Cooper Sprint Triathlon Report

Woke up and the first thing I see outside my window are rain clouds and lightning. Then there was heavy rain on my drive up to McKinney.  Driving through Frisco I thought I just wasted money on this race because surely they will be cancelling this one.  But once in McKinney the rain went away and only lightning remained and even that only last another thirty minutes.  Finally found Dawn and we got ready for the race, walked around and I wanted to check out the pool depth.  Which she already knew the answer to so that was nice.  Then we found Coach Lyndsi and talked to her for a little while.  I, being me, had to do my pre-race routine of going to the restroom.  Once out Coach Lyndsi found me and had me watch people jumping into the pool because, yes, that is what caused my freak out last race.  Strange as it might sound but last race I jumped in feet first and within a second of hitting the water my anxiety jumped through the roof and the swim before it even got started pretty much ended for me.  It was horrible and Coach Lyndsi knowing about that event made sure to pull me aside and have me watch how all these people were entering into the pool because seeing all of those entries did help me when it came my time.

Finally jumped in line with Dawn and followed her into the pool.  I entered the pool how I prefer to do and the swim actually started pretty good.  I will admit the depth of only 4'11" did help my mindset.  I swam but still had to stop every now and then.  I did pretty good but was still swallowing some water or at least taking more water in then is normal even for me.  When I got to the 200 meter mark I saw these feet coming towards me and at that moment thought, oh great, they are kicking me out of the race for being so slow.  Yes I really thought that.  But to my surprise it was Coach Lyndsi.  She told me about the good I was doing and reminding me that while I was doing good that my stopping was mostly in my head and that I could do this.  That I had done this before and can do it again.  Inside I agreed with her, but, also inside, all I could see were miles of distance between each end of the pool even though it was only 50 meters.  When I finished the swim I actually felt great.  This was the first race I did not leave the pool with anxiety high and me not being able to calm myself down to focus on what was next for me.  But this time when I exited the pool I was clear minded and could focus on getting my bike gear on and starting the cycling part of the race.  Side note is that I swam the 350 in 14:54 which was third worst for the race and that included the people over 70 who killed me in the swim time.  But what I see is that for 350 meters to have that swim time is a great start to improving my overall swim game.  Because I would normally swim that in a race that had a distance of 275.  So I was extremely happy with this swim and cannot wait for the next Cooper Tri to see if I can better that time.

Transition time for me was great between the swim and the bike.  It was my fastest transition time for me at least for any race.  A 1:19 is still not fast but compared to the previous two years of transition timing this made me like like Superman changing clothes.

The bike portion got me hard.  First it was cold and I do not handle cold.  Then it was one of those slight yet steady inclines that never seems to end type of hills and to top it off there was an extremely strong wind that was pounding me head on.  Of course it would be head on.  Why would wind be a benefit in your ride and help you up that hill.  I just never saw myself able to maintain a speed that was anything but the speed that I always seem to ride and that being 15mph.  So while it was a very short distance of 12 miles it also was a very hard 12 miles.  The bike time was 48 minutes which for me is, sadly, about what I would do it in for either a race or training session.  I just cannot seem to get my average speed to increase even after all these years, yes, all two of them.

For the second transition time it was a little slower but still better than the previous races between the bike and the run.  I did it in 1:45 and mostly due to my shoes not fitting when I tried to put them on.  But on a positive note.  This was the first race where I did not sit down during either transition to change gear. So lets see that as a positive thing I can get from this race.

The run started good for me.  Then my legs finally caught up with my mind and bam it hit me.  My legs are worn out.  I went from run to run / walk.  I did my run in what I thought was a pretty good run.  Even though my run time would show differently but I didn't know that during the run or right after.  Although yes I did know because I was wearing my Garmin but it felt faster for me.  I talk to several people for a brief moment but it was mostly me just focusing on each turn, each step and trying to find the water stops to help me figure out what distance is still needed to finish.  I love how running is a strong suit for me but when it comes to triathlons it is not.  But that is of course more because I use so much energy in the bike that I just seem to wear out my legs before the run can even start.  Time for the run was 34 minutes and yes that is a little faster than my last couple of triathlons so yes another positive thing from this race.

Overall time was 1:40:00 which is my first time under 1:55 or 2 hours.  The time looks great compared to those other races but the bike ride was a few miles shorter in distance then those other races but still seeing that time does make me happy.

I finished third from last in my age group which is actually an improvement by one or two spots.  :)  The one thing I noticed was that if I can shave off even just 2 minutes I would be out of those lowly final three spots for the age group.  I think I could do that.  Heck I know I should be able to shave at least a minute off transitions and my swim should see some time savings as well down the road.  I think I need to continue practicing doing the 50s that Coach Lyndsi is having me do because for this race each lap is going to be 50 long no matter how much I would like to change that it will not change.  And if the hurricane winds were not there I can see my speed maybe increasing a little which would also shave off some time there as well for me.

Next race I believe is Wounded Warrior.  Going back to my running races for the next one.  But lots of swimming in the meantime.

Race Report - Texadega Nights

First what a great concept for any event even for an old man like me.  It has been a few years since I pull something like this.  This being staying up late until the early morning hours.  But it was worth it.  Met some great people, as usual.  And I, being me, got their early, which made the night even longer.

So my day starts with me and Dawn swimming at LA Fitness that morning.  I got in around 1200 meters for this swim.  And they were some hard earned meters at that.  I spent the whole morning just trying to catch my breath.  It was like I was swimming during a race.  Which after about half way through I decided to treat it as such.  A race type swim instead of just swimming.  And well it was just hard.  For whatever reason I just couldn't get from one end to the other consistently without either swallowing water or just having an race type attack.  But I didn't quit and in the end the swim was finished and, as usual, I was fine again.  So with that being over I headed home to try and get a nap in there and something to eat before the evening event started.

Got to the race track at 9pm, got my race distance changed, and then just hung out for a few hours before the race started.  Finally it is 11:45PM, and yes I said almost midnight, my portion of the race starts.  I start my run towards the 9 miles I signed up for.  I thought I might even run more before the race started.  The first two miles were strong for me.  I ran both of those miles in a 9:30 pace but the uneven ground finally caught up to my back and I sent the next 3 miles fighting that issue.  But with my body I have learned that eventually the pain or tightness will go away.  Once my body realizes that I am not quitting it gets back to normal.  So the next mile was me deciding to run to the finish line or continue on to the final three miles.  Well, of course, I ran the final 3 miles but any additional milage just left my mind.  I was finished and to continue would just be unfair for the rest of the group to witness.  Nothing more pathic than seeing a grown man crying and crawling on towards the next mile or two.  So to save them and myself I just headed off to the finish line.  It ended up not being a bad run for me after all.  And I would do this race again in a heart beat.  Now that I know about the surface I would be better prepared for the run next year.

So I get home around 3AM and the day is finally over. 

No Caveman this year

I have decided to use this race this weekend as one that I watch and study.  To see how others transition between swim to bike and from bike to run.  To take what I have been taught by Coach Lyndsi and to see others apply it and then see what I need to fix or correct for my future races.  Plus I am leaning towards more Cooper Tri's because from what I am told the pool situation might be better for my anxiety and this could lead to me actually enjoying the race completely without panicking during the swim.  I might still be bad at the swim but at least when I have to stop I can stand up and who knows for me that might make all the difference.  I will still do Old College Tri and Monster as well so I am not going to get rid of deep water swimming in my future but limiting it by one race could be a wiser decision for me.

Plus this would feel so different for me to be at a race and not partake in it.  I can actually cheer on my mates like Ms. Novia and Dawn, if they are doing it.

Anyway lately it has been me just swimming here and swimming there and swimming everywhere.  I have put more time in the water than most labs.  And labs actually love the water.  Ran against mother nature and she won, sadly.  But I did finish so take that mother nature.  So up yours mother nature.

I biked in strong winds and cross-winds that made me ponder death and where I would like to be buried.  Thanks for that Coach Lyndsi.

And now I got a few days away from the water on my schedule so I have more running and biking to come.

So my next race is TBD I guess.  Probably Cooper Tri in May or June I believe.  Better find that out so I don't miss it.

This Week In Review

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.

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.

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.

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.