Since February 28th, I have been very focused on improving my swim in both form and distance. For me the swim is still going to be my weakest link, but in knowing that I am working hard to make sure I will still finish strong. Since a month ago I have increased my distance from 400 meters at a time to an entire mile without stopping. I have every bit of confidence I can swim the 2.4 miles required of me come July now.
The past fours weeks have been the first "build" period of my Ironman training and it has included many hours in the weight room working on keeping my body strong and limber. The limber aspect should not be taken lightly as I learned the hard way after a really tough run, I didn't stretch out properly and it left me struggling to do an easy ride the following day. In the end my ride suffered and left me feeling frustrated. Instead of shrugging it off like I used to do, after hoping off the bike I decided to spend an entire hour doing foam roller, massage stick and general body dynamic and static stretching post ride. I felt so much better for my next workout which happened to be a swim day that I ended up finishing my mile swim in record time (for me) of 35 minutes and then decided I needed to get into the gym and work my legs and core.
In the course of the past four weeks I have also done a few hard brick workouts and am learning the what-to-and-not-to-do's of brick training. First and foremost you must eat properly the previous two days, and preferably not go ride a 70 mile ride at intensity with 6000ft of climbing. It only leaves your body worn out and extremely tired to be able to handle the bike run brick. In my very near future (this week and next) I have 2 brick workouts coming up and will be much more prepared in both nutrition and pre workout planning.
Before I can go run any distances though it is time for me to replace my running shoes. I cannot believe its time already, I only bought the shoes 6 months ago. I've really only put on the miles in the past 3 months, but I am having issues with them that weren't there in the beginning. The issues I know are related to the traditional shoes since I switched to my minimalist shoes for today's Sprint Tri and had no pains at all. I think I may end up getting both a pair of traditional runner and another pair of the minimalists because they just felt so good.
Next up April 22nd, San Jose Metro Olympic Distance Triathlon, my first open water tri. This is a scary thought since I haven't even tried on a wetsuit yet. Since January I have been telling myself I have plenty of time, well the time is a flying by and now I cannot sit back and be slow about this. Next up, new shoes to replace my worn out ones, and getting in to try on wetsuits.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
FIRST TRI...AWESOMENESS!!!
WHEW!!! I was so nervous this morning about an hour before my first ever triathlon. I hadn't felt race day jitters like this since 2010 when I was bike racing. Now this is a whole new experience because I have 3 sports I have to do all in one day. But thanks to my very good friend and also fellow triathlete and Vineman participant Kimber, she was there for me this morning. Reminding me to stay calm, giving me some last minute reminders and pointers for setting up my transitions. But most importantly she was there to witness this awesome day for me.
The morning started with a very cold walk to the registration table at 7:30am, it was still cold enough to see the breath coming out of my mouth. Me and cold temps do not get along so I was a bit nervous about this. However my wave didn't start till 9:45am so there was plenty of time to warm up a bit. Timing chip in hand I head back to the car I go to get a little relax, stretch and find my focus. Again thank you Kimber for keeping me sane.
At about an hour till my start I make my way back to the pool deck, get another bathroom break in and begin to set up my transition area. I was lucky enough to not have someone in my lane in the heat before mine so I could get my pedals on my WATTBIKE before the others. That kind of felt like I was getting an unfair start, so I sat back down and waited like all the other competitors. But I just couldn’t sit still so I went off for a warm up run only to come back to us being allowed to start setting up our bikes. YAY!!!
With towel on the ground I laid out my bike shoes with my socks on top and rolled down to make it easier to slip my wet feet into them. Then I pull out my run shoes, hat and sunglass and put those off to the side of the towel. Last can’t forget my water bottle for the bike, and my swim cap and goggles for the swim. Okay my transition is set up time to hop on the bike and get warmed up.
Gun goes off and away I go! Lap one the excitement of the event gets me going. Lap two the excitement is starting to wear off and my body is talking to me. Argh I mess up by starting too fast! I couldn’t help it; it’s in my nature to just dive right in. My first 200 meters were blazing fast (for me) but I ended up having a very slow second 200 and realized oh my I may be the last one out of the water. I stop on my second to last lap to double check my laps and catch my breath and gain composure. Dive down push off and away I go for my last 100, I can do this, I can do this is all I'm telling myself. By now my arms feel like lead pipes they don’t want to lift out of the water and I end up dragging my fingers a few times. I manage to finish the swim but had to use the ladder to get out because I couldn’t pull myself up out of the pool. Run to the bike, dry off my toes a little and slide on the socks and shoes.
Getting on the bike was a relief, I had gotten the hardest part for me done already, and from now on I am back to familiar ground. My WATTBIKE won’t start so I fumble with it for about a good minute and a half, finally it kicks in and my pedaling begins the meter countdown. I set my pace at 1min40sec per 1000meters and away I went. Grabbing for a sip of water every now and then I find my rhythm at about 105 cadence and just zone out. The announcer gets on the horn to say the first person is off the bike, then the second. By this time I have 1600 meters to go and I punch it. With less than 100meters I give one last sprint effort jump off the bike and toss my cycling shoes. CRAP!!! My run shoes were not laced up!!!!! ARGH!!! I'm freaking out now. This is a sprint and every damn second I waste tying my shoes is that much faster I will have to run. I start talking myself through this shoe tying experience and realize it took me almost 2 minutes just to get me shoes one. Grr lesson learned, next time shoes are laced and slide them on. Well finally the shoes are on and tied up, I grab my hat and off I go.
The run starts off with two sets of stair then a gradual up hill. As I pass the person who left a minute before me, I feel this nastiness in my stomach not to mention my legs felt like cinder blocks. Ok I can't breathe so I unzip my trisuit. Not what I needed. So here is comes, my breakfast...wow I feel better. Now that breakfast is out of my stomach and my gosh I'm so much lighter time to pick up the pace. I catch two more people and am making good time, so I think however I do not have my Garmin to help me with pace so I just have to wing it by feel. It felt slow but again I didn't know how much I could push. I ended up passing all but two men who were just a bit in front of me. I was third in my heat and 1st women in my heat. WOW!!! There were still two more heats after mine and I am pretty sure they were the faster people, not to mention the Lavelle’s.
I’m happy with my ability to push through the nastiness of the upset stomach, and not getting down on myself for being so slow in the water especially since I more than made up for it on the bike and run. After the finish I get to chat a bit with my support system, Kimber, and she had noticed a few things in my swim that I will need to work on for next time. The most obvious I went out WAY too fast the first 150 to 200 meters of the swim. But also my feet were doing some really weird movements out to the sides, which is different from when I first started swimming as they would nearly drag on the pool floor. She even had a little video clip to show me for review of my swim.
To me the swim is by far the most difficult as I have not used this much upper body before in my life not even when I took martial arts, I was a very good kicker so that’s what I did and my arms just blocked. Well not anymore these puny little pipe cleaners I have for arms are going to have to bulk up and get used to pulling me around for at most 2 hours come July.
Looking forward to my next chance at the Threshold burn Series tri on March 25th. Then the “real” fun will begin after that with the San Jose Metro in April, the Auburn Half Ironman in May and finally ending with the Vineman Ironman distance triathlon in July.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
First Month Finished
I made it through the month of January and am still standing. I've learned a lot this month, and have put in a lot of miles. It has taken some time to figure out a schedule that will work with eating and of course my paying job, but its always difficult in the beginning, right?!
Of the many things I have learned the most important is that I can swim not sink! My biggest fear in signing up for triathlons is that I wont be able to do the swim portion. So off to the pool I go after first buying myself a few swim suits. Yes that's right haven't had a swim suit since high school maybe, the one in my drawer fell apart in my hands when i pulled it out. Ewwie! Whats next? Well then I had to get a swim cap, green of course, goggles which I have two pairs one clear and one tinted for bright sunny days, and last but not least the ear plugs. Once all dressed up I feel weird, it feels like I'm in a cave, or maybe have medicine head. I feel claustrophobic in all my attire but I jump in anyways. My first few swims I couldn't even do one length of the pool without having to stop and catch my breath at then end before returning back.
The beginning few sessions in the pool was full of terrible strokes, too much kicking, and not enough breathing. Not understanding how to pace or what proper form was I was flailing, as I'm sure many people do. So what do you do about this? Pull up some YouTube videos, ask some professionals and work with people who have been there.
With a month under my belt, I am confident I can at least stay afloat, and I can do an entire 400yds without having to stop and catch my breath or let me arms rest. My body still likes to sink especially my ass and feet. I will be swimming along and realize damn my fee are nearly dragging on the bottom of the pool, OK maybe not that bad but it sure feels like it. in order for me to get my butt up and feet to the surface I have learned to stretch out much more than I was in the beginning. It also takes looking straight down to the bottom of the pool instead of trying to look forward, again a new thing for me but its a work in progress.
Just last week during a swim, we had three of us in a lane sharing. it was the first time for me to have three but it was good cause it forced me to pay attention to pacing, and also kept me going cause I didn't want to lose my spot in the rotation. Although after my 400yds I stopped to break and when it was time to start again the guy who was behind me didn't see me and we both pushed off the wall at the same time. I guess that was good practice for the real events where we will be bumping into each other. We both laughed at it and went on our merry ways, him trying to stay ahead of me and me trying to stay the same distance from him not gaining nor slowing.
There is so much more to talk about but it will just have to wait for more entries. Stay posted!
Of the many things I have learned the most important is that I can swim not sink! My biggest fear in signing up for triathlons is that I wont be able to do the swim portion. So off to the pool I go after first buying myself a few swim suits. Yes that's right haven't had a swim suit since high school maybe, the one in my drawer fell apart in my hands when i pulled it out. Ewwie! Whats next? Well then I had to get a swim cap, green of course, goggles which I have two pairs one clear and one tinted for bright sunny days, and last but not least the ear plugs. Once all dressed up I feel weird, it feels like I'm in a cave, or maybe have medicine head. I feel claustrophobic in all my attire but I jump in anyways. My first few swims I couldn't even do one length of the pool without having to stop and catch my breath at then end before returning back.
The beginning few sessions in the pool was full of terrible strokes, too much kicking, and not enough breathing. Not understanding how to pace or what proper form was I was flailing, as I'm sure many people do. So what do you do about this? Pull up some YouTube videos, ask some professionals and work with people who have been there.
With a month under my belt, I am confident I can at least stay afloat, and I can do an entire 400yds without having to stop and catch my breath or let me arms rest. My body still likes to sink especially my ass and feet. I will be swimming along and realize damn my fee are nearly dragging on the bottom of the pool, OK maybe not that bad but it sure feels like it. in order for me to get my butt up and feet to the surface I have learned to stretch out much more than I was in the beginning. It also takes looking straight down to the bottom of the pool instead of trying to look forward, again a new thing for me but its a work in progress.
Just last week during a swim, we had three of us in a lane sharing. it was the first time for me to have three but it was good cause it forced me to pay attention to pacing, and also kept me going cause I didn't want to lose my spot in the rotation. Although after my 400yds I stopped to break and when it was time to start again the guy who was behind me didn't see me and we both pushed off the wall at the same time. I guess that was good practice for the real events where we will be bumping into each other. We both laughed at it and went on our merry ways, him trying to stay ahead of me and me trying to stay the same distance from him not gaining nor slowing.
There is so much more to talk about but it will just have to wait for more entries. Stay posted!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Day 3: Early Morning Swim, and Long Steady Bike ride....
Got up at the butt crack of dawn to swim today. Leaving my two cuddle bugs in a nice warm bed to be jumping in a chilly pool all for the sake of finishing a triathlon, I must be crazy! It was sooo worth it. Today I used a different pool so I could meet a friend and also fellow Vineman participant this year. Workouts are better in numbers I have to say.
This mornings pool was cooler than I am used to and had more people. I split a lane with a guy who was doing the butterfly, whoa! It was good practice for the splashing waves I will be dealing with during the event. This dude would literally push me into the lane marker every time he passed. :-) It was frustrating to see how easily I can be pushed around but also good to know what I need to work on before i hit the open water (something I am so dreading, and also need to get a wetsuit for as well).
In any case the workout was to do 3 x 100 and then 2 x 200 easy focusing on strokes, breathing and getting my butt up and chest down. Ugh I cant get my ass up if my life depended on it. Grr! Again I have time to work on this. My swimming partner watched me a few times as I would swim past her telling me that I am fast and if I can get my butt and feet up, I would be even faster. Hm nice to know but all I want to do is not drown....at least that is still what is going through my mind. Although fast isn't a bad thing either.
Out of the pool onto an hour of flexibility. I took a class called PiYo at 24 hour where I swam and it was nice to see where I need MORE work on my flexibility. It was a very low intensity yoga-esk class that we did on a mat barefoot. During some of the poses I would look down at my feet and see what my toes were doing...cool they were spread wide keeping me balanced! Yay the barefoot shoes and exercises for my feet are working. Now if only I can actually touch my hands to the ground and get these darn hamstrings to leg loose. In due time they will, I know they will.
Back at home I have so many things to catch up on, blog entries (oh wait I am doing that right now), writing up my columns for the 3 new places I will be writing for. Sorry I can't share just yet who these are for but when they get published I will let you all know. Till then just wait patiently at home in front of your computer refreshing the screen till you see it...LOL, dont' do that. Go get out there and EXERCISE! On that note I am off for my #2 workout LSD on the bike, be back in a few........
Got up at the butt crack of dawn to swim today. Leaving my two cuddle bugs in a nice warm bed to be jumping in a chilly pool all for the sake of finishing a triathlon, I must be crazy! It was sooo worth it. Today I used a different pool so I could meet a friend and also fellow Vineman participant this year. Workouts are better in numbers I have to say.
This mornings pool was cooler than I am used to and had more people. I split a lane with a guy who was doing the butterfly, whoa! It was good practice for the splashing waves I will be dealing with during the event. This dude would literally push me into the lane marker every time he passed. :-) It was frustrating to see how easily I can be pushed around but also good to know what I need to work on before i hit the open water (something I am so dreading, and also need to get a wetsuit for as well).
In any case the workout was to do 3 x 100 and then 2 x 200 easy focusing on strokes, breathing and getting my butt up and chest down. Ugh I cant get my ass up if my life depended on it. Grr! Again I have time to work on this. My swimming partner watched me a few times as I would swim past her telling me that I am fast and if I can get my butt and feet up, I would be even faster. Hm nice to know but all I want to do is not drown....at least that is still what is going through my mind. Although fast isn't a bad thing either.
Out of the pool onto an hour of flexibility. I took a class called PiYo at 24 hour where I swam and it was nice to see where I need MORE work on my flexibility. It was a very low intensity yoga-esk class that we did on a mat barefoot. During some of the poses I would look down at my feet and see what my toes were doing...cool they were spread wide keeping me balanced! Yay the barefoot shoes and exercises for my feet are working. Now if only I can actually touch my hands to the ground and get these darn hamstrings to leg loose. In due time they will, I know they will.
Back at home I have so many things to catch up on, blog entries (oh wait I am doing that right now), writing up my columns for the 3 new places I will be writing for. Sorry I can't share just yet who these are for but when they get published I will let you all know. Till then just wait patiently at home in front of your computer refreshing the screen till you see it...LOL, dont' do that. Go get out there and EXERCISE! On that note I am off for my #2 workout LSD on the bike, be back in a few........
Day 2: First Run, and Focused Lifting sessions
Today's training sessions were to be a foundation run and a weight lifting session focused on legs and core. I did great and got them both in plus a little extra, the extra was teaching and taking my group class at Varian immediately after my lifting session.
The run went great as I set my Garmin (Forerunner 305) with pace limiters and beeps to remind me if I was going to fast or slow. The slow limiter was to keep my warm up at a fast walk, and then the fast limiter was to keep my jog pace no faster than 9 minute mile pace. As this was my first run it was all about keeping a steady easy pace, to ease my body back into the pounding. It was also a great time to focus on the information I gleaned from my run evaluation the day prior. Focus needed to stay on elbows narrow and hands more relaxed, as well as keep from pushing side to side with my take off. I was able to keep the focus on my arms and it felt like I was keeping my elbows in cause I felt funny almost like my inner arm was velcroed to my sides and my chest was pushed out. I hope that is what it should feel like.
Running today took place on Shoreline trail heading out towards to bay lands and then looping back in toward Shoreline road. My hope was that it would take about 40 minutes to do. Not a bad choice as I spent the first 5 minutes in a fast walk to get to the trail head, then took the last 5 minutes to walk fast to slow as my cool down and ended right back at Evolution. You can see my run here... http://app.strava.com/runs/3590019 .
Lifting for core post running is not so back, however lifting for my legs was truly a test of mental grit. My legs were so tight and weak trying to do my Bulgarian lunges, lateral lunges, and Romanian Dead Lifts. But I changed back into my barefoot shoes for lifting to help with balance. The feel of knowing what part of the foot is not keeping in contact with the ground is so beneficial to the lifting. I have noticed a HUGE improvement in my stability since the past 4 months of using the barefoot shoes.
So workouts were done and I had a bear of an appetite. I hope this appetite thing doesn't get too much worse I might not be able to afford to feed myself enough for the training. LOL!
Today's training sessions were to be a foundation run and a weight lifting session focused on legs and core. I did great and got them both in plus a little extra, the extra was teaching and taking my group class at Varian immediately after my lifting session.
The run went great as I set my Garmin (Forerunner 305) with pace limiters and beeps to remind me if I was going to fast or slow. The slow limiter was to keep my warm up at a fast walk, and then the fast limiter was to keep my jog pace no faster than 9 minute mile pace. As this was my first run it was all about keeping a steady easy pace, to ease my body back into the pounding. It was also a great time to focus on the information I gleaned from my run evaluation the day prior. Focus needed to stay on elbows narrow and hands more relaxed, as well as keep from pushing side to side with my take off. I was able to keep the focus on my arms and it felt like I was keeping my elbows in cause I felt funny almost like my inner arm was velcroed to my sides and my chest was pushed out. I hope that is what it should feel like.
Running today took place on Shoreline trail heading out towards to bay lands and then looping back in toward Shoreline road. My hope was that it would take about 40 minutes to do. Not a bad choice as I spent the first 5 minutes in a fast walk to get to the trail head, then took the last 5 minutes to walk fast to slow as my cool down and ended right back at Evolution. You can see my run here... http://app.strava.com/runs/3590019 .
Lifting for core post running is not so back, however lifting for my legs was truly a test of mental grit. My legs were so tight and weak trying to do my Bulgarian lunges, lateral lunges, and Romanian Dead Lifts. But I changed back into my barefoot shoes for lifting to help with balance. The feel of knowing what part of the foot is not keeping in contact with the ground is so beneficial to the lifting. I have noticed a HUGE improvement in my stability since the past 4 months of using the barefoot shoes.
So workouts were done and I had a bear of an appetite. I hope this appetite thing doesn't get too much worse I might not be able to afford to feed myself enough for the training. LOL!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Day 1: Swim, Kickboxing, and STRETCHING!
It has taken me some time to get past just an outline for the training that need to be done, but I finished the first 6 weeks last night and by the end of this coming weekend I will have then entire 28 weeks finished.
So today was the official FIRST day of training and that included a swim day and kickboxing (for cross training) along with a nice long flexibility and foam roller session to round out the day. The plan for swim was to do a 200 meter warm up followed by 4 x 100 going at a 25 fast (or 75% effort right now) and 25 easy, then a full recovery between each repeat. After the efforts I was to do another 2 x 200 practicing alternating breathing, or a breath every three strokes to allow me to breathe both directions. I learned that in doing these efforts my stroke count went from 16 strokes per 25 up to 24 strokes per 25 for the effort lap and was just about 18 strokes for the recovery 25. I was also trying to be aware of my catch phase in the water on the recovery laps. Basically I was trying to be aware of keeping my elbow bent and pressing my hand back toward the wall and not down toward the bottom of the pool. WOW what a difference it makes to pay close attention to the direction of push.
Off to kickboxing...brings me back to my karate days. I love the high intensity kicks and twisting punches and all that stuff. Well good thing I like it cause working core and rotatory stability is going to be very important in keeping me strong and injury free during my training. About 40 minutes into class I decided I have been pushing the tempo pretty hard so it was time to dial back and go through the motions without the intensity. I was so happy when class was over as I was completely drenched in sweat.
Back at Evolution Trainers I had another trainer video me running. Since I will do my first run tomorrow I wanted to have something to think about as I was running. We noticed in my video that I run like a sprinter, wide stance pushing my feet side to side with wide elbows, see for yourself... http://v.coachseye.com/5yPc ...YIKES! But it is very early and I have something to focus on for these first few weeks or more. We also noticed that my foot strike is pretty darn good, not getting too far forward and a nice upright body with good upper body rotation.... http://v.coachseye.com/do8l ... And last we noticed that my right hip swings up and away from my center which is caused by my left foot. See if you can see whats going on... http://v.coachseye.com/xBve ... don't mind the chatter in the background.
Well that's all for today...tomorrow is Running and lifting for my legs and core.
It has taken me some time to get past just an outline for the training that need to be done, but I finished the first 6 weeks last night and by the end of this coming weekend I will have then entire 28 weeks finished.
So today was the official FIRST day of training and that included a swim day and kickboxing (for cross training) along with a nice long flexibility and foam roller session to round out the day. The plan for swim was to do a 200 meter warm up followed by 4 x 100 going at a 25 fast (or 75% effort right now) and 25 easy, then a full recovery between each repeat. After the efforts I was to do another 2 x 200 practicing alternating breathing, or a breath every three strokes to allow me to breathe both directions. I learned that in doing these efforts my stroke count went from 16 strokes per 25 up to 24 strokes per 25 for the effort lap and was just about 18 strokes for the recovery 25. I was also trying to be aware of my catch phase in the water on the recovery laps. Basically I was trying to be aware of keeping my elbow bent and pressing my hand back toward the wall and not down toward the bottom of the pool. WOW what a difference it makes to pay close attention to the direction of push.
Off to kickboxing...brings me back to my karate days. I love the high intensity kicks and twisting punches and all that stuff. Well good thing I like it cause working core and rotatory stability is going to be very important in keeping me strong and injury free during my training. About 40 minutes into class I decided I have been pushing the tempo pretty hard so it was time to dial back and go through the motions without the intensity. I was so happy when class was over as I was completely drenched in sweat.
Back at Evolution Trainers I had another trainer video me running. Since I will do my first run tomorrow I wanted to have something to think about as I was running. We noticed in my video that I run like a sprinter, wide stance pushing my feet side to side with wide elbows, see for yourself... http://v.coachseye.com/5yPc ...YIKES! But it is very early and I have something to focus on for these first few weeks or more. We also noticed that my foot strike is pretty darn good, not getting too far forward and a nice upright body with good upper body rotation.... http://v.coachseye.com/do8l ... And last we noticed that my right hip swings up and away from my center which is caused by my left foot. See if you can see whats going on... http://v.coachseye.com/xBve ... don't mind the chatter in the background.
Well that's all for today...tomorrow is Running and lifting for my legs and core.
Welcome to my Road to Tri blog. I thought it be best to separate my regular North Fitness training tips blog from my triathlon specific blog, so well here it is.
What is a Triathlon you wonder? Quite simply it is a sporting event comprised of a swim followed by a bike ride followed by a run with the distance varying tremendously. The shortest distance is called a sprint, and it can be as short as a 400 meter swim, 6 mile bike and 2 mile run. And the ultimate triathlon, the true test if grit called the Ironman is comprised of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run, yep that's a full marathon after already pushing yourself through the swim and bike. I was curious where the distance choice came from. How did them come up with the distances for this race, what was the history on it. Well I found something that sounded pretty true (unless someone knows otherwise)...
"The idea for the original Ironman Triathlon arose during the awards ceremony for the 1977 Oahu Perimeter Relay (a running race for 5-person teams). Among the participants were numerous representatives of both the Mid-Pacific Road Runners and the Waikiki Swim Club, whose members had long been debating which athletes were more fit, runners or swimmers. On this occasion, U.S. Navy Commander John Collins pointed out that a recent article in Sports Illustrated magazine had declared that Eddy Merckx, the great Belgian cyclist, had the highest recorded "oxygen uptake" of any athlete ever measured, so perhaps cyclists were more fit than anyone. CDR Collins and his wife Judy Collins had taken part in the triathlons staged in 1974 and 1975 by the San Diego Track Club in and around Mission Bay, California, as well as the 1975 Optimist Sports Fiesta Triathlon in Coronado, California. A number of the other military athletes in attendance were also familiar with the San Diego races, so they understood the concept when Collins suggested that the debate should be settled through a race combining the three existing long-distance competitions already on the island: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 mi./3.86 km), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 mi./185.07 km; originally a two-day event) and the Honolulu Marathon (26.219 mi./42.195 km).
Until that point, no one present had ever done the bike race. Collins calculated that by shaving 3 miles (4.8 km) off the course and riding counter-clockwise around the island, the bike leg could start at the finish of the Waikiki Rough Water and end at the Aloha Tower, the traditional start of the Honolulu Marathon. Prior to racing, each athlete received three sheets of paper listing a few rules and a course description. Handwritten on the last page was this exhortation: "Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life", now a registered trademark (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironman_Triathlon)."
Pretty cool huh? I thought so, so when a friend asked me to do a triathlon with her this year I figured sure why not I can already ride pretty fast and I have a running history from high school and college. How bad could it be? Then she told me she wanted to do Vineman an Ironman distance triathlon. So come this July 28th at 7am I will begin the biggest endurance challenge I have done to date. Check out the info on the Vineman Triathlon here...http://www.vineman.com/triathlon.htm.
I have already spent about a month and a half of pre training is what I am calling it. What is this pre training you might be wondering? Well that is quite simple, think preventive exercise and you have it. Since the beginning of December I have been working on strengthening my body so it can withstand the stresses it will be placed under during these next 6 months of training. Some of the stuff that is included but not limited to has been starting with an evaluation to find any muscle/flexibility imbalances, then moving to a few exercises to address those issues. I am just about half way through that segment of my training. However that doesn't mean I will stop completely those specific flexibility/mobility exercises, quite the contrary those will need to be addressed throughout my entire time training leading up to the Ironman event.
Stay tuned for more training recaps and thoughts on my training process. Thanks for reading.
What is a Triathlon you wonder? Quite simply it is a sporting event comprised of a swim followed by a bike ride followed by a run with the distance varying tremendously. The shortest distance is called a sprint, and it can be as short as a 400 meter swim, 6 mile bike and 2 mile run. And the ultimate triathlon, the true test if grit called the Ironman is comprised of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run, yep that's a full marathon after already pushing yourself through the swim and bike. I was curious where the distance choice came from. How did them come up with the distances for this race, what was the history on it. Well I found something that sounded pretty true (unless someone knows otherwise)...
"The idea for the original Ironman Triathlon arose during the awards ceremony for the 1977 Oahu Perimeter Relay (a running race for 5-person teams). Among the participants were numerous representatives of both the Mid-Pacific Road Runners and the Waikiki Swim Club, whose members had long been debating which athletes were more fit, runners or swimmers. On this occasion, U.S. Navy Commander John Collins pointed out that a recent article in Sports Illustrated magazine had declared that Eddy Merckx, the great Belgian cyclist, had the highest recorded "oxygen uptake" of any athlete ever measured, so perhaps cyclists were more fit than anyone. CDR Collins and his wife Judy Collins had taken part in the triathlons staged in 1974 and 1975 by the San Diego Track Club in and around Mission Bay, California, as well as the 1975 Optimist Sports Fiesta Triathlon in Coronado, California. A number of the other military athletes in attendance were also familiar with the San Diego races, so they understood the concept when Collins suggested that the debate should be settled through a race combining the three existing long-distance competitions already on the island: the Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 mi./3.86 km), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 mi./185.07 km; originally a two-day event) and the Honolulu Marathon (26.219 mi./42.195 km).
Until that point, no one present had ever done the bike race. Collins calculated that by shaving 3 miles (4.8 km) off the course and riding counter-clockwise around the island, the bike leg could start at the finish of the Waikiki Rough Water and end at the Aloha Tower, the traditional start of the Honolulu Marathon. Prior to racing, each athlete received three sheets of paper listing a few rules and a course description. Handwritten on the last page was this exhortation: "Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life", now a registered trademark (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironman_Triathlon)."
Pretty cool huh? I thought so, so when a friend asked me to do a triathlon with her this year I figured sure why not I can already ride pretty fast and I have a running history from high school and college. How bad could it be? Then she told me she wanted to do Vineman an Ironman distance triathlon. So come this July 28th at 7am I will begin the biggest endurance challenge I have done to date. Check out the info on the Vineman Triathlon here...http://www.vineman.com/triathlon.htm.
I have already spent about a month and a half of pre training is what I am calling it. What is this pre training you might be wondering? Well that is quite simple, think preventive exercise and you have it. Since the beginning of December I have been working on strengthening my body so it can withstand the stresses it will be placed under during these next 6 months of training. Some of the stuff that is included but not limited to has been starting with an evaluation to find any muscle/flexibility imbalances, then moving to a few exercises to address those issues. I am just about half way through that segment of my training. However that doesn't mean I will stop completely those specific flexibility/mobility exercises, quite the contrary those will need to be addressed throughout my entire time training leading up to the Ironman event.
Stay tuned for more training recaps and thoughts on my training process. Thanks for reading.
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