Hammer Jammer #3

Today was the third in the series of Hammer Jammers. These are triathlon training sessions put on by the Hammerhead Triathlon Club The training today consisted of a 30 minute ocean swim, 70 minute bike ride followed up with a 50 minute run(I decided to do 40 minutes). There had to be about 40 people out today for the training.

The ocean was nice this morning the surf was only about 2 feet and very easy to get out through. The swim was nice. We swam south for 15 minutes and then turned around and came back to the starting point. Then we ran up the beach to the transition area. Put on bike shoes and helmets and off on the bike. Rode 35 minutes south on A1A and turned around and headed back. It was already getting hot and there was a little breeze out of the west. There were lots of people out riding this morning. The cars for the most part give you room, which is very nice. After the ride was finished it was back to the transition area to change shoes drop off my bike and helmet, put on my hat and grab my water bottle and go for a run. The run was very hot and this is my worst of the 3 sports. I ran with Staci and Lesley from my training group so that was nice. We pushed each other to run, longer and faster then we would have done on our own. Before I knew it we were back at the finish.

Afterwards we went out for brunch at a place called Elizabeth's in Ponte Vedra. The food was very good and reasonably priced. We had a nice chat while we were eating. I hear they are planning some more Hammer Jammers so I will be checking the website for scheduling.

I felt pretty good after the training today. I rode a bit easier this week and it made the run easier.

Keep training

Another bridge another run

Today Tami, Elaine and I met downtown to run along the river. The course we chose took us along the river from the school board building over the Main Street Bridge, past the Jacksonville Landing, over the pedestrian bridge which crosses over the rail road tracks and down to the Fuller Warren Bridge. Then we turned around and retraced our steps. The Main Street bridge pictured above complete with fireworks at the top of the span is the 1 mile mark. We started our run at 6:30 pm this afternoon so it was still pretty hot.We ended up covering 5.5 miles. I checked the temperature at home at 8:30 pm and it was still 89 degrees. So that made for a pretty warm run. The only thing that saved us was there was a slight breeze blowing off the river. I really enjoy running the bridges as there isn't any traffic to deal with. I like the variety of surfaces we run on and I like running on the bridges. There are water fountains and rest rooms spread out along the course. There are always people to see. You get runners, walkers, cyclists, homeless people, business people, fishermen, and people out for romantic walks. It seems to be a good slice of people all along the course. Then to be running with friends makes it all good. Running has been wonderful for me I have meet lots of good people, visited many parts of the city and gotten in much better shape physically.(Thanks Laura for getting me running) I may run many other places but along the St Johns River with my friends is my favorite.

Walking on the beach

Tonight Tami and I drove to the beach and went to dinner and then we decided to go for a walk on the beach. The breeze was blowing onshore about 15 knots and the temps were down, it was quite pleasant. We enjoy walking on the beach as the sun is setting. Tonight the water was up very high so there wasn't much beach. We started at 16th Ave. South and walked down south down the beach. We walked down to the pilings in Ponte Vedra. I used the gps in my Iphone to map my location and put in 16th Avenue to find out we were 3.3 miles from the car. The tide had come up even further and we were walking in the soft sand and water the whole way back. So we ended up walking 6.6 mile this evening. It made for a very nice walk. Plenty of time to talk and just enjoy each others company. We do enjoy walking on the beach and just hanging out by the ocean.

Jax Tri series #1

Today was the Jax tri series it was very hot today. 1/4 mile swim, 10 mile bike ride, 3.1 mile run. It was supposed to hit 100 degrees. The race went good. The ocean had a small swell to it nothing bad and very easy to get through. I passed some guy at one point who was doing the back stroke and he cut in front of me and proceeded to make a circle. When I looked back he was heading the wrong direction. The first transition went well I was on my bike pretty quick. The ride was nice I passed a lot of people on the ride and only had 3 people pass me, and I passed one of those back. The run is my worst of the 3 sports and today was no exception. I rode hard and paid for it at the beginning of the run. I had to take many walk breaks. There was very little breeze and the sun was out in full force. Many of the people I passed on the ride passed me back on the run. I expected this to happen but you still hate to see it. I am going to practice my running more. For me these races are more about the training and getting in shape then they are about race results. The race was 3 miles shorter on the bike then my first and I beat my time by almost 30 minutes. The ocean was also a lot calmer so my swim was faster as well. It is hard to compare the 2 races different courses and different conditions but I was happy with my results and will keep training and pushing myself a little harder each time. I will keep trying a I am in way better shape then this point last year.

Big training day

Yesterday I went to the training with the Striders group. We rode for 1:20 and covered 20 miles, then we ran for 30 minutes I covered almost 3 miles. After that I did the ALS ride with the Hammerheads. It was a 23 mile ride for charity. The first ride went well except for the head wind. On the way back on of the girls had a flat tire so we stopped to help her change it. The mosquitos were so bad we couldn't get the thing changed quick enough. We got back under way and finished the ride. On the run it was starting to get hot. I had to take some walk breaks. After running I put my bike stuff back on, Helmet, and shoes and went to join the Hammerheads. Just as we were getting started one of the girls had a flat tire. I was helping her fix it and we turned around and the group had left us. We got it changed and 3 of us rode together. The wind had picked up a little more plus I was tired from the earlier activity. I considered turning back but stuck with it. It was a nice ride and the course was different then I had been on before so it was interesting. At the finish they had lunch waiting for us. I had a very good pulled pork sandwich and some pasta salad. Then I got to talk to some people in the club. It made for a very nice morning. And I was home before noon. So I rode my bike 43 miles and ran for 3 miles. It was a very good training day