Triathlon from the other side

I participated as a member of a triathlon race committee for the first time (swim coordinator), and really enjoyed being on the "other side" of the race. The race was held this past weekend, and we had about 400 participants. It was a lot of fun, and I'll definitely be doing more of this in the future. I already knew that the race directors worked hard to put on a race, but I still was impressed with the amount of planning and effort that goes into making a triathlon happen. My hat is off to the race directors, staff members, and volunteers that all work so hard to provide a fun and safe race!

Training-wise, it was a pretty light week by design. I knew my weekend would be consumed with the race course set up and the race itself, and I was also due for a recovery week. I'm back into full training mode this week. One piece of exciting news is that my new bike (Cervelo P2) is due today, so I'm anxiously awaiting the UPS man! :)

Successful experiment for coping with heat

Saturday was another day approaching 100 degrees, so it became necessary (at least in my mind) to figure out a way to avoid at least some of that heat. So, I got started early (7 am) and did the first 80 miles outside on the road, completing a little before noon. It was already getting really hot at that point, and I could feel the effects. As soon as I got back, I just got cooled off for a few minutes (less than 10), and did the rest of the miles on the computrainer with the fans going full blast. The CT is always a good workout, so I did not feel at all like I was short-changing the training; but it certainly did help to get out of the sun. When I was finished on the CT, I got on my running shorts and went out for the run portion of the day. It was brutally hot at this point, but I was much better off than if I had stayed in the sun that entire time. I broke the run up into two loops that both ended at my house, so in between I could come in and cool off for two minutes and drink some cold water.

Bottom line was that I was able to complete 100 miles worth of biking and 5 miles of running on a day that full sun and was well over 90 degrees. Without that hour break from the sun at the end of the bike, I'm sure I would have been close to heat exhaustion. I remember full well when I trained for IM FL a couple years ago, coming in after similar days feeling dizzy and just collapsing on the floor. Unless I planned on racing in 100 degree heat, there just is no need for that. It does not help your training (in my opinion), it actually has a negative effect since you slow down so much and take much longer to recover.

The next morning, I felt well enough that I went out and did a 17 mile run and felt pretty good. I did notice that my heart rate stayed relatively low, which often points to overtraining; so it's a good thing that this is a recovery/tapering week. The body knows when it needs rest!

More heat, more numbers...

As mentioned in last post, not liking the Texas heat much for training. I did a 93 mile bike ride last weekend, and it was 95 degrees by the time I was done. Ouch. I was supposed to do a 5 mile run afterwards, but 3 1/2 was all I decided to brave in the heat I've learned that heat exhaustion does not make for great training. Did a 15 mile run the following morning, but there was actually some cloud cover and a strong wind, so that made things much better. Next weekend I'm supposed to try to hit 100 miles on the bike again. I may experiment with doing the last hour on the computrainer. It is still great bike training, and it will allow me to get out of the heat. The run will still be hot, but at least I'll have been indoors for an hour beforehand. I may even run before the computrainer. Anyone ever tried that?

In other news, being terribly left-brained analytical, I can't help myself but to crunch the numbers once in a while. I'm closing in on 200,000 yds of swimming, 2500 miles of biking, and I'm just over 700 miles of running so far this year. I have decided that ironman triathlons are not so much a question of your level of ability, but more a question of your level of obsession.

Texas heat and lots of training; Real Ale Ride

As usual, summer has arrived early to Central Texas. Been in the 90's pretty steadily now, which can make for some really hot training days, even if you start nice and early. Training is really kicking into full gear now, with about 150 miles of biking and 35 miles of running. The running actually will start picking up now, getting back in the 40 miles/week range.

I did another organized ride, the Real Ale Ride out of Blanco, TX. Starts at ends at the Real Ale brewery in Blanco, and winds through those great back country roads out here in Central Texas. The route I did ended up just short of 78 miles, and was fairly hilly. Nothing dramatic on its own, but just a never-ending series of rolling hills. I'm glad that I already had a bunch of bike mileage in this year, otherwise that could have been rough. Hill Country Running provided a nice option to add a run, complete with a water station at the turnaround point. I had a good run of about 3.5 miles after the bike ride - always good to get in a brick when you can!

Another big week of training this week, ending with a 90 mile bike/5 mile run brick on Saturday; and a 15 mile run on Sunday (followed by another swim clinic).

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Please see this website to read more about the HFK program and to make donations:
RMI Hope For Kidz Website Link

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Race Schedule:

January 11: RunTex 20 Miler (20 mile run) -> COMPLETED

January 25: Frost Yer Fanny Duathlon (27.2 miles run/bike/run) -> COMPLETED

February 15: Austin Marathon (26.2 mile run)-> COMPLETED

April 5: Lonestar 1/2 Ironman Triathlon (70.3 miles swim/bike/run) -> COMPLETED

April 20: Boston Marathon (26.2 mile run) -> COMPLETED

September 19: Redman ironman distanceTriathlon (140.6 miles swim/bike/run)

October 25: Longhorn 1/2 Ironman Triathlon (70.3 miles swim/bike/run)

November 29: Ironman Cozumel Triathlon (140.6 miles swim/bike/run)