Today was the first triathlon of the year. This was a sprint triathlon of .5 mile swim, 19 mile bike and 4 mile run. The day was perfect! It was overcast with east winds of 10-15 mph and 78 degrees. The only down side was the waves in the Atlantic. It was probably 2-3 foot seas rolling into the beach. Sea temp of 76 degrees.
I got to the transition area early and set up my bike and gear. I then stood back and thought about the layout of my gear and decided to re-arrange it again. I probably did that about 3 different times before I was happy with my little area. Finally I grabbed my wetsuit and went to the pre race meeting. That meeting was at 0710 and my wave start wasn't until 0755 so I headed back to my hotel, which was very close by, to avoid the port-a-potties. Once back at the beach I had about a 15 minute wait for my start. I didn't do a swim warm up other than rotating my arms back and forth. Once the cannon, yes they had a cannon, went off I was moving for the water. The waves were breaking for the first 100 to 150 feet off the beach. Then it was just 2-3 foot waves. My reward for not warming up was that I didn't really get into my groove until about halfway down the swim course. The good news is that it wasn't very crowded so I didn't get kicked in the face or swam over. The worst of it was getting a few mouthfuls of water, but I survived and finally made the beach. Once at the beach we had to run 200 meters before the swim to run transition time started.
The first transition went pretty smooth. I need to work on a few things to help me get in and out of transition faster. I had water to spray the sand off my feet but didn't really need it since the run from the water had knocked most of it off. I had a little trouble with my wetsuit but not to much. I was worried the most about forgetting something I might need for the bike. Somehow I got out of there without forgetting anything.
The bike was awesome! The course was well laid out and the Miami PD did a great job controlling traffic. I had a 20.8 mph average and felt great the entire time. I actually think I could have rode harder. I was only passed by four people on the entire bike course. I caught all but one of them before the race ended.
The second transition went pretty smooth also. I got into my bike slot and put the bike away. I put on my running shoes and was starting to head out when I realized that I still had my helmet on. I quickly removed it and started out. I also had to take a pee break before getting out of transition, which cost me some more time.
The run was an out and back along the beach boardwalk. It's a small boardwalk and at some points it got a little crowded but not so bad that I ever had to slow down. Once again I felt great coming off the bike and was able to maintain a 6:28 pace for the entire run. I was lucky enough not to be passed by anyone on the run course. Running is my best event and I look forward to that point of the event. The finish line was on the beach with bleachers filled with spectators cheering and clapping. It was a quick, fast and very enjoyable race.
Times: Swim - 16:04, T1 - 2:20, Bike - 54:44, T2 - 2:45, Run - 25:54
Total time: 1:41:49 which gave me 11th in my age group and 70th overall male.
Life is good!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
This week of tapering is just flying by. I was able to get down to Ft. Lauderdale again today to see my little ladies. We went to the beach for a few hours and body surfed, built a sand castle and dug a huge hole at the high tide line. Then they had a nice dinner of pizza, corn and salad. I just watched and talked with them since I don't eat pizza or corn. After dinner we went and did some shopping for t-shirts. It was a great time and I'm always glad to get a few hours with my girls.
Well if you're new to my blog and you're wondering why I haven't posted any workouts this week it's because I've been seeing my kids, hanging out with my girlfriend and her kids and taking it easy for the Nautica south beach triathlon this Sunday. I'm doing the sprint triathlon in Miami's south beach. The swim is 1/2 mile, the bike is 19 miles and the run is 4 miles. I should be able to get it done in about 1:45:00 minutes. I'll report back on Sunday night to let you know.
Don't look for me the next two night because I'll be traveling a lot over the next 48 hours. Have a great weekend friends.
Well if you're new to my blog and you're wondering why I haven't posted any workouts this week it's because I've been seeing my kids, hanging out with my girlfriend and her kids and taking it easy for the Nautica south beach triathlon this Sunday. I'm doing the sprint triathlon in Miami's south beach. The swim is 1/2 mile, the bike is 19 miles and the run is 4 miles. I should be able to get it done in about 1:45:00 minutes. I'll report back on Sunday night to let you know.
Don't look for me the next two night because I'll be traveling a lot over the next 48 hours. Have a great weekend friends.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Perfect Taper Day
I'm getting ready to do my first triathlon since 1992 on Sunday. I'm ready and excited about the event. So today I didn't do crossfit or swimming or biking or running. What I did was much more important and it's something that will be remembered long after I'm gone and forgotten by most people. I spent the afternoon and evening with my three daughters. My ex rented a house about an hour from where I'm working and today I got to see my girls for the first time in over two weeks. My oldest (8) and I body surfed and boogie boarded together for about an hour. The two little ones (5 & 6) only got into the waves a few times with me. Once it started to get to cold we headed back to the house and played in the pool.
After getting them and myself cleaned up we all went to dinner at a restaurant on the inter-coastal waterway. After dinner we watched people feed big Jack Carvelle fish off the pier by the restaurant. Like all good times with my girls it had to come to an end. So I gave them all hugs and kiss before heading back to my hotel. I know that I was only there for a few hours but I hope that someday far in the future they will remember when "Daddy" came to the beach in FL and played with them. I love them so much!!
After getting them and myself cleaned up we all went to dinner at a restaurant on the inter-coastal waterway. After dinner we watched people feed big Jack Carvelle fish off the pier by the restaurant. Like all good times with my girls it had to come to an end. So I gave them all hugs and kiss before heading back to my hotel. I know that I was only there for a few hours but I hope that someday far in the future they will remember when "Daddy" came to the beach in FL and played with them. I love them so much!!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Bike - Hill repeats
Today I didn't do any crossfit. I'm getting ready for a sprint triathlon this coming weekend in South Beach so I'm "kind of" taking it easy this week. Plus my lady Lisa is in town visiting her brother (and me) so crossfit can wait a few days.
Ok back to the workout that I did today. I took the crossfit endurance workout and made some of my own modifications. I really don't think I'm putting enough time on my body to be competitive in an ironman event. The key word here is competitive!! I do think that if you want to complete an ironman you can do it with nothing other than crossfit and crossfit endurance. However you'll have to do the bike at 16 mph and the run at a 10 minute pace. That is just my opinion after doing two half marathons and a full marathon doing nothing but crossfit and crossfit endurance. Even thought I PR'd each half marathon I was lacking energy and strength in the final few miles. So once again I'm going to be making some modification to my program over the next few weeks.
The crossfit endurance workout today was 12 x 20 second sprints with 2 minute recovery.
Here is the first workout modification. I rode 5 miles spinning at 100 RPM to a bridge that goes over the inter-coastal waterway. I then did 12 hill repeats over that bridge at best possible pace with 30 second recovery. I then returned to my hotel covering the same 5 miles spinning at 100 RPM. Total time today was 1 hour with 17 miles covered.
Remember that my goal is not to just finish Ironman Louisville, but I want to be competitive.
Have a nice day friends!
Ok back to the workout that I did today. I took the crossfit endurance workout and made some of my own modifications. I really don't think I'm putting enough time on my body to be competitive in an ironman event. The key word here is competitive!! I do think that if you want to complete an ironman you can do it with nothing other than crossfit and crossfit endurance. However you'll have to do the bike at 16 mph and the run at a 10 minute pace. That is just my opinion after doing two half marathons and a full marathon doing nothing but crossfit and crossfit endurance. Even thought I PR'd each half marathon I was lacking energy and strength in the final few miles. So once again I'm going to be making some modification to my program over the next few weeks.
The crossfit endurance workout today was 12 x 20 second sprints with 2 minute recovery.
Here is the first workout modification. I rode 5 miles spinning at 100 RPM to a bridge that goes over the inter-coastal waterway. I then did 12 hill repeats over that bridge at best possible pace with 30 second recovery. I then returned to my hotel covering the same 5 miles spinning at 100 RPM. Total time today was 1 hour with 17 miles covered.
Remember that my goal is not to just finish Ironman Louisville, but I want to be competitive.
Have a nice day friends!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Wetsuit swim
On Friday I talked about getting a new wetsuit. Well I did just that with a trip to www.trivillage.com which has a warehouse in Miami. The owners were very helpful and had me try on 4 different suits. I finally decided on a sleeveless Blue Seventy Axis with Quintana Roo swim sleeves. The sleeves give it the feel of a full suit without covering the arms.
Today I found a place to swim inside the inlet near Singer Island. It's not open water but it is salt water and is a good place for me to get my feet wet doing open water swims. Plus it has a life guard just in case. The area is 150m long and marked by 5 bouy's. Today I swam back and forth for 30:00 minutes and did 10 links for a total of 1450m. I'm very unhappy with that time especially since a wetsuit should help you swim a bit faster. I should be able to do 1600 plus meters in 30:00. I really need to work on my swimming speed......
The good news is I can swim in a pretty straight line. Now I just need to turn over my stroke at a faster pace and get moving.
Have a good day friends!
Today I found a place to swim inside the inlet near Singer Island. It's not open water but it is salt water and is a good place for me to get my feet wet doing open water swims. Plus it has a life guard just in case. The area is 150m long and marked by 5 bouy's. Today I swam back and forth for 30:00 minutes and did 10 links for a total of 1450m. I'm very unhappy with that time especially since a wetsuit should help you swim a bit faster. I should be able to do 1600 plus meters in 30:00. I really need to work on my swimming speed......
The good news is I can swim in a pretty straight line. Now I just need to turn over my stroke at a faster pace and get moving.
Have a good day friends!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Brick day
Today I did another brick workout. I upped the distance on this one and I could tell the difference. I really enjoy the crossfit endurance workouts more than these long steady rides and runs but I believe the are very important to doing well in half ironman and ironman events.
I went out early this morning just after sunrise to try and bet the heat. I didn't really have much luck with that since it was 70 degrees at 7:30 this morning. I did a 40 mile ride starting from my hotel and heading down to the beach road I used last week. I took a different route getting there since I needed to add about 4 miles to get 40 miles round trip. The route out was very nice, I was fresh, with light winds. I made it to the turn around point in just under 1 hour and didn't stop to rest or relax. I immediately turned around and headed back toward the hotel. Of course when I turned around I realized that I had a tail wind for the last 16 miles. Not to be discouraged I just stayed in my aero position and kept hammering away. I didn't allow myself to look at the mileage as I rode because it didn't matter. I just had to ride until I got back to the hotel. My time for the 40 miles was 2:05:00 with a average speed of 19.2 mph. That is just a little short of my 20 mph goal. But hey I'm working on it. I ate two Larabar's and one e-gel on my ride. Total calories where 590 calories of intake for the 2 hours. I think that might still be a little short of were I should be.
I then put the bike away, got some water and drove down to the beach to run. I did a 8 mile out and back run along the same rode I had just been on. The time between bike ending and run starting was about 30 minutes. When I started it was hot!! I would say it was around 80 degrees when I started my run. I felt pretty good but had to stop several times for water along the way. Thankfully they have water fountains along the sidewalk. I also had one e-gel during my run. Around the 5 mile mark I started getting a cramp in my left thigh just like I had at the marathon. I immediately stopped and stretched it out for about 15 seconds, got some more water and it never bothered me again. I need to put a stop to that!! So my run time was 1:04:30 which was an 8:04 pace. That is a little slower than I want to be running for that distance but it was my first time going 40 miles on the bike this year. I'm looking forward to more of these brick workouts. They will only help to train my body for the long haul ahead.
Have a good weekend!
I went out early this morning just after sunrise to try and bet the heat. I didn't really have much luck with that since it was 70 degrees at 7:30 this morning. I did a 40 mile ride starting from my hotel and heading down to the beach road I used last week. I took a different route getting there since I needed to add about 4 miles to get 40 miles round trip. The route out was very nice, I was fresh, with light winds. I made it to the turn around point in just under 1 hour and didn't stop to rest or relax. I immediately turned around and headed back toward the hotel. Of course when I turned around I realized that I had a tail wind for the last 16 miles. Not to be discouraged I just stayed in my aero position and kept hammering away. I didn't allow myself to look at the mileage as I rode because it didn't matter. I just had to ride until I got back to the hotel. My time for the 40 miles was 2:05:00 with a average speed of 19.2 mph. That is just a little short of my 20 mph goal. But hey I'm working on it. I ate two Larabar's and one e-gel on my ride. Total calories where 590 calories of intake for the 2 hours. I think that might still be a little short of were I should be.
I then put the bike away, got some water and drove down to the beach to run. I did a 8 mile out and back run along the same rode I had just been on. The time between bike ending and run starting was about 30 minutes. When I started it was hot!! I would say it was around 80 degrees when I started my run. I felt pretty good but had to stop several times for water along the way. Thankfully they have water fountains along the sidewalk. I also had one e-gel during my run. Around the 5 mile mark I started getting a cramp in my left thigh just like I had at the marathon. I immediately stopped and stretched it out for about 15 seconds, got some more water and it never bothered me again. I need to put a stop to that!! So my run time was 1:04:30 which was an 8:04 pace. That is a little slower than I want to be running for that distance but it was my first time going 40 miles on the bike this year. I'm looking forward to more of these brick workouts. They will only help to train my body for the long haul ahead.
Have a good weekend!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Today was my last day working out this week. I'm ready for a rest day. But first I headed over to BGI Fitness for my crossfit WOD. David was working the floor and demonstrated the exercises for today's WOD. Today was a combo of strength and endurance. Cleans and Jerks, ball slams and double unders. Here is how we worked it:
10, 9, 8, 7, 6......1
Squat clean, reset Jerk or split jerk
ball slams
25 double unders after odd numbered rounds
I did 95lbs for the cleans and jerks, which was the RX'd weight for this workout. I used a 20 lbs slam ball which was also the RX'd weight. My time was 19:26 and it was an ass kicker!! I know you've heard it before but I really love the "OMG I can't breath am I dying feeling" I have after a crossfit workout.
I took some time for dinner and then went to a master's swim team workout. They workout at a local Palm Beach Country Club and they have a 50m pool. I'm not sure I can remember all that we did but I'll try. To warm up we did 4 x 200m (free style, kick board, swim buddy float, back). Then we did a variety of 25m swims. The main workout was 4 x 200m with arms only with swim buddy on 1 and 3, full swim on 2 and 4. Then 4 x 150m using fins (yes fins) free style 1 and 3, kick board 2 and 4. Then we did 4 x 25m all out with a brief rest between events. We finished off with an easy 100m swim. It was a good workout and I'm glad that I went. I will probably only go to a couple of these workouts because they are not what I'm looking to do. I'm going to try and stay as close to crossfit endurance as possible. I will go and use the pool during the day, especially since it's a 50m pool.
I'm going wetsuit shopping tomorrow since it's my rest day. I'll let you know if I get one.
Have a nice day!
10, 9, 8, 7, 6......1
Squat clean, reset Jerk or split jerk
ball slams
25 double unders after odd numbered rounds
I did 95lbs for the cleans and jerks, which was the RX'd weight for this workout. I used a 20 lbs slam ball which was also the RX'd weight. My time was 19:26 and it was an ass kicker!! I know you've heard it before but I really love the "OMG I can't breath am I dying feeling" I have after a crossfit workout.
I took some time for dinner and then went to a master's swim team workout. They workout at a local Palm Beach Country Club and they have a 50m pool. I'm not sure I can remember all that we did but I'll try. To warm up we did 4 x 200m (free style, kick board, swim buddy float, back). Then we did a variety of 25m swims. The main workout was 4 x 200m with arms only with swim buddy on 1 and 3, full swim on 2 and 4. Then 4 x 150m using fins (yes fins) free style 1 and 3, kick board 2 and 4. Then we did 4 x 25m all out with a brief rest between events. We finished off with an easy 100m swim. It was a good workout and I'm glad that I went. I will probably only go to a couple of these workouts because they are not what I'm looking to do. I'm going to try and stay as close to crossfit endurance as possible. I will go and use the pool during the day, especially since it's a 50m pool.
I'm going wetsuit shopping tomorrow since it's my rest day. I'll let you know if I get one.
Have a nice day!
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