5-10-08 (70 of 92)

Went for a swim at the gym today. Swam for a little over 20 minutes at the pool. I love my new goggles. I did the first part of the swim timed to 22 laps to make sure I could do the race distance with the TI method. That went well, and I did drills and easy laps for the remainder of the time. 22 laps in about 12 minutes. I think I'm liking the TI method.

Then I ran 4 miles with Steph, but it was HOT and HUMID. I did the 4 miles in about 34 minutes. The hills were brutal in the heat.

Mile 1 = 9:34
Mile 2 = 8:45
Mile 3 = 8:58
Mile 4 = 8:40

I've been trying to work on running negative splits for my runs. I've been reading the benefits of doing negative splits, and as they say - "you race like you train".

5-9-08 (69 of 92)

I did an open water swim tonight w/ Steph watching me. I guess it was more of a security blanket kind of situation. The water at the dam was COLD!!! I was only able to swim for about 13 minutes, before I was ready to get out of the water. I was getting used to being in the open water, but not being able to see the bottom is still hard to do. A lot of things in the water pull my attention away from swimming. After the swim, me and Steph went for a 3.01 mile run (00:27:15). Good run.

5-8-08 (68 of 92) late wet run

Still in recovery week mode, so the missed workout on Wed is not bothering me too badly. However, the long drive to and from ATL has my left knee aching a little. I ran an easy pace for 3.36 miles (00:34:18) at the dam, and the knee didn't hurt - in fact the run seemed to relieve some of the pressure on it. I stretched well afterwards, being careful not to put any sideways pressure on the knee during quad stretches. It was also my first rain run of the summer. It was just barely misting at the dam when I started - -not even enough to blur in the distance, and nice and cool. It was great - lots of wildlife around the dam. I saw a heron (in flight), about 8 geese, and several ducks skimming across the water. There was just barely a sheen of water on all the roads, and no wind ( so it didn't get too cool). By the time I finished it was nearly 9pm, and getting dark. Then I saw a red fox on the drive home. Anyway, I was glad I got to run after the day I'd had.

My swim workouts have me very worried at this point. I haven't swam a workout since last week because I can't get a lane at the pool after work, and I've not found a good place for open water swims that I feel safe enough (again - mental hurdle). I'll explore a few other places this weekend, and hopefully find a new home until swim season is over, or some kids drop out of the program.

Next race is the big one - only 24 workouts to go.

5-7-08 (67 of 92) - FAIL work

No workout at all... worked until 8pm and then had to go to be early to prep for Thursday morning road trip to ATL. See my twitter page to learn how much that sucked (www.twitter.com/aorthr33)
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5-6-08 (66 of 92) Brick!!!

I did a brick workout today since I didn't get to do the workout I wanted to do yesterday. I pedaled for 30 minutes (about 8.2 miles per gmaps - no GPS), then immediately started a 30 minute run (did 2.8 miles in 30:44 - again, via gmaps). A good hard workout. Going from bike to foot really hit my legs hard, but that's kinda the point, isn't it?

New bike

PICT0342
Originally uploaded by aorthr33

Here's the pic of the new ride - trying to post this from Flickr -hope this works.

5-5-08 (65 of 92) Makeup

Since I only got to run on Sat (race day) instead of a my planned 35/70 SwiB workout. I decided to swim and bike instead of run. Besides, I was dying to try out my new bike and new goggles. When I got to the dam, I learned that I still have some things to get over before I commit to open water swims - got some mental hurdles to overcome.

I tried to do my swim and failed miserabley, but I met another cyclist on the road and made a new friend and maybe a training partner. He also told me of some better places to do open water swims.

I got to try my new bike, and it's better, but I've still got some familiarization to do on it. I biked 21 miles @ 1:20:10. I think I need to raise the seat a little to conserver my legs more - I felt a little cramped over, and my quads noticed it quickly. In a normal Tri, I wouldn't want my legs that fatigued before the run.

5-3-08 (64 of 92) RACE DAY

We ran the Hike-Bike-Run 5K for Valley Haven school. I had set the GPS for a 27 minute race, but things didn't work out too well for that. The race started with a lap around the highschool football stadium track, and Steph and I got separated quickly. I pulled out to about 60 ft ahead of pace and to get some running room, and she didn't come along. I kept an eye over my shoulder to make sure something wasn't wrong and to avoid leaving her too far behind. We eventually joined back up after about half a mile and stayed together for the rest of the race.


The pace plan however, got screwed up pretty badly (in a good way). Remember - we were shooting for another 27 minute race. The race course was a "Y" config, with 2 turnaround points. When we could see the first turn, we were about 100 ft ahead of pace. After we made the turn and came back to the same spot I'd just checked, we were over 300 ft behind pace -- "NO WAY!!!" We hadn't slowed down, and there's no way the virtual runner could have gained 400 ft on us.

I think what happened was that the GPS lost signal just before the turnaround due to the tree cover, and when it regained sync we'd already turned back, so the out-and-back-without sync caused us to 'lose' some virtual time. I tried to keep us on pace using just our speed, and I guess I just over drove us a little. Steph was pretty hammered with only 1/2 mile to go - until she could make out the timing board - we finished the course in 25:54 - - Over a minute faster than her last race. She was worn, but very proud.

The next race for her is the Midnight Express in August, and my next one is the Triathlon in June (maybe 2 tri's in June - still thinking on that one).

5-2-08 (63 of 92)

Ran a light 2 miles with Steph at the dam in preparation for the Hike-Bike-Run 5k in the morning. We just ran out for 10 minutes and then turned a ran back. I didn't take the GPS, but we did about a 10 minute mile pace. I just wanted to get our legs warmed up a little and do a nice long stretch.

A coworker loaned me a hydration pack he'd never used, and I tried it on this run without any of the additional straps. It wasn't very comfortable, but I need to try it again with the chest straps, and then I'll add the waist strap and make a final decision. If I just hate it, then I'll start looking for a fuel belt type of solution.

It's starting to get hotter, so I need to find a water solution quickly.

5-1-08 (62 of 92)

Ran one mile @ Sportsplex on treadmill. Didn't get to swim because the pool was too crowded - no lanes available. I decided to go to the dam and try to do an open water swim, but the water was too cold, and it just didn't feel safe, so it was pretty much a washed workout.