Sunday, May 31, 2009

Hammer Jammer #2

Today the Hammerheads put on the Hammer Jammer triathlon training. I did this with my training group from the Florida Striders.  We got there early and set up all our gear like we would on race day. Then we walked over to the ocean. We swam South for 10 minutes and turned around and swam back. The current was with us and I made it back in a little over 7 minutes. The ocean was much nicer today. I was about waist deep when I was through the surf. Still need to practice swimming in the ocean but today was much nicer then during the BFast Triathlon a few weeks ago. I ran up the beach to the transition area put on my shoes, helmet and glasses and rode for 30 minutes South on A1A. I turned around and rode back to the transition area. The ride was nice the temperature was not bad and there were a few clouds so the ride was comfortable.  The Tour de Cure was going on today so we did the return trip with some of those guys and girls. It was nice seeing so many people out riding. I covered 18 miles on the bike today. After dropping my bike off at the transition and changing shoes it was off to run. We ran North on A1A which is shaded. I ran all the way to the turn around point 20 minutes and then took a 1 minute walk break and started running again. I took a few walk breaks on the return trip. I covered 4.4 miles on the run today so I was happy with that. I felt good after the run. I was happy with how well I did, I am getting stronger.  It still impresses my how fast most of these people are. 

I checked the addresses of my turn around points on the bike and the run to determine my distances. Then I came home and put the addresses into google maps and looked up the driving directions to get the distances.  I am still getting used to my aero bars I put on my bike and need to make some adjustments but I like these and they are pretty comfy. My next triathlon is in 3 weeks so lots of training to do. 

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

You get lemons make lemonade

So the rains finally came. We had a bit of a rain storm this afternoon. It was raining very hard. And it wasn't very long before the backyard was flooded. I swear we got like an inch of rain in 30 minutes.
It wasn't long after that Samantha was asking if we could put the canoe in the backyard. Ethan was soon asking as well. So after changing into my bathingsuit and getting the camera. Here we are in the backyard. We aren't wearing life jackets since the water was less then 6 inches deep I figured we could risk it. 
The kids sure had a good time. I even got into the act and we moved the canoe to some deeper water. Ethan and I are by the swing set having fun. 


Weather Day

Today the weather finally seems to be co-operating. After last week of 7 days of rain, and getting like a foot of it. We are ready for some better weather. This morning the kids and I took the dog for a morning walk around the neighborhood. We walked our mile and the kids even ran the last bit home. After getting the kids going on their school work I went out and cut the grass. It wasn't as bad as it could have been but it sure looks better when it is cut. I think we are in the pattern of afternoon or early evening thunder showers. Hopefully I will be able to get my swim in later today. 

Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day 5k

This morning I drove down to Green Cove Springs for a 5k race. I have been taking a running class with the Florida Striders. Today was the final exam. The weather was beautiful. The sun came out and there was a slight breeze. The temperature was upper 70's so it was comfortable. My goal for the race was to run the whole 3.1 miles. I have been doing the run 1 minute / walk 1 minute. So this morning I was determined to run the whole distance. I was able to complete the race without walking. I even picked up the pace for the last 1/10 of a mile. I finished officially in 35:44. Unofficially it took me 33 seconds to cross the starting line from the time the gun went off. So my time was a bit better. This was a new PR for me and I was happy. The race course was nice and it had a loop in it so we got to see the leaders pass by. I am always amazed at how fast some people can run. I saw several people from my triathlon training group. They all did well in the race and finished ahead of me. But I am happy to finish how I did since I have only been running since last September. I am getting stronger and I am getting faster. 

Sunday, May 24, 2009

30 miles on the bike

Today I woke up before dawn and actually heard birds chirping outside. For the past week it has rained every day. All my training was inside. Today I was supposed to go for a bike ride with some of the people I train with. When I went to bed Friday night it was raining so it wasn't looking good. Saturday morning was different. I got up and drove to the rail trail and we went for a ride. We covered 30 miles in about 2 hours. Very nice ride the weather was nice. It was getting darker on the way back but it looked like we might make it. We got loaded up and went to get some breakfast and the rains returned. On the drive home it rained harder then I had seen it rain in quite a while. It finally stopped this afternoon and it looks like the rains may have passed. 

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Masters swim

So last night I went to masters swim at the "Y" I swam more then I had swum in a really long time. The workout was tough. I can feel it in my shoulders and arms today. I made it almost through the workout in the 1.5 hours I was in the pool. I swam about 3,300 yards. I enjoyed it and will be going back. I am trying to get better at this triathlon training. The swimming will help me be stronger when I get out of the water. The group I am training with is doing an ocean swim Sunday with the Hammerheads. Hopefully the water won't be too rough. I would like to get some more practice swimming in the ocean. 

It looks like more rain today so I will do my run inside tonight at the "Y" on the treadmill. I will be taking my Ipod so I have something to listen to. At least I am getting my training in this week.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

First Triathlon

Yesterday was my first triathlon. The ocean was pretty rough so it made for a challenging swim. I had a tough swim but the hard part was getting out of the water and then having to run up the beach to the transition area.  The bike ride was next it was a 13 mile ride the hardest part was the bridge over the inter-coastal. The bridge was pretty steep. Going uphill was pretty slow. Going down the other side was very fast. I even passed some people going downhill. 
At the end of the ride we then had a 3.1 mile run. My legs felt pretty heavy running for about the first 1/2 mile and then they felt a bit better. The run seemed long. I am a pretty slow runner so I had some people pass me. That was ok since I was racing to push my self and see how I do. I did pretty well in the race. I learned alot about my self and also completing in a triathlons.
The race was a challenge. I need to swim more in the ocean and need to practice running after the swim. I am still working on my goal of being a better runner. My next triathlon is in June so I have more training to do and I have a better idea of what to expect. 

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Swim Clinic

Tonight Tami and I attended a swim clinic at the brooks YMCA. It was hosted by the Hammerheads Triathlon club. They brought in a coach who worked with us. There was 7 of us in the water. I learned a good bit and was really happy I went. I want to go swim tomorrow so I can practice some of what I learned. The more I learn however the more I want to learn. I still have a long way to go. I haven't worked on my flip turns since I can't do those in the ocean. The other thing I try is not to push off the wall very much. I am trying to get my whole 25 yards in. I do need to spend more time swimming. Just keep going as much as possible. 

Monday, May 4, 2009

Samantha First Triathlon

These are a few pictures of Samantha's First Triathlon. Samantha was jumping into the pool to start her race. No diving was allowed. Samantha swam a good race. She was in the senior division and had to swim 200 yards.
After the swim she ran to the transition area to get ready for the bike ride. She got all here stuff and then off to the bike course.
This was her second lap to make a total of 6 miles on the bike. They had people out on the course standing  and also riding bikes making sure the kids did ok. 
After the bike was dropped off in the transition area it was off to the run. Samantha had to run 1 mile. This was at the end of her run with about 300 feet to go. 
She did a great job completing the course. The weather had warmed up by the time of Samantha's start so the heat was an issue. She did great and finished strong. We were very proud of her for completing the race. And she is ready to do another triathlon soon. Now to pick one out and start training. 
This is a few pictures from Ethan's first triathlon. He wasn't too excited to get started but once he got going he did great. This first picture is of him about to start the swim. The mat he is standing on starts the timer he is wearing a chip on his ankle that they track. Once across the mat his time started. Ethan did good on the swim he swam 100 yards.

In the next picture he is running from the pool to the transition area to put on shoes, helmet and grab his bike. 
The junior division did a 3 mile loop. Ethan was just about done with the bike ride. Then it was back into the transition area to drop off his bike and go out for the run.
This is Ethan coming into the finish area. He still looked good and finished in a good time. The run was 1/2 mile long. 
The race finishes when you cross the line there was another mat at the end. All the kids got medals after finishing. Ethan had a really good time and said he wanted to do another triathlon soon. After getting up at 5am to get ready and go to the race Ethan came home and took a nap. That is something that doesn't happen very often. We are very proud of Ethan for completing the race. It is something he trained for and we were very happy that he had a good time and an enjoyable experience. 



Friday, May 1, 2009

Thursday evening run

So I use map my run on my Iphone to keep track of my running. So Tami and I were running last night and I go to check the distance and we have done 5.86 miles... at a 5:32 pace (I wish) The course we are running is only 5.56 mile long and we were less then half way. So I know something is wrong. So I canceled the program and we continued our run. It was a very nice evening, the breeze was blowing and the sun was setting. The temp was 79. Warm but not too bad. Tami and I had an enjoyable run. This morning I was checking the map to see what went wrong and It has us starting downtown and making a beeline towards the school board building where we actually started. This explains the distance and fast pace.