Hangin' Loose

Brick today.  Should of been yesterdays workout.  But needed to get in a long run to get ready for Ogden.  So the brick today was to prepare for the next 2 weekends.  With the dual and tri coming up.  So did the 75 min bike and only 20 run instead of 40.  But its all good.  On the ride we went for part of the route I did on Fri.  With like 3 fairly flat then the next 3 or so a uphill climb.  Was pretty good workout.  We worked on gear shifting and when to shift.  Which really makes a huge difference.  We hit 2 hills later on in the ride.  And just flew up and over them like they weren't really there.  Its all in the shifting and when to shift.  We both hit a top speed of 39.11 on this ride.  After getting home.  Changed over to our running shoes and went for a 2 mile run.  Avg pace of 9:30 which was pretty good recovery.  Legs are feeling good today.  Just tired.  And took a 2:30 hr nap. Feeling good about the races coming up.:)

AM-  Recovery week this week.  So only 20 min swim this morning and 45 min run this evening.  Swim went pretty good.  Got in 2 new drills.  Got to get one more stage done and then will be on to the last new drill.  Which will be the full stroke.  So I am kind of excited for that.  So then I can then put it all together and be swimming.  Got just under 2 weeks till my first tri.  The good thing is that it is in a pool so I will be alright if I need to stop a few times.  But hopefully by then I will my swimming stroke and can be able to do that for the lengths and rest at the turns.:)

Today is a biking day.  And only a 35 min ride.  So we rode up 7000s and back down.  Going up took 20 mins.  Coming back down only 10 mins.  There was a cold wind from the South.  But no rain so its all good.  Rode around a bit in the neighborhood to get in some more time.  Seemed like a short little ride.  Where it was done way quick.

AM- Went for a swim this morning for 20 mins.  Short and sweet.  I was able to get in some swimming strokes at the end.  Went really good at first then took the fins off.  Struggled with it for about 2 laps and then it started to come together.  I sure haven't gotten it down.  But making great progress.

I am debating about doing the Bear Lake Brawl or Utahalf on my Bday.  Which is a non IM half ironman.  They are on Aug 28.  The one is at Bear Lake and other at Utah Lake.  And both are great prices.  My only concern is the swimming portion.  I am sure I can get my biking up to the 56 mins and sure I can run 13.1.:)  Its just the 1.2 swim.  But hey I will have my wet suit to keep me afloat.:)

PM-  Tonights run is only a 30 min one.  So decided to try a few things different for the race.  Wore my racing flats without my orthotics to see how they would be without them.  And had my new shoelaces in them also to see how the feel was with them.  Went really well overall.  Problem was that the wife went out earlier then me.  And so when she told me I needed to reset the watch.  I misunderstood that the watch had to have it past runs cleared.  So I didn't get a accurate split going.  ARGH!!  And it kept beeping at me every few secs after the first mile.  Did the 4 mile loop with the 2nd mile uphill and 4th downhill.  Haven't ran this one for a while.  But felt really good on it.  Saw the first mile split at 7:15.  Way faster then I wanted but thought it was fine.  Headed up the hill and finished that mile at a 7:50.  Which was tough and one of the fastest splits up it.  I will have to check back and see if it is.  Next that mile it started chirping alot.  The 3rd mile was into the wind also yet was fast.  I really highly doubt that I read it right when it said a 5:54 for that mile.  And right close to the end of the last mile with .1 or so to go I was at a 6:09 pace.  Finished it with a 28:25 and 4.02 miles.  So the times dont add up to well.  So I am sure of the first 2 mile splits and unclear on the last ones.  So its kind of a guess.  All I know though is that my feet left very light and fine without the orthos.  And happy that I finished under 30 mins for the 4 miles.

Mile 1 7:15

Mile 2 7:50

Mile 3 7:11

Mile 4 6:09

TT 28:25  AP 7:06

Early morning swim today.  30 mins in the water.  Did 15 drilling, 5 swimming with fins.  And last10 mins swimming without.  Started getting the feel for it alot more in the last few laps.  Having a hard time keeping track of the total yards though.  Way to many things to think about.:)

The weather for the race this weekend is looking great.  Finally some good weather.  But I am sure we will get snow yet again.

AM-  Went for a swim again with the wife.  We did 30 min swim this time.  So I spent 10-15 drilling.  And then on to straight swimming.  Started feeling better after a couple laps and then I tried to change up the sides I was breathing on.  Was off for a few laps.  But those last say 6-8 laps.  Were right on.  Feeling really good about my progress swimming.  So I am excited for this racing season coming up.

PM-  We went and rode the course to see how it looked.  Looks like a small trail but it will work just fine.  We should be spread out enough after the run that I wont have to worry about passing to many people.   On the smaller trail.  Man is there a lot of gnats and bugs on that ride.  Should be a good race tomorrow.  Oh on the ride out took 34 mins.  And back was 28 mins.  Wanted to kick it up after avg pace of like 20.  And was able to hold a 23.5-4.5 pretty well for the last 4 miles or so.

This might be a bit long.  Since there is a few different parts to it.  So this is my 2nd one this year.  But you cant compare it to any of the other 2 that I have done.  Since the distances are different.  This one is a 2 mile run 20 bike then 2 run.  The distance on the run were off from the watch by about .17 or so.  And the bike was right on with a little more for the transitions.  The temps were perfect for the race.  And really wasn't any wind to speak of.  And there was 200 or so doing the dual.  And about 20 or so doing just the bike ride on the Legacy parkway.  Transition opened up at 7am to set up our area.  So we got there a bit early and got a great spot right by the start of the bike.  Set up and got ready.  I was able to get in a good 6-7 min warm up.

So starting the first run was interesting.  Since it is on a small trail.  They had people start off by there predicted finish time of the first 2 miles.  And would let people go every 2-3 secs.  Fastest going first.  So there was about 10-15 before me.  I was shooting for a 14min 2 miles.  So of course the first mile came in a bit fast.  And short for say with first mile at 6:45.  Slowed it down for the 2nd a bit more with a 6:57.  Yet there was still a ways to go to the transition area.  So for the first run I took and ran a 14:38.   Which was 14th overall and 3rd for my AG.

First transition was bad.  Did it in 1:15 which was 41 overall and 5th in my AG  ARGH!!  Not sure why it was so bad.  The guy that was 2nd in my AG did it in 23 secs.  And alot faster on both runs.  So changed and took to the bike.

The bike portion was a lot better once I got going.  Going to work on maybe having my shoes already on the bike maybe to save time.  But felt pretty good.  And wasn't alot of people out there really before me in the race.  Got passed by a few just before the turn around and none after that.  I passed a few people though from the earlier bike race.  Total distance on my bike was 20.34 miles 57:00 Avg speed 21.44 avg cadence was 73 and max speed of 26.17 miles.  And was 18th Overall and 1st for my AG and total time of 57:00.  The guy that had beat me in the transition and 2 runs was 4 mins behind me on the bike.

Transition 2 was even worse then the first one.  I think also with riding a tri bike.  I dont need the gloves and they slowed me down maybe some.  But need to work on this.  Ended up 46 overall and 8th in my AG with 1:25.  And again the guy battling me did it in 23 secs.  WOW!!

Run 2 is next to do and to my surprise I had no rubber legs going into the run.  For the mile of the bike I dropped the gear and spun out my legs as much as I could to flush out my legs.  And it worked great.  So took off running and restarted my lap to see when I came out of the transition my paces.  Caught a few people again on the run.  And the guy I passed during the first run.  Was right there in front of my for the 2nd.  And this time I passed him much sooner.  At about .6 or so into the run.  I was passed going the other way the winner of the race.  And everyone else behind him.  Where did all these people come from??  LOL So I was gaining on the guy with the Strider shirt on that I passed on the bike ride.  Which just happened to be the guy in my AG and took 2nd.  I was almost up to him at the turn around.  And he started to leave me on the 2nd mile in.  My first mile came in at a 7:00 pace.  And I was happy with the 2nd mile but could of drove it home harder with the Strider guy a bit ahead of me.  He finished a bit ahead of me but it wasn't enough with 7:21 the 2nd mile. And a 1:11 for the last .17 on the watch. I had gotten him by 4 mins on the bike and he only had me by 32 secs on the run.  Just enough to beat him on his Bday.  Since I chatted with him at the end of the race.  Crazy thing with all these transitions. And different parts.  So my 2nd run was 10th overall and 2nd in AG.  WOOT WOOT!!

So ended up taking 13th overall and 1st in my AG by 10 secs.  Next wouldnt be for 13 mins. I really learned a lot from this race.  First I need to work on my transitions.  I really lost a lot of time in these.  And so I have to really work on this.  Also the bag that I got to hold my gels in really did a number on my right leg.  The velcro tore it up a few times when it would hit my leg.  OUCH.  The gelling up and hydration that I did worked great.  And so I have not complaint there.  And the racing flats were awesome again.  My legs didn't feel heavy or anything.  Oh and the guy that was 10 secs behind me.  He ran a 2:54 Ogden marathon last year.  So I am feeling pretty good about being able to make up for it on the bike.  Who would of known it was going to be my strength.:)