Branson 70.3 Tomorrow

Today's the day. Not the day of the race, but the day I get to go over and pick up my race packet and get all checked in for the Branson 70.3. My wife and I will drive over to the host hotel, I'll show them my ID, I'll pick up my swim cap and the obligatory tee-shirt, and I'll look at all the high-priced memorabilia in the Ironman store. There'll be a meeting I have to attend to explain the rules and logistics, then I'll go down to the beach and check in my bike and get my body marked. I'll probably go on over to The Landing and get my running stuff dropped off at T2 so I don't have to mess with that in the morning. After that, who knows.

My goal for this year is to do a little better than last year. The biggest opportunity is on the bike. I brought my Garmin so I can keep track of my speed. However, I plan to consume more calories this year than last year. That should make the biggest difference. I don't think I ate enough last year and by the end of the ride I was dragging. The hills here in Branson aren't a joke, so it's going to take a lot of Clif/Powerbars to get this done.

One thing that worries me are my various knees. They have been sore for a little while. Nothing major, just a little ache when I walk and stuff. Those little aches can turn into big pains when trying to run 13.1 miles. I did give them some rest leading up to tomorrow, so maybe it'll be OK. Still, I thought I'd better go ahead and get my excuse out there for why I might not finish.

Should I try for a full Ironman? I'll let you know after tomorrow. I'd like to say I finished one, I just don't know if I have the patience to train for one. Anyways, two 70.3s completed a year apart make ones 140.6, right?

The Grossest Part About Cycling

Today, Labor Day, I got in 56 miles on the bike, completing the 70.3 weekend! Yeah!
It got hot out there today. It was 91 degrees when I got back, and I was feeling it. Over the 56 miles I saw a number of other cyclists, a few turtles, and two horses with riders. Oh, and I only fell off my bike once.

Warning: Skip down to the asterisks if you do not wish to read about cycling and male physiology.

Sometimes on these longer rides I develop a little discomfort in the Nethers. Of course I try to reposition myself on the saddle to alleviate my discomfort, but eventually I realize it's going to take some, uh, manual manipulation to rectify the situation. So, I look around to make sure there are no witnesses, and then I, um, reach down to free myself, as it were. That really should be all I write about that, but there is one more thing to say about it. The point of relaying this to you is that once I've found myself, often I can't feel it because it's numb, like when you lie on your arm too long. Am I the only one? I'm sure this is where the phrase "numb nuts" comes from.

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I saw a dude out riding today, and though his bike wasn't exactly a recumbent, the guy had a chair for a saddle. I'm not kidding. It had a back and a nice wide seat and everything. Man, I bet he never has to re-adjust. I wonder if he even wears bike shorts.

Warning: Skip down to the asterisks if you don't want to read about bike shorts.

The grossest thing about cycling is the bike shorts. I'm not talking about how us guys look wearing them, though you could make a case for that. I'm talking about that giant pad in the bottom that's intended to cushion your ride. I still feel like a newbie, so I remember when I got my first pair of shorts, looked on the inside and thought, "What the what? Someone sewed a Depends up in these things!" And this is why it's so gross; I assume you're not supposed to wear undies with you bike shorts.

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Occasionally I tell people yes, when you first start riding you'll be sore in a few places you're not supposed to be sore, but the more you ride the more comfortable you get. I still get achy in my lower back when riding, but after researching a little more, it seems like I just need to ride more miles, and perhaps work on my core. Lately I've been trying to stretch my lower back as well. I'm not great at stretching out, I haven't made it a habit, but I think it's helped my back.

OK, I need to go. I gotta get the grill going and get my protein grilled. Happy Labor Day!

Katy Trail

14.3 Miles So Far

Friday I swam 2000 meters and today, Sunday, I ran* 13.1 miles. Tomorrow I hope to bike at least 56 miles. That will complete my 70.3 weekend, albeit out of order.

As I finished my swim on Friday morning it started raining here, and it was glorious. Thank you hurricane Isaac for gracing us with your presence. It rained Friday and Saturday, but not a big gully washer. It was just a good steady rain, and we needed it bad. So because of the rain on Saturday I elected to lift weights, even though I haven't touched them for about a month. I did squats, bench, and chin-ups, 5 sets each, all high reps, and immediately got sore.

I was feeling it this morning, but decided I'd get the run in today. So right after church I started in on my half marathon. I basically did 4 5K loops around my hood. I'd pick up Powerade and nutrition as I looped around my house.

And this is why I'm The Pretend Triathlete. It started out well, Garmin said I was doing 7:30 miles, but by the end it was closer to 10:00 and I was feeling it. As I ended my last loop, the longest loop as it worked out, I saw that we had visitors at the house, friends of the family. They were just getting ready to leave as I arrived. So here I am wanting to sit down, or die, and I need to engage in a little small talk and chit-chat. At one point I leaned up against the house to catch my breath. They drove off and I'm sure wondered why I was so tired. It was obvious I'd been out running, they could plainly see that, but they probably thought that I was seriously out of shape. They may be right.

Tomorrow I'll try to get out early and ride and complete my 70.3 weekend. I need to get some good training in this week, because next week I have a very busy schedule and it may be tough to work out. Then on September 23 I'll be in Branson at the 70.3 race. On that day I have to do all 70.3 miles in one day.

*I had to walk a couple of times. Hey, my knee started hurting, give me a break!

Cycling on TV

Well, Christian Van de Velde of team Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda won the USA Pro Challenge. Good for him! I know nothing of that guy, but Christian is a good name for a guy, and I have a nephew named Christian. One of my favorite books is about a guy named Christian who rides his bike along the narrow way all the way to Heaven, so that's reason enough to cheer for him.

In sadder Garmin news the strap on my Garmin Forerunner 305 broke. See:

Garmin strap

The clasp thing came off the end of the strap because the plastic cracked. I tried to fix it with duct tape a couple of times, but it keeps coming off. I suppose I could complain to Garmin, but I've used this for a year and a half, so I'll probably just go to Wal-Mart and get a band for eight bucks or so. I don't know.

Speaking of watching cycling on TV in hopes it makes you a better cyclist, I complained during the Olympics, probably on Twitter, that I didn't have the Universal Sports network. I discovered this weekend that I do have that channel. It's way up on 402, but it's not an HD channel, so kind of happy, still kind of sad. At any rate, they have a lot of cycling.

They also have triathlons. Over the weekend I watched two sprint triathlons staged in Hamburg. The swim took them through this tunnel thing, and the bike route went through the transition area on the second loop. Some non-Americans won, but on the podium they gave them these huge glasses of beer. I'm serious. These glasses were taller than donkeys. I am now training for the Hamburg Sprint Triathlon.

Ok, see you tomorrow morning at the pool. If you get there early, cut a hole in the ice.

Swimming with a Wetsuit, in the Dark?

The day before today I got up and was at the pool by 6AM. It's still dark here in Missouri at 6AM this time of year, and as I mentioned in an earlier post, we're swimming at the outdoor pool. So with my shaded goggles I could just make out the stripe on the bottom of the pool, but I did come close to hitting my head on the wall the first couple of laps.

Swimming in the dark was interesting, but the significant point about this workout is how easy it felt. That's due, I'm sure, to my wetsuit.

Wetsuit Badge

I think my wetsuit is called the Oceanic Vantage, or something like that. From everything I've read, the wetsuit can help you swim faster, both anecdotal evidence and actual studies seem to indicate it's true. One way to tell if it helps you is to count your strokes per lap with and without the suit. If you're taking fewer strokes per lap with, then, all things being equal, it should be helping. Naturally, you'll still need to employ good form (someone tell me how to do that).

So I swam 1500 meters yesterday morning, and, since the air temp was 70 degrees, I thought, "Let's break out the wetsuit so that I look like a pansy when the senior citizens show up and swim in their bathers." Nevermind the swim time, it's not important since it was so pathetic. What I want to tell you is it didn't feel like it was a chore to get through those meters. I felt like I was gliding through, um, water. The suit provided enough buoyancy for my legs so that they didn't feel like anchors.

It's nice that the indoor pool is shut down and I'm able to swim outside with a wetsuit for practice. My first triathlon of the year is generally in June or July, and by then the water is too warm for a suit. Last year I rented a suit, it arrived on Thursday, I swam a few laps at the indoor pool on Friday morning, and I was racing with it on Sunday. The extra practice this year should help.

OK, gotta go. Need to ride today.

Cold Water Training

Yesterday I got up and the thermometer said the temperature outside was 56 degrees. Burr! I went on over to the pool, which is about a block from my house. Normally it isn't that close, but through July and August it is. Well, the city drains the indoor pool every July for cleaning and maintenance. Generally they open it back up in August. While it's closed they open the outdoor pool in the morning for lap swimming. This August, however, we are still swimming in the outdoor pool because they lack a part to fix the indoor pool. I don't mind swimming outside. In fact, I prefer it, but I forgot what 56 degrees felt like this summer.

At any rate, I get into the water, and promptly freeze my butt off. Since the pool is a block from home, I decide to go home and get my wetsuit. I acquired said wetsuit circa 1996 when I was stationed in Okinawa and did some diving. Now I know why I kept it all these years. Actually, I thought the suit performed well, and I'll probably wear it at the Branson 70.3 next month. It's only 3mm thick. I understand the maximum allowed by rule is 5mm. I may look like a dork swimming with a diving suit (it has these pieces of plastic that cover the knees), but that's OK, I'll save a few bucks. Last year I rented a wetsuit.

The only thing about this wetsuit is that it was hard to get off. I may swim again in the morning with it, but I'll try that body glide and see if that helps me get it off. It's sleeveless, which after using a full-sleeved one last year, I decided to go with anyways, but it's still hard to get it off past my ankles and heels.

Today, the last day I had off before back to work tomorrow, I rode 33 miles and then ran a 5K. The temps were in the mid 80s when I got done at around noon, so a can't complain about that, not this summer. If the water is as cold tomorrow as it was Monday, I may feel obligated to complain about that, though.

Training While on Vacation?

Last week we had the opportunity to make our pilgrimage to that most holy of children's Meccas otherwise known as Disney World. I'd never been, so you can imagine my sense of fulfillment once I gazed upon that magnificent geodesic sphere known as Spaceship Earth! But was I able to train while in the sunshine state? Well, you be the judge.

Blue Angel at the Florida welcome center!

We left home last Saturday morning with Lindsay Buckingham's Holiday Road playing in our heads. Our goal was Meridian, Mississippi, where we spent Saturday night. The hotel had a "health center" which consisted of a Nautilus machine, an old stair climber machine, and a treadmill. I decided to use the Nautilus. It had a station for benching, lat pull downs, leg extensions, and all that. The "health center" was in a room that measured about 12' x 14'. There were three young girls in there when I arrived (early twenties, late teens? I can't tell anymore). They evidently couldn't figure out how to work the Nautilus, because when I started using it they were like, "Oh, OK." Then they started ribbing me a little with, "Oooh, gettin' buff. You come see us once you get all buff." Thankfully they left and I could work out in peace.

I worked my girly pecs and then did some lat pull downs. I worked for about forty-five minutes, and if you hear me now you can believe me later, I felt da burn.

The next day, Sunday, we got up and drove on in to Pensacola, Flo Rida. We spent the day and that night on Pensacola Island. At the beach I tried to swim a little. I did a few laps swimming out and back in. Because of the rip tide that day swimming out was much easier than swimming in. I'd be swimming out, then look up, and I was half way to the Yucatan. But coming back in felt like I was towing a raft full of Cubans. Altogether I don't think I swam any significant distance. We did rent a kayak, and that thing punished my shoulders and arms, not to mention blisters on my hands. I've been wanting to get a kayak and I know now to get one with a back rest.

Pensacola Island

Big shell at Pensacola Island

On Monday I got up to do a beach run. Now, it had been a long time since I "ran" on a beach, and it was a lot harder than I remember or I'm just getting too old. It's been six days since that run and I can still feel it in my calves! What's up with that? It's not like I never run. At any rate, I "ran" three miles in the sand. We then packed up and headed for Orlando Bloom.

Our resort at Disney, I was happy to see, had a pool, and it looked to be about 35 or 40 meters long. However, on Tuesday morning I got up and ran four miles around the resort. There was a nice walk way around a lake and at that hour I was able to run without encountering a lot of people.

After my run, we got ready and went in to the Magic Kingdom. We opened the place up, and we pretty much closed it down. I'd like to count all that walking and standing around as training, but my six-year-old walked just as far as I did that day, so I don't think I can include it! Keep in mind, though, my calves are already sore from the sand run, and every time I stop to take a break, they get all stiff and it takes a few steps to get them going again. (I know, boo hoo!)

So we get back to the room late Tuesday, and on Wednesday I get up to swim. I was able to get a few laps in before some other folks started showing up. Who's ready to hit the pool before 8AM unless you're doing laps? Well, some people are. One end of the pool was zero entry, so I'd swim down until my hands hit the bottom, then turn around and go back. I maybe got ten laps in before I called it quits. Then it was off to Epcot and more walking. We once again opened it up and closed it down.

Excited aobut Captain EO

Thursday I slept in and didn't do anything, except walk all around the Disney Hollywood Park, or whatever you call it. We saw everything we wanted to see by about seven that night, so we went on back to our suite. And really, that's all the work outs I got in. Of course, the vacation wasn't about working out, but you might think you'd have more time to get some work outs in while on vacation. That wasn't necessarily the case this time. My wife keeps talking about a beach vacation where we get a house and spend a week with nothing planned except hanging at the beach. Perhaps some day, and I'll be ready for that beach run.

So, how productive was my week? In terms of family it was great. Work outs, not so much, but that's OK. It's not like I have a 70.3 in Branson in about 35 days. Oh, wait, I do? That's not good.