Openwater swim...

Wow is all I can say.

We signed in at the ramp and they separated us into male and female groups. They ladies went first. They herded us down the ramp and into the water like cows in a shoot to be slaughtered. Actually it wasn't that bad, at least until your feet entered the water. The water was 60 degrees. We stood there about knee deep while they went over a few things, like the buoys that marked the course and which direction we needed to swim, etc... The course they had setup was only about 300 meters today. I was watching the ladies rounding the furthest buoys and it didn't look to bad. After our briefing, the guy said "Ready?" Then, "GO!" and the mock race was on!

I had to wade out a little further before I could dive in to start swimming. Then I immediately stood right back up again. I was completely unprepared for the shock of how cold the water would be, even with a wetsuit on. It quite literally took my breath away. I waded out a little further and began to swim, trying to acclimate myself. It was so hard to force my arms to do the work because it was hard to breathe. Also people were bumping into you. About a third of the way out, I was breast stroking instead of freestyle. I couldn't force myself to keep my head in the water and freestyle like at the pool. The waves, as small as they were made a significant difference. My heart rate had to have been at the 160/minute level if not a bit higher. When I am running, it usually creeps up to about 140. This time it felt like it wanted to jump out of my chest. I grabbed one of the kayaks on the course and the lady that was manning (womanning?) it talked me through calming down and breathing. She asked if I wanted an escort back in. I couldn't help but think that I didn't come here to 'layup'. I said thanks but no. As soon as I thought I could continue I let go and went on.

I had to take hold of a kayak two more times, but I forced myself to complete the course. As I said previously, I was completely unprepared for the effects of the cold water. As I write this, I am thinking about the Titanic. I can't imagine being in that ice cold water for hours on end. I had a wetsuit on and the water was only 60degrees. I have gained new found respect for those that survived that horrible tragedy. What strength of will to live they must have had.

I am glad I did this test swim. My mind is definitely better prepared and knows what to expect the next time. The wetsuit was definitely a God-send. Not only did it help with the warmth, but it gave me some buoyancy that allowed me to be able to rest by floating when I had to. I know that without it there is no way I would have been able to do this. Also, while training in a pool is fine for developing strength and stamina, there is definitely no substitute for open water training. It is a completely different beast. I will have to incorporate more open water swim time next event I do.

We also had a test run for the running course. While running really isn't my bag (I'm not sure any of this is) it was nice to be able to run it ahead of time to know where you are going. I am able to hold to about a 12 minute average pace. A friend, Wes, ran with me at the start and then at about a mile I told him to go ahead, and off he went. I think he completed his run in about 25 minutes. He probably would have done much better if he hadn't been holding back with me. I think back to my Army days and my best on a two mile timed run was about 15.5 minutes. I think that the old adage is true: Youth is wasted on the young. I would kill at this point to run an 8 minute mile pace again.

Two more weeks and I will be able to call myself a tri-athlete. I never thought I would be doing something like this at 48 years, but I am glad I am (thanks again Stan!)

BTW--Thanks to all you who have contributed at this point. I know it will be a blessing to Diane and her children, but I want you to know that it has been a blessing to me as well. Very encouraging to know that there are people in my life, both centrally and peripherally, that have hearts that are generous and compassionate. I pray that God bless you all in ways that even you can't imagine.

Bad last week...

Last week was spring break for my sons. A time of rest, relaxation and cessation from school. For me...not so much. I started with a dry cough on Sunday. I did my swimming on Tuesday (1500 meters) in about 48 minutes. I felt worn down and my time showed it as it was 3-4 minutes more than I normally take to complete the distance. By Wednesday I was in the doctor's office. While, "You have pneumonia" aren't the worst words I have ever heard, they sure brought me down and put a cramp in my training. Doctor's orders were rest, take the meds, drink plenty of fluids. No training.

I got some antibiotics and some steroids (hope they don't pee test me) and they seem to be helping. I am still coughing some, but the bubbling sound from my lungs is gone. I'm pretty sure that is good. I am going to resume training this week and will be bricking two events per work out. It's crunch time now.

This weekend on Sunday they are having a pre-race clinic and an open water practice swim. This will be the first open water swim that I have done. Everybody goes to the beach and splashes around in the ocean, does a little body surfing, and gets salt water in their mouth/nose, and hangs out around the shore line. For me, other than in a boat, this will be the first time that I have ventured out this far from shore, which is a little mentally unsettling given stories of undertows, etc... However, I am stoked about the challenge of all this and there will be lots of volunteers in kayaks, boats, and other floating stations should I need a break.

Stay tuned and I will tell you how the open water swim goes.

More Triathlon news

As I begin to write this, it is 30 days, 22 hours, and 35 minutes until the start of the race. After last night I now know that I can do the entire Triathlon and complete it. Last night I bricked all three events: the 500 meter swim; the 12.5 mile bike ride; and the 3.1 mile run. I completed all three events in 102 minutes. The swim took me 14 minutes; the bike ride took me 51 minutes, and the run lasted 37 minutes. These are raw times with no transition time added, so it will be a few more minutes added during the race. I am feeling pretty good about it right now. It was a big confidence builder to do this.

I was trying to think the last time I put so much time in on doing something like this and it has to have been within a couple years of graduating college. I used to do a lot of biking and I would do a 50 mile loop once or twice a week. That would take me a little less than 3 hours. That's probably 16 or 17 years ago. A lot of water has gone under the bridge, and more than a few pounds added under the belt. It is my goal to get down to a 'fighting weight' of about 230 this year.

The next step for the triathlon is to do a couple open water swims. I still need to get my wetsuit to do that though. The bay water temp is about 58 degrees right now. BRRRRR! I imagine it will be up a few degrees in 30 days, but it still sounds pretty cold.

1 month since my last post...

Wow. Time sure flies. It is now March 4th and it has been a month since my last post. I continue to swim 3 days a week and run and bike on other days. I believe I have made some good progress. Over the last two weeks I have increased my swim sessions from 11 laps to 33. That's 1500 meters or 1.5 kilometers. I can definitely go further and longer without stopping. I felt really good in the pool and made significant headway on working on swimming and breathing. Getting a rhythm down for breathing isn't as easy as it looks. Definitely have to be able to breath to do this. The biking is the easiest of the three for me and I am averaging about 15mph. No speed demon, but it will be fine for this event. In the beginning I thought the swim would be the worst event for me. However, the running is the hardest. My runs still average about 12-13 minutes a mile. My time is significantly influenced by my weight, which continues to hover around the 267 area, but I have noticed my pants are definitely looser now. I can run more laps on the track now without dropping to a walk.

I have started 'bricking' my workouts now too. This means that I put at least two of the events together back to back once a week. Swim/Bike or Bike/Run usually. The swim and the bike takes me about 65 minutes. The bike and the run take me about 90 minutes. I am targeting bricking all three next week. This should give me a feel for what I can expect when I do the actual Sprint Triathlon. I am thinking that all three will be about 105 to 110 minutes.

time to event 36: 18: 58: 16
Days Hours Mins Secs


TTFN
Pete