Okay so this week I swam more than I have ever swam before in any given one week time frame. I got pushed by my coach and training friend. Dawn always seems to show up wherever I am with Coach Lyndsi. And so for Wednesday after coach left and even though I swam 175 before everyone got there Dawn still pushed me to finish another 100. Now I felt good about it. But oh yeah, I was hoping that once our leader left it would be a good time to sneak out as well. Add that to Monday where I did 1175 out of 1300 meters but then on Friday I could only manage 500 meters out of 1500 planned. My body was just worn out. And it was only then hanging onto the wall with a spirit that wanted to go and a body that said, oh hell no, that I realized that this should have been pushed out to Saturday instead of attempted on Friday.
Because on top of those swims I had a 11 mile bike ride in 26mph winds that scared the living crap out of me. Seriously I had to lean into the wind just to stay straight and to keep my balance. Yeah that wasn't a fun ride at all. The only ride worst than that was my first ever race ride when it was both windy and raining for my first real ride. Oh yeah that was another fun ride. NOT.
And then on Thursday I ran 7 miles out of a planned 8 mile run. It wasn't a scheduled planned run just the amount that I decided to run when I left my apartment and said how many? How about 8? Sounds good to me I said to myself and then off I went.
And that doesn't include my workout last Sunday so all in all it was about 6 or 7 days straight workout of some sort without any off days. But to be honest everything was good so good, for me at least, that I didn't even think about taking off. Even after the Sunday lecture that my coach did and that I attended where she said "ATHLETES NEED TO TAKE ONE DAY OFF A WEEK TO REST" and "YES IT IS THAT IMPORTANT". Okay I may not have quoted Coach Lyndsi word for word but it was pretty close. Now I see why she is coach and I am student. Because I seem to need more learning because I seem to be more stubborn that most people.
So this coming week I will take off at least one day on top of my taking off today.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Horrible Race - Time to Retire?
This was by far the worst triathlon race I have ever had since well my very first triathlon. I am not sure if my starting position caused any of this or not. But I did have a hard time sleeping because of my starting number last night which only added to how bad this race went for me.
First the swim. Since I was at the front of the pack I saw everyone jumping into the pool. I knew that if I entered the pool the way I prefer I would have been spotted for a newbie instead of someone that should have had my number. Then I notice other friends of mine and fellow DFW Tri'ers that I know have done half-ironman and/or full ironman behind me in the starting position. So that only added to my pressure I was putting on myself. Once I jumped into the pool that caused an immediate panic attack for me. I mean instant panic attack. I couldn't catch my breathe, I couldn't breath like I did all week, and I had only gone a few feet and still had basically the full 300 meters to go. I struggled to get from one side to the other. Swimming a few feet and dragging my ass the rest of the way by holding onto the ropes between lanes. And I repeated over and over again until finally I made it to the end like 10 hours later or at least it felt it took me that long. I am realizing that another problem of mine, and most likely in my head, is that I think that everyone is watching me. And I hate being watched no matter what I do in life.
Now to the bike. They changed the course and had us doing 6 steep hills over a 15 mile course. By the time I got through the first two of those hills my legs were burning and I was seriously considering dropping out. But as some of you know I can be stubborn and hate to admit that I cannot do something. And quitting would have me admitting I cannot do this so I continued and after the second loop the thought of quitting at least left me. But the burning legs continued loop after loop after the final loop. By the time I got back to the end of the transition area I had gone from a rate G person to someone you would not want your kids hearing me talk to because I was cussing up a storm. I was very upset.
And before I get to the run here is how my transitions went. Before the race my only two goals were to swim the pool without any problems (failed) and improve my transition times (failed). So after the pool I get to my spot and found the wind had knocked all my stuff around so I had to quickly get those items off the ground and put on my shoes. Well that went bad but probably quicker than it was all last year. BUT when I got back from the bike and transitioning to the run everything went to hell. I couldn't get my running shoes on. I tried and tried and finally had to sit down and get them on. So that is when my language really took a turn for the worst. Coming from a ride like that and even with me having my shoes set the night before so they would just slide on and then to have to sit on the ground to put them on was probably the last straw for me on this race. I was beyond pissed.
Finally the run. My legs were finished, my attitude was on the edge of being finished and a simple 5K might as well had been a half-marathon for me because it felt like it was never going to finish. Outside of my legs being tired the run was okay I guess in the end. It was a lot slower than yesterday but yesterday I wasn't riding a bike either before that race. It was slow and until I see the final numbers I am going to say it probably took me 36 miles to run 3.1 miles.
So right now I am seriously considering not doing the Caveman but probably will in the end. This race has at least put one thing in my mind. And that is that I need to lower my race schedule for triathlons this year and start focusing more on training in deeper pools when I can. I need to stimulate race starts however that is possible and I need to figure out how to overcome my anxiety and panic attacks when it comes to swimming. Because this is just not natural for someone my age to have anxiety over swimming and freaking the hell out when it comes to race day.
So needless to say this was a horrible race for me. I am back to square one it appears. I do not want to retire because well first of all I am paying to do these races not them paying me so can someone really retire from races if they are not being sponsored by anyone. Good question. This is going to be a long year for me it seems.
But I do not know how my final numbers look yet. I am probably not going to look at them for a few days because I am so disappointment in myself for how bad I did and really do not want to see the numbers only for them to prove it to me on exactly how bad it was.
First the swim. Since I was at the front of the pack I saw everyone jumping into the pool. I knew that if I entered the pool the way I prefer I would have been spotted for a newbie instead of someone that should have had my number. Then I notice other friends of mine and fellow DFW Tri'ers that I know have done half-ironman and/or full ironman behind me in the starting position. So that only added to my pressure I was putting on myself. Once I jumped into the pool that caused an immediate panic attack for me. I mean instant panic attack. I couldn't catch my breathe, I couldn't breath like I did all week, and I had only gone a few feet and still had basically the full 300 meters to go. I struggled to get from one side to the other. Swimming a few feet and dragging my ass the rest of the way by holding onto the ropes between lanes. And I repeated over and over again until finally I made it to the end like 10 hours later or at least it felt it took me that long. I am realizing that another problem of mine, and most likely in my head, is that I think that everyone is watching me. And I hate being watched no matter what I do in life.
Now to the bike. They changed the course and had us doing 6 steep hills over a 15 mile course. By the time I got through the first two of those hills my legs were burning and I was seriously considering dropping out. But as some of you know I can be stubborn and hate to admit that I cannot do something. And quitting would have me admitting I cannot do this so I continued and after the second loop the thought of quitting at least left me. But the burning legs continued loop after loop after the final loop. By the time I got back to the end of the transition area I had gone from a rate G person to someone you would not want your kids hearing me talk to because I was cussing up a storm. I was very upset.
And before I get to the run here is how my transitions went. Before the race my only two goals were to swim the pool without any problems (failed) and improve my transition times (failed). So after the pool I get to my spot and found the wind had knocked all my stuff around so I had to quickly get those items off the ground and put on my shoes. Well that went bad but probably quicker than it was all last year. BUT when I got back from the bike and transitioning to the run everything went to hell. I couldn't get my running shoes on. I tried and tried and finally had to sit down and get them on. So that is when my language really took a turn for the worst. Coming from a ride like that and even with me having my shoes set the night before so they would just slide on and then to have to sit on the ground to put them on was probably the last straw for me on this race. I was beyond pissed.
Finally the run. My legs were finished, my attitude was on the edge of being finished and a simple 5K might as well had been a half-marathon for me because it felt like it was never going to finish. Outside of my legs being tired the run was okay I guess in the end. It was a lot slower than yesterday but yesterday I wasn't riding a bike either before that race. It was slow and until I see the final numbers I am going to say it probably took me 36 miles to run 3.1 miles.
So right now I am seriously considering not doing the Caveman but probably will in the end. This race has at least put one thing in my mind. And that is that I need to lower my race schedule for triathlons this year and start focusing more on training in deeper pools when I can. I need to stimulate race starts however that is possible and I need to figure out how to overcome my anxiety and panic attacks when it comes to swimming. Because this is just not natural for someone my age to have anxiety over swimming and freaking the hell out when it comes to race day.
So needless to say this was a horrible race for me. I am back to square one it appears. I do not want to retire because well first of all I am paying to do these races not them paying me so can someone really retire from races if they are not being sponsored by anyone. Good question. This is going to be a long year for me it seems.
But I do not know how my final numbers look yet. I am probably not going to look at them for a few days because I am so disappointment in myself for how bad I did and really do not want to see the numbers only for them to prove it to me on exactly how bad it was.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Apparently I am an Idiot
Well I get to the race site at 6:30AM for what I miss read and ended up being an 9AM start for the actual race. Oops. That was a shocked for me at least. I am guessing everyone else read the WHOLE email where it probably stated an 9AM start time. So I get my packet, listen to some music and get myself ready. As usual before any race I am constantly going to the restroom. I am not sure if it is nerves or what but whatever it is it is a ritual for me. And once the race starts I suddenly no longer have to use the restroom. Strange. Anyway.
I said to myself here is the goal. Take it easy, run about 11 minute mile because no need to hurt yourself or your calves, just finish in one piece and get some beer. Pretty simple goal you would think. And pretty simple to follow through with as well you would think. But oh no not me. Because I am an idiot apparently. As Diane would always say "don't just start out fast" and inside she is probably thinking idiot as well. :)
So she would probably be right but again moving on. I started the race at an 8:20 first mile and a second mile of 9:20 and both of those were far faster than my goal time. I know that no one sets a goal of actually going slower than they normally run but yes that was still my goal. I finished the race with my fastest 5K since the Christmas run in 2012. And far faster than what I was thinking I would do. Apparently I like to follow women in ponytails and then just coast off of their pace. I probably should start trying to find slower women with ponytails I guess. I tweaked my back a little. Very little but it did cause me to have to stop a couple of times during the run to walk and get it back to feeling better. Which would also mean that my actual race pace was better than my ending pace of 9:16 per mile since those few times I had to walk would have slower me down, of course. But I finished the race in 28:38 and for me that was pretty fast and a lot faster than I wanted.
But all in all I finished with no calves problems and I doubt my back will bother me tomorrow. So that is great. Now it is on to a quick nap and then prepare for tomorrow's sprint tri.
I said to myself here is the goal. Take it easy, run about 11 minute mile because no need to hurt yourself or your calves, just finish in one piece and get some beer. Pretty simple goal you would think. And pretty simple to follow through with as well you would think. But oh no not me. Because I am an idiot apparently. As Diane would always say "don't just start out fast" and inside she is probably thinking idiot as well. :)
So she would probably be right but again moving on. I started the race at an 8:20 first mile and a second mile of 9:20 and both of those were far faster than my goal time. I know that no one sets a goal of actually going slower than they normally run but yes that was still my goal. I finished the race with my fastest 5K since the Christmas run in 2012. And far faster than what I was thinking I would do. Apparently I like to follow women in ponytails and then just coast off of their pace. I probably should start trying to find slower women with ponytails I guess. I tweaked my back a little. Very little but it did cause me to have to stop a couple of times during the run to walk and get it back to feeling better. Which would also mean that my actual race pace was better than my ending pace of 9:16 per mile since those few times I had to walk would have slower me down, of course. But I finished the race in 28:38 and for me that was pretty fast and a lot faster than I wanted.
But all in all I finished with no calves problems and I doubt my back will bother me tomorrow. So that is great. Now it is on to a quick nap and then prepare for tomorrow's sprint tri.
Friday, March 11, 2016
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Thanks to Coach Lyndsi I got a good lesson in today. The good is that I am improving and I didn't cramp until late into the session. She puts me through a lot of work but if I can survive her hour long session my "6 minute" 300 meter swim should be a cake walk. And cake does sound good right now. Oh dang it trying to cut out those kind of foods while I am training.
The bad is that well my cramps did come back and have been an issue all week for me. So I will be taking the race tomorrow lightly. Just run, don't do anything stupid, drink beer and prepare for Sunday. So hopefully this can become an former issue going into the coming weeks. And I am starting to eat multiple bananas a day to help fight this. And who doesn't love bananas.
The ugly is well seeing me in a swim suit. Which for Sunday will not be an issue for the people attending the event. Luckily for them that is. Man I need to trade in my 12 pack abs in for something of a smaller size like a 4 pack abs. Then I would be like look at this body bitches. Or at least I would say that in my mind.
Well short but blame it on Lyndsi. After an hour with her training I am lucky to still be standing and awake. Those lessons can wear a kid out. And I haven't been a kid in a long time.
The bad is that well my cramps did come back and have been an issue all week for me. So I will be taking the race tomorrow lightly. Just run, don't do anything stupid, drink beer and prepare for Sunday. So hopefully this can become an former issue going into the coming weeks. And I am starting to eat multiple bananas a day to help fight this. And who doesn't love bananas.
The ugly is well seeing me in a swim suit. Which for Sunday will not be an issue for the people attending the event. Luckily for them that is. Man I need to trade in my 12 pack abs in for something of a smaller size like a 4 pack abs. Then I would be like look at this body bitches. Or at least I would say that in my mind.
Well short but blame it on Lyndsi. After an hour with her training I am lucky to still be standing and awake. Those lessons can wear a kid out. And I haven't been a kid in a long time.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Swimming a lot
This past week I have already swam more than I have ever swam in any given month over the last couple of years. And I still have a 1 on 1 swim lesson tomorrow and a swim scheduled for Friday NOT to mention race day on Sunday. If I survived this week I should be a better swimmer than I have ever been. Now I just need to figure out what is causing me to cramp up so much half-way through my swims.
I know this has been one of my weakest areas of my game during the tri-events. But hopefully these next 6 months will prove to be beneficial in my swim game. I would love to see myself at least swimming the 300 meters required for the triathlon better and hopefully faster as well. If I can get my swimming better than I could hopefully start seeing myself moving up the leader board. One day I hope that instead of seeing myself in the bottom 3 I will start to see myself in the middle of the pack.
Swim on young man just swim on.
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