Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Marathon training week 7

I recently purchased the new Garmin 310xt. I have used it on 2 training runs. It tracks all kinds of data. The GPS measures distance. It also has a heart rate monitor. You can track your speed and distance and compare that to your heart rate. When you upload the data to the website you can review your training.

Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for
Marathon training week 7

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Tami and I take a walk

So the other night Tami and I decide to take a nice stroll along the river. I am thinking we will walk 2 miles down around the fountain and back. Well, we get to the Main Street bridge and Tami asks if I want to walk over the bridge? Of course I say "Yes". So now we are going to walk down to Yates YMCA we just doubled the distance of our walk. We get down to the YMCA and Tami asks if I want to walk over the Acosta bridge, "I say sure no problem". We even threw in some running to make it interesting. The picture above is about 3 miles into our little walk. I used my iphone to take it. I like having the fountain in the background. We had to stand under a light so we would have enough light for the picture. Of course this makes us look terrible. But we were having a nice evening. The breeze was blowing the temperature was pleasant and the moon was rising. This is one of my favorite places in the city for taking a walk or even running. I think the money the city spent on the River walk was some of the best money they ever spent. So Tami and I ended up walking 4.5 miles

First Training Marathon training day

Tami and I started our 26.2 Marathon training with Donna this morning. The marathon benefits Breast Cancer research. I did the half marathon last year and was ready to step up to the full distance this year. Having Tami join me in the training is an added benefit. This morning we did 3 miles along the north bank of the St. Johns River. It was nice and cool and the breeze was blowing. It made for a very nice run. I started out in a 12 minute pace group and part way through decided to move up a group. I was able to chase down the 11 minute pace group and finish up with them. They had a pace more in line with what I was looking for.
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Sparks a Flying!

Making sparks. I had a customer bring me a bag full of old carbon steel tools he needed sharpened. Included were several scrapers. I urged him to make one of them a skew chisel. Carbon steel makes lots of sparks when you are grinding it. I had my daughter come out and take some pictures.

This is a close up of the sparks. The interesting thing is they cool off so fast they don't really hurt. If you have a steady stream like in the picture the heat builds up. Also since the tools are carbon steel you have to cool the tool frequently. Most of these tools are heat treated and the grinder can heat up the steel enough to cause you to lose the temper. You grind a bit then quench the steel in the some water.
I realized as I was typing this blog entry that I didn't have a before and after picture. Maybe next time. I was digging the pretty sparks .

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                            

Sunday Morning bike ride

This morning I went and rode the rail trail. I covered all 30 miles of the trail. It was a very nice morning and it even felt a little cool when I first got started. Of course I warmed up right away and then the sun came out and warmed things right up. I am trying to use the aero bars on my bike every chance I get. I am happy with the set up of my bike and it seems pretty comfortable. I need to get used to being in the bent over position with my head lifted up so I can see ahead. I averaged 18.4 mph for the 30 miles I rode today. I am pretty happy with my speed but would like to build on that a little. I see some speed work in my future. I will keep you posted on that.

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.