Swimming with company

My shoulder is slowly getting better and last Thursday my PT cleared me to start swimming again. I was very happy. So this morning was the Bfast #2 triathlon down at Mickler's Landing. I went down to cheer on some friends and just check things out. I took my goggles so I could go for a short swim after the tri finished. I was swimming back down along the shoreline, and when I would breathe to the left side I could see people on the beach pointing out towards where we were swimming. I thought that can't be a good sign. So we finished swimming and went ashore and some people came up and asked if we saw the shark. No I didn't see any sharks out in the water. I would have come in a lot faster otherwise. They pointed out some bait fish and there was a shark feeding on the fish. I was much happier to be standing on the beach at that point. It was great to be back swimming. I am going to get in the pool this week and swim some laps and I am going to do the Jax tri series #1 next weekend up in Fernandina. I can't wait to be out there again.

Ironman Miami 70.3

Registration has closed for the half ironman event in Miami. The race is October 30th and it is already full. A Half Ironman is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and a 13.1 mile run Do one after the other. I am hoping to finish my race in around 6 hours. Between now and then I will be doing a lot of training. I am going to continue doing the masters swim at the YMCA twice a week and continue working on my running. I am doing the 26.2 with Donna marathon in February and I am still training for that. We have 2 more long runs scheduled. a 23 and a 26 mile run. I will do these training runs in January and then start tapering for the marathon. I am doing the Tour de Cure bike ride in May as part of my bike training. It is amazing how much time and training goes into one of these races. For my marathon I have done about 400 miles worth of running. I will get in at least another 100 miles before the race. I need to work out a schedule for my training that covers 3 swim sessions, 3 bike sessions and, 3 running sessions. Some of these will be brick workouts. A brick is where you do a swim followed by a run or a bike followed by a run. Your legs feel like bricks the first 1/4 mile or so. You need to do a fairly quick transition to get the full benefit of this type of workout. I have a long way to go in my training. I may not be very fast but I know if I train properly I will be able to complete the race

New trick for counting

Tonight I went to Masters swim. Swimming involves lots of counting. Things like total yardage, Laps, Lengths, How often you breathe. Strokes per length. and sometimes some many strokes with each hand. We swim lots of laps, tonight we swam 160 lengths in a 25 yard pool. One of the exercises was 10x100. Each 100 yards is 4 lengths of the pool. So you count your lengths and then you rest 15 seconds between each set. Mike the guy I was sharing the lane with put his fins and paddles and float in a line at the end of the lane. After each set he would stack the items next to each other. After we swam 5 sets he started stacking the stuff the other way. It was quick and easy to keep track of how many sets we had swum. The simplest things work the best.

2010 Race schedule

I have been working on a race schedule for next year. This is what I have so far. There are a few conflicts with dates and a few missing dates but it is a start. I wanted to get this written down so I can start planning my training. I am currently training with the Galloway group for the 26.2 with Donna. This will be my first marathon. I wanted to do the marathon for 2 reasons first so I can say I did a marathon and second so I can build my running fitness. I enjoy doing Triathlons and the running portion is my worst of the three segments. By running as much as is required for the training it has helped my running.

2010 Race Schedule

February 21 26.2 with Donna (Marathon 26.2 miles)

March 13 Gate River Run 15k (9.3 miles)

March 20 Mud Run

April 10 Mandarin Biathlon (Kayak 5.78 miles, Run 3.9 miles)

May 15 BFAST #1 (Sprint Triathlon 400 yard swim, 10 mile bike, 3.1 mile run)

May 22,23 Tour De Cure

June 12 BFAST #2 (Sprint Triathlon)

June 12 Run For the Pies 5k

June 19 Jax Sprint Series #1 (Sprint Triathlon)

July 10 BFAST #3 (Sprint Triathlon)

July 19 Jax Sprint Series #2 (Sprint Triathlon)

August 7 Jax Sprint Series #3 (Sprint Triathlon)

August 13,14 Tour De Pain (3 races in 24 hours; 5 mile, 5 k, 1 mile)

August 28 Summer Beaches Run (5 mile beach run)

August 29 Hot Triathlon (Olympic distance 1500 meter swim, 40 k bike, 10k Run)

October Race For the Cure 5k

October Pumpkin Run 5K

October 30 Ironman Miami 70.3 (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run)

November 25 Outback Classic Distance (13.1 miles)

December 31 Vystar Gator bowl 5k

I am sure there will be some changes to this list as the year progresses

Masters swim

I went and did masters swim tonight at The Brooks YMCA. I really like their pool. It is a lap pool and it is only about 3.5 ft deep. Tonight we swam 4300 yards. I got confused and did something different on one of the sets and ended up swimming about 300 extra yards. I was looking over at the people in the next lane thinking they couldn't count. Having no clue it was me who couldn't read the workout off the board. At the end of the class we did a couple of relay races, we had 3 people in 2 lanes and swam a 100 yard relay. It was a lot of fun and each lane ended up winning a race. I am hoping this becomes a regular thing.

Outback Half Marathon

Thanksgiving weekend was a busy one for us. We got up early in the morning and participated in a Half marathon (13.1 Miles) It was Tami's first and my second. I set a new pr of 2:23:53 A 30 minute improvement over my last half I did back in February. I was really happy with my time and also how much I have improved. After finishing the race we walked home and covered another 3.8 miles. This got us our 17 miles we needed for our training. We are training for a full marathon next February 21, 2010. On Saturday we went and ran at the Jacksonville Running Company. I ran 6.83 miles. This morning Tami and I went and meet Darcy & Marilyn and went to a spinning class and then went and swam 1,000 yards in the pool.

We had my Family over for dinner on Thanksgiving and we also had my Mom come over for dinner tonight. Overall a great holiday filled with lots of training and family and friends.

Life is good!!!!

5/100 days running

Yesterday I went to masters swim at the YMCA. We had a good workout and I was actually able to make it all the way through the workout before I ran out of time. We ended up swimming 4000 yards in the 1.5 hours of the class. So I was all done and went to hop out of the pool and got the worst leg cramp I have ever had. It was in my left calf muscle. I managed to work it out and stand and walk around a bit. But it surly hurts. In fact it is still hurting now. I went to the locker room and changed into my running stuff even put on my new shoes. Then I walked slowly out to treadmills. I did some stretching, then I did some more and finally decided I needed to go do my run. I set the tread mill for 2 miles and proceeded to run. It didn't hurt while I was running so that was good. I just kept to a nice easy pace and ran for the whole 2 miles. I am liking running each day. Saturday we are running 10.5 miles so running on Sunday might be a challenge.

Jax Tri series #2

Today was the second of the series of sprint triathlons. It was my 3rd triathlon and I wanted to break 1:30 for the race. I managed to set a new personal best time of 1:21:51 I had a good swim and I averaged 19.2 on the bike ride and then I ran a 36:55 for the 5k portion. My best time for a 5k is only 33:58 in the Run for the pies So I am really happy with my run time for this triathlon. The race had a new course which was nicer then the first one. Traffic played a part on the bike ride. There were many cars on the course. I passed several of them and had an interesting time going through one of the round-about's when a pickup truck stopped in front of me. I was already on the breaks trying to figure out what he was doing. It was never close but I was prepared to either stop or go around this truck. The run was on a sidewalk that was shaded and it made for an interesting time people had to be careful passing as there wasn't a lot of room and runners were going in both directions. I even ran past some people out for a walk that had no idea about the race going on. They sure looked surprised. I am getting better running and can do it for longer periods of time now. I am still not very fast but I am improving my endurance. The race consisted of a 1/4 mile ocean swim, 10 mile bike ride, 3.1 mile run.

248  1:21:51.6   304  Emory McLaughlin                     Jacksonville, FL                                           Clyde   16     M 173   10:20.9  217   1:51     31:15.7 19.2  158   1:30     36:55.6 12:18  290                            

Sports clothing

Today I had the idea to take a picture of all my sports related clothing. Represented in the picture is Jiu-Jitsu, Cycling, Running, Swimming and Triathlons. I have been doing Jiu-Jitsu the longest of all. I have over 20 years invested in that. The Gi is the white jacket and pants on the bottom of the pile. I am a 3rd degree black belt in Kodenkan Jiu-Jitsu.

I also like to ride my bike(not pictured) but my helmet , cycle shorts and shoes that clip onto the pedals. I also wear gloves on my longer rides. Next on the pile is swim shorts(pictured on the far right) They look like the other shorts but they are just lycra shorts. They fit pretty tight and I could tell a difference the first time I wore them in the water. The yellow swim cap and goggles round out that ensemble.

Next comes running, I have a nice pair of running shoes and socks, the blue shorts and orange shirt are typical of what I would wear for a run. I also carry water with me when it is hot or I am going for a long run. In the upper right corner is a fuel belt. I can carry a water bottle and some nutrition in the small pocket. If it is hot and sunny I will wear a visor to help keep the sun off my face.

For Triathlons I like to wear my Tri suit. (Red and black on left) Triathlons involve swimming, biking and running in that order. It is nice to be able to wear the same outfit for all three events. It has a small pad in the but area to help make the seat a little softer. It is made of a fast drying material that is very stretchy. And it fits very tight so it helps reduce drag on the bike. There are 2 transitions in triathlons; swim to bike and bike to run. After exiting the water you pull of your swim cap and goggles while you are running up the beach. You run to the bike rack put on helmet and sunglasses and shoes grab your bike and off you go. After the ride I slip my feet out of my shoes on the bike and leave them clipped to the pedals. Run into the transition area put my bike on the rack, remove my helmet and put on my running shoes and visor and off I go.

Some other gear I wear or use while training

Heart rate monitor (watch and chest strap)

Ipod and earbuds (for tunes to listen to)

Race belt. (Race number clips to it)

Iphone with arm strap (for music while running)

Body glide to help prevent chafing

Now it is off to do some more laundry and hopefully the rain will pass through soon so I can go running this evening.

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

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.

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. 

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.