...  This Saturday, I repeated my test tri. The new bike loop cut a bunch of time off the event. All my times were about the same as I was keeping to a training pace. I finished in under 1 hour 45 minutes... which is my target! I'd like to speed up a little but while I am doing the event I don't physically feel like I can go any faster, yet when it is over I am recovered and ready to go again in 2-3 hours.

Swim: 300  9:27
Bike: 12.4 Mi 33:27(best)
Run: 2.2 Mi 24:32
Pictures are here
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2961625&id=8330713&l=af7c3c7b4b

Wish me Fun and Luck. I've had plenty of examples of incredible perseverance, most recently from the Epic 5 Team!Cheer Rich Roll and Jason Lester on as they raise funds for Never Stop. Click here for live coverage. I may never be as fast or as endurable... but my arms are in the water,  my feet are on the path and my bum is in the bike seat.