Mini Tri

Today was my first experience putting all the events together in one training session. I headed back downtown this morning to Ohio Street Beach, and met up with the Team In Training folks to do a full-blown mini-triathlon. It included a 15 minute swim, 30 minute bike ride, and 20 minute run. This is far short of the real deal, but it gave me an opportunity to try my transitions, and get a pretty good workout at the same time. And it was fun!

The swim in Lake Michigan went much better than last time. No panicking this time, but my swim still isn't nearly as strong as I would like it to be. I will practice several more times in open water before the real event to make sure I'm ready to go.

The bike was great! I'm becoming more and more comfortable on it, and I was able to see first-hand the advantage it gives me. I was passing people on the entire route, and really enjoyed it!

The run was OK, but I found that I became winded pretty quickly. It will be interesting to see how I do after a 1 mile swim and a 25 mile bike! But my pace was pretty good, and I finished without having to walk at any point.

The transitions were no problem. I'm glad I had the chance to practice, and look forward to being able to do it one more time. Now I know what to expect!

Tomorrow is a 75 minute bike ride...

Swim Night

Back in the pool, and I felt much better than I did in the lake the other night. Tonight's program included: 200m warm up, 1 x 400m 'spot the buoy' exercise, 8 x 100m drills (25m TI3, 50m TI4, 25m TI3; with 15 second rest every 100m), 3 x 50m drills (fists up, swim back), 200m cool down. This put me through my paces! The sprints (TI3/TI4 levels) were exhausting, but I managed to do all 8 100m lengths, and held true to the 15 second breaks. The rest of the program was pretty easy.

Tomorrow... back downtown where we will do a 'mini tri': 20 minutes in Lake Michigan, 30 minutes on bike, and 30 minute run. This will give me more time in the lake (which I REALLY need), and allow me to practice 'transitions' between events. We'll see how it goes!

Gotta Quit Slacking!

It's been a week since I posted on the blog, and I must admit I've slipped a little on the training, too. Here's the run down of what I was supposed to do, and what I really did...

Thursday (7/16): Bike 55 minutes. Did it early in the morning (yuck... I'm not a morning exerciser). I actually had the tires pumped up all the way, too. My hopes were high that I would cruise MUCH faster than before, with far less effort. The fact was I cruised a little faster, but not THAT much. I also discovered that the first half of my route is mostly up-hill, which means it's hard work heading out, but easy sailing coming home.

Thursday night, I went in for my regular strength training. I was tired, and it was a tough session. The next day, my neck was more kinked than it had been in previous days. I think I need to lay off the strength training until the Triathlon is over.

Friday (7/17): Swim (200m warm up, 1 x 400m 'spot the buoy' practice, 6 x 50m (TI4) with 10 seconds rest between 50m lengths, 6 x 50m (TI5) with 15 seconds rest between 50m lengths, 5 x 50m various drills, 200m cool down). Did this one early in the morning, too... so I could go to Steve Miller Band Friday night (they were great, by the way).

Two things:

1. swimming early in the morning really sucks... especially after having a hard strength training session the night before with heavy concentration on legs
2. Training intensity level 4 is bad enough. Training intensity level 5 is ridiculous. The only reason anyone should have to swim that hard is if they are dipped in seal blood and dropped in a tank of great whites. I made it through the level 4 sprints. But honestly, I had to quit after 3 50m lengths at level 5. I was so winded, I thought I was going to blow chunks in the pool. Enough is enough! I did, however, continue with the drills and cool down, so I only dropped 150m of my total 1650m workout. It wiped me out for the whole day, though. No second wind for me... I was dragging!

Saturday (7/18): Run 60 minutes. Nope. I decided to make Saturday my rest day, and defer run to Sunday. Then I would defer my bike on Sunday to Monday (which was supposed to be my rest day). In theory, I would be caught back up that way...

Sunday (7/19): Run 60 minutes (make-up). I had a great run. In 60 minutes, I ran about 7.25 miles on hilly terrain. It felt good, too!

Monday (7/20): Bike 75 minutes. Nope. Didn't do it. I didn't sleep well Sunday night, and I was so tired on Monday that I just couldn't bring myself to bike for that long. This is where things started to derail this week...

Tuesday (7/21): Run 35 minutes. My hope was to either make up the 75 minute bike or just do the 35 minute run, depending on my energy Tuesday morning. I couldn't train Tuesday night, because that was the Billy Joel / Elton John concert (which ROCKED, by the way). Problem was I didn't wake up early enough to do either. So I just didn't do it.

Wednesday (7/22): 1600m Open Water Swim (in Lake Michigan - Ohio Street Beach). This was my first open water swim, and there was NO WAY I was going to miss it. I battled rush-hour traffic after work to get downtown by 7pm, and just barely made it in time. They had my new wetsuit waiting for me, and I was relieved to discover that it fit me perfectly. Getting into the water, I was actually fairly confident that I would do pretty well. After all, I've been swimming a lot, and have been doing pretty well on longer distances. However, swimming in a pool at the gym and swimming in Lake Michigan in a wetsuit are two totally different experiences.

The swim was far more stressful than I expected. The water was warmer than I anticipated (or at least the wetsuit really did its job), and the extra buoyancy of the suit was nice. But it was also choppy due to afternoon storms, and there was a lot of seaweed in the water. After just a short distance, I started to get a little panicked that the water was so rough, and I couldn't touch bottom. I choked on a few mouthfuls of water here and there, and my breathing became more and more rapid. From there, it was more or less a spiral. I kept having to stop, tread water, try to catch my breath, float on my back for a little while, try to catch my breath, swim a little further, stop, tread water, try to catch my breath, etc, etc. It was not fun!

The good news is I ultimately finished the swim without drowning. The bad news is I had to 'cheat' by swimming closer to the shore line and putting my feet down a few times. I just couldn't get my swim strides or my breathing to settle out. The second half of the swim was a little better than the first, but overall I just didn't cut it.

My only consolation comes from a couple of points that I will cling to:

1. I was clearly not the only person on the team who had troubles. Lots of people were treading water, floating on backs, etc. Many of us shared a similar sense of fear.
2. The coaches reassured us before and after that getting used to open water swimming is a major adjustment. For many people, this was their second open water swim, and they were struggling. It was my first. The coaches insist this is a normal reaction, and repetition will ease the anxiety.

All I know is that I need to get back out there several times before race day. I have to feel confident in the open water, and I certainly don't want to feel panicked when I am out in deep water - with no ability to 'cheat'. After this experience... I'm starting to get nervous about this event!

Thursday (7/23): Bike 45 minutes. Nope. I just didn't sleep well last night... perhaps because of the open water swim anxiety. I was tired all day, and I left work late. I just didn't have it in me. I need to get back on track!

Next up... swim tomorrow night (more endurance training in the pool). This weekend... 'mini tri' workout, with abbreviated distances on each event: 20 min open water swim, 30 min bike, 30 min run. I'll get to practice transitions for the first time! Sunday is a 75 minute bike.

In this past week, I skipped three training sessions, which is not good. Next week will be even more difficult because we have friends coming to visit for a long weekend. Somehow... some way... I need to find time for all training sessions next week. No more excuses!

Great Swim!

I woke up early this morning to make up for the run I missed yesterday. But the weather Gods didn't cooperate - it was a virtual deluge of rain accompanied by dramatic thunderstorms. To tell the truth, I wasn't too disappointed. I appreciated the extra sleep!

Tonight, I had a great swim. The training session was pretty straight-forward... 100m warm-up, 5x50 drills, 1200m non-stop, and a 100m cool-down. For the 1200m swim, I decided to simply focus on maintaining a steady rhythm and a low heart-rate. I didn't care about speed, just stamina. And it was great!

The distance was no problem, and I wasn't too winded at the end. I finished it in exactly 27 minutes. The race distance will be 1500m (count on 1600m for 'veering'), and my goal is to finish in under 30 minutes. Tonight's swim demonstrated that I could certainly push the pace a little faster without much difficulty, and still have the stamina I need to easily complete the distance. Cool! I'm sure it will be very different open water, but for now I'll feel good about another step in the right direction.

Until next time...

It's the Little Things...

It was a great weekend for training in Chicago! The weather was absolutely beautiful, and I was ready to roll! Since I skipped Friday night's swim session, I needed to make up for it somehow. They say if you miss a day, don't double-up the next day. But I did anyway. What the heck?

Saturday morning, I took the bike out for a long ride. Before I started, I noticed that the tires seemed a little low, so I tried to pump them up a little more. I don't know if I shared this before, but I have had issues getting my pump to work properly with these tires. It's a dual-headed pump, with one side for regular tire nozzles and the other for small nozzles. You're supposed to lock in the nozzle that fits your tire, and then rotate the head to lock it into place. Well, I tried this several times... and even though it would lock into place, the air would blow out the other nozzle every time I pumped. The only way I could get air into the tire was by putting my finger over the other free nozzle head. Of course, this wasn't extremely effective, but it allowed me to get enough air in to where I thought I was OK.

So I rode. And I did well! But it was frustrating that I wasn't going as fast as I had on previous rides, and it seemed that each trip out was getting harder and harder to pedal. Hmmm... I thought... maybe I ought to take it into the bike shop.

After my ride, I loaded my bike in the car (along with my pump), and headed to the gym for a swim. The swim was a shorter distance (1200m), but was definitely challenging. I did 100m warm up, then 10x50 drills (different exercises for each 50m), then 5 consecutive 100m lengths at various training intensities (TI2, TI3, TI4, TI3, TI2 - NO BREAKS!), then a 100m cool-down. I tell you what, swimming a full-out sprint for 100m (TI4), is brutal! Even though I wasn't supposed to take any breaks, I have to admit that I paused for some much needed gasping a few times in the back half of that session!

After swimming, I took the bike over to the bike shop, and learned a couple key things...

1. If it seems like your pump isn't working right, it probably isn't.
2. If it feels like your tires feel kind of flat, and it's harder to pedal than it should be, they probably are low on air.

It turns out that my tires were only filled at the 40-50 PSI range, when the recommended PSI for these tires is 120! And my ineptitude with the pump wasn't user error - it truly was a broken pump. I guess this is what they call the 'learning curve'. I bought a new pump, and I CAN'T WAIT to try the bike with full tires!

On Sunday, I went to the forest preserve and ran for an hour. The paths along the Des Plaines River are absolutely beautiful! I want to run there all the time! We'll have to go back there with the mountain bikes and explore, too. Chicagoland has so much to offer!

Monday was a rest day. Today was supposed to be a short run (40 minutes), but I was traveling and didn't get out of bed early enough to work it in. I'll try to run tomorrow morning and swim tomorrow night.

And in case you're wondering... my neck is improving slowly but surely, although still far from 100%. I'm hoping by this time next week that I'm back to normal. Wish me luck! I'll keep you posted...

Train through the pain...

This neck issue is definitely a problem. I've had this many times before, and there is no telling how long it will last. Every movement causes sharp pain, and my mobility is somewhat limited (although I've had much worse mobility in the past, so I should count my blessings). The good news is I can still train. It's just not as fun.

Thursday night, I went for a 40 minute run through some beautiful paths in the Half Day Forest Preserve. When I first started, each step caused a jolt of pain through my neck. It was very uncomfortable, but tolerable. However, as the run progressed, and I sort of lost myself in the beauty of the trails - which I had never been to before - my neck loosened up somewhat and I was able to focus more on the run than the pain.

I did learn one lesson about training in an early Midwestern summer evening... you've got to love the bugs - especially the small flying variety. You experience them in every way... lodging in your eye, plastering themselves all over your sweaty forehead like the windshield of a car, and of course sling-shotting themselves into the back of your throat. Yummm... protein! For the clever ones that don't end up kamikaze-style somewhere on your body, they achieve the ultimate prize of a tasty snack. Yes, the mosquitoes will get you even when you are running 6 to 7 mph. Joy. I have to say though, that it wasn't too bad. The scenery was beautiful, the weather was nice, and it made me forget about the pain in my neck for a while.

Afterwards, I spent a long time stretching in the steam room and jacuzzi at the gym across from the preserve. That also helped. But alas, as I left the gym, it didn't take long before my neck started seizing up yet again. This thing is not going away any time soon.

Yesterday morning I awoke to severe pain and stiff neck yet again. I'm just going to have to get used to this for a while. I'm sure I'll adjust, but don't expect me to stop whining about it. :-)

My training program for last night was supposed to be swimming. But since I didn't get out of work until after 8pm, and I was worn out from a long day of conference calls and neck pain, I decided to go out for dinner instead. I think it was a good choice.

Today, I'll bike for 60 minutes, and then probably head to the gym to make up for the swim session I missed last night. Maybe I'll work in a massage, too. We'll see.

Regardless, I will get back on track... and I WILL train through the pain!

Until next time...

Slipped a little, but back on track...

I hate to admit that I had a little set-back on my training over the weekend. I was supposed to do a 75 minute bike ride on Saturday and a 55 minute run on Sunday. Monday was to be my day of rest. Well, on Saturday, I chose not to go to the group bike ride in the morning, thinking I would do it in the afternoon instead. But the rain came in the afternoon, and with my kinked neck, I thought it would be better to just skip the ride and do it on Sunday instead. Heck, that means I could just shift my schedule to Sunday / Monday and use Saturday for a day of rest. Good plan. Except that Sunday I was simply not motivated to work out. It was fourth of July weekend, and I really just wanted to enjoy it. So I did. On both Sunday and Monday, I 'played hooky' and had a lot of fun doing it.

Tuesday I got back on track with a double header. Fitness training first, then a 55 minute bike ride afterwards. Unfortunately, my neck wasn't at 100% yet (much much better, but not 100%), and during my strength training I could tell I was stressing it - although I thought that might be a good thing as it seemed like it was loosening up as I worked out. When I finished my strength training, it quickly became apparent that the pressure was not a good thing. As I descended the stairs, my neck kinked really badly, and I could barely turn my head. But... being very stubborn and firmly planted in a state of denial, I chose to continue with the bike ride anyway. The ride actually helped, although I learned that it is not very safe to ride on city streets when you can't turn your head to the left. It makes it very difficult to cross into left-turn lanes. I made it... and I'm glad to report that I'm feeling more and more comfortable on the bike in general. I still need to conquer the tri-handles (the antelope horns), but I'm sure that will come with time.

Today, I woke up and could barely move my head. My neck was worse than it has been in quite some time. Unfortunately, I have a long history of neck issues, and this type of thing can last hours, days, weeks, or even months. I spent much of the day resting and icing it - only to find that it was getting worse. The more I rested it, the stiffer it got. So... stubborn as ever and determined to not let this get in my way... I went ahead and did my swim tonight. I figured I would know pretty quickly if swimming was even possible, and the exercise could actually help loosen it up. It was a 1200 meter straight swim (no drills) and I was able to complete it more easily than I expected. The swim helped loosen me up quite a bit, and afterwards, I spent a significant amount of time stretching out in the sauna and steam rooms, which also helped. Unfortunately, as soon as I cooled off, my neck stiffened up just as bad as it was before.

UGH! I truly hope this subsides soon!

I don't have any more strength training scheduled until next Thursday, so we'll see if I can fully recover by then. Meanwhile, I will continue my tri training as long as I am physically able. Wish me luck!

Trifecta

Tuesday night was a real killer. Janelle put me through my regular personal torture (I mean training) - including a special emphasis on upper body work. Then I went to Highland Park for group swim training, which almost killed me! I enjoyed the strength training, but was really spent by the time I finished swimming. I finished all the drills, and was most thankful.

Wednesday, I had an easy day... 35 minutes on the treadmill and then steamroom / jacuzzi. Not too bad...

Thursday night was another double-header. I started with 35 minutes on a spin-cycle. Since all the spinners were being used in the main gym, I had to go up to the spin class instead. OMG... they work you hard up there! After enduring 35 minutes of cycling in all sorts of stances, I headed down for a strength training session with Janelle. She had a special workout planned for me (an endurance session, no less), which consisted of 8 sequential circuits of: [pull-ups - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest], [push-ups - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest], [bench presses - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest], and [leg-raises - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest]. Unfortunately, I kinked my neck on the fourth set of pull-ups, so we had to adjust the workout accordingly. After finishing this round of torture, we moved on to the regular full-body strength training workout. It was especially difficult because every movement hurt my neck, but I made it through it! Perseverence pays off!

Friday was a swim session - and given how stiff my neck was this morning, I didn't think I was going to make it! I could barely turn my head when I got out of bed! But after handfuls of ibuprofen and a relentless will to persevere, I completed a full round of swim training (200m warm-up, 10x50m drills, 4x125m sprints, and 200m cool-down). I have to admit that I urped up some of my lunch during the sprints, but I did finish! Afterwards, I enjoyed a steam & jacuzzi followed by a 90 minute massage at the spa. It was worth every minute!

This weekend includes a long bike and a long run. Wish me luck! I'll keep you posted...