What we can achieve.

What a great father's day weekend I had. I spent time with my family and my girls and really enjoyed the time we had together. On Saturday I did absolutely nothing and truly relaxed as I had my Tri on Sunday. Sunday was here before I knew it and as usual I did not get much sleep, but it is expected.
I woke up Sunday at 5:05 Am, got me some coffee and the morning and started my routine. I stretched for about 30 minutes and around 5:50 I made me a smoothie full of veggies and fruits. We left the house at 6:00 and got the event around 6:15. To my amazement it was already packed with athletes.
All week my goal was to beat my previous time last year of 1:30 but I was doubting myself because I was in much better shape last year and I worked harder and was more prepared than this year. Unfortunatley, my training has not been where I would like it to be this year, but at this point all I could do was my best.
Last year a good friend of mine, George Jones told me to take it all in and enjoy the hard work. So, this year like last year I was soaking it all in and was loving every second of the event.
The event quickly started and we were off, I felt really good on the swim and came out the water and headed to the bike. Got on the bike and was also feeling really good, peddaling well and not getting too tired. The true test would be after the bike, and my legs. Once i got off the bike my legs were a little tight but I fought through it. Being that I knew what to expect this year, that really helped out a lot.
Around mile 2, the cramps kicked in and i was hurting... However, I slowed my breath and concentrated and kicked it up a notch. once I started hearing people, I stepped it up and finished strong. To my amazement I killled my time from last year. I finished at 1:22, and so of course I started to think what I could have done better to have finished in under 1:20.

Distance
Short
Clock Time
1:22:58
Chip Time
1:22:58
Overall Place
128 / 479
Gender Place
107 / 249
Division Place
30 / 56
Tot Div
468
Tot Gend
243
Tot Ag
56
500M Swim Rank
208
500M Swim Time
11:31
500M Swim Pace
2:18/M
T1 Time
02:57
14M Bike Rank
100
14M Bike Time
41:59
14M Bike Pace
20.0mph
T2 Time
01:32
3M Run Rank
139
3M Run Time
24:55
3M Run Pace
8:18/M

I actually knew I would beat my time when I got ouf of the water, and I was no longer doubting myself. I was looking at my watch for my pace and when I got off the bike I knew unless I got hurt I would shatter my time last year. The mind is a beautiful thing, and if you truly believe you can do something, you definitely can. Next year, 1:15 is my Goal and a top 10 finish.. Until then, lot of training.

Onward.

Taper week.

This is it, two more days until "Go Time".. All the hardwork is about to pay off. I have been taking it easy this week and have not been doing much. I did a simulation TRI on Wed and it went well. Yesterday I did absolutely nothing and today I may swim or stretch. Tomorrow I will be hydrating myself as much as possible and will be definitely stretching out.
Sunday will be here in no time and I am ready to go. I am shooting for a goal of about 1:20 to complete the TRI. After Sunday I am taking Monday off and then on Tuesday the training begins again for Jack's Generic Tri on August 1st.
Onward

5 days and counting..

All the hardwork is out of the way and it is time to do my simulation run tomorrow and then relax the rest of the week or simply not work as hard. This am I got me a good half mile swim, easy weights and will be running tonight. Tonight, heading out for a run or an easy jog. Tomorrow I am running a simulation TRI and will be doing all the disciplines at P-Ville lake. I am really excited but nervous, only really nervous about not beating my time from last year. Regardless if I do or dont, I will give it all I have and hopefully will do better than last year. After tomorrow, I am plan on doing a lot of stretching and easy swimming and one last light jog at Pville lake.

I can see the Finsish line and am looking forward to it.

And it continues..

Counting the days until TRI time and the workouts have really picked up. My body is feeling it and I am in need of a rest day, but not just yet. I am taking probably Sunday off and then will go strong for 2 days, easy one and then rest until the TRI.
Today is weight day, and I continue with my weights, but will be adding a 3 mile jog to the mix, which should be a lot of fun. Following my weight workout and run, I am heading to the pool for a swim and hopefully if the weather holds up today, a bike ride at night.
Tomorrow thursday I am hoping to get out and ride, swim and run depending on the weather. This Saturday is my simulation Tri, and next Wed which will be my last hard workout before taking a few days off to rest and recover.
My body feels good, however I feel run over and bruised, but this is the time when I need to fine tune my conditioning. I have also been eating a huge amount of food to make sure I have plenty in the tank.

Less than two weeks out, am I ready?

So far so good on the TRI Training, less than two weeks to go and I feel pretty ready, but not 100%. I could use some more running as I have not been running much, and instead have been concentrating on riding and swimming. I hope that all the running in the past will help me once I get off the bike and start running.
This week has been pretty intense and I will be spent after this week, but the good thing is that next week is taper off week and i will only be doing one of the disciplines per day so that will take a lot of stress and effort away.
This morning, went on the trail and rode it in a good time with my training buddy. Meant to swim prior but did not get a chance so tonight I will be swimming roughly 800meters indoor. tomorrow, I have weights in the AM along with a 2-3 mile run (Indoor), and in the PM will ride and possibly swim again outside.
I plan on taking a break probably on Sunday but will make sure that i stretch a lot. I also am planning on doing some YOGA either hot or standard Hatha. Got very important training and days ahead of me before I taper off.
Onward.

The Ride Continues

What a weekend of training, it was a well needed weekend that allowed me to get in some serious training. This past weekend I was able to concentrate on my weaker points, biking and swimming. Swimming is somethign that you tend to lose really quickly along with everything else. Two weeks ago, i was gased after 200M, and now I am back up to 800M swims. last year before the Tri I was getting up to 1200M at a good pace. Since I had not swam much, I really felt the pain of not swimming.
The biking I have been impressed with, my endurance, strenght and speed has gradually increased. I am knocking out hills a lot easier than last year. Hopefully I can get some good runs in this week.
This week I also begin a new weight routine for the next month. I am planning on getting out for a ride 2-3X per week with at least one long ride per week. Swimming will continue at 4-5 days per week. Most workouts are around 400-600M, with one long swim per week, probably going to be Fridays. The running I plan on running 3-4X per week and having speed work in between, 4-10 400X runs.
The weights, a key part of my training will continue to 3X per week.
Today, I have decided to take the day off, my body is aching and I have to listen to my body before I see a decrease in performance. So, today the keyword is REST REST REST!!!
Onward.