Training for the Run

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Looking forward to a new year of running and derby!!!

This weekend I’ll be running in the Autism Ribbon Run.  This is my first run since the half marathon and I’m looking forward to it.  The weather has cooled off and looks to be just about perfect for this run.  This race is part of the Second Empire Grand Prix Series.  I haven’t been able to run in many of the Grand Prix races, but it’s still fun to get up and run on Saturday morning.  I’m walking over to Grae’s this afternoon from work and will try to pick up my race packet early at Inside Out sports since it’s on the way.

Looks like I’m going to miss the Second Empire 5K this weekend.  It falls on the same weekend as the WFTDA Championship Tourny in Austin.  I’m really looking forward to watching some roller derby and to check out Austin TX.  The Carolina Rollergirls play their first game on Saturday morning against Tuscon Rollergirls.  It should be a fun weekend.

I hope to continue training while in Austin.  I’ll find some running routes and maybe get in a swim or two in the hotel pool.  The City of Oaks Marathon will be here soon.

The Rock and Roll half Marathon was a success.  The weather was great, the crowd was great and the bands sounded good.  I even beat my time from last year.  My time this year is 2:05:48  I think I could have done even better if I pushed myself more, but now I know for next year.  This race also fit into my training for the City of Oaks Marathon coming up in November.

OK, so maybe my planning wasn’t the greatest, but I have the Virginia Beach Rock and Roll half marathon this weekend.  The soreness from the triathlon is subsiding and I’m going to either get in a swim or run here at the gym today.

The weather in Virginia Beach Sunday morning should be pretty nice for the run.  Some clouds will be nice towards the end of the run when we are running the boardwalk.  I remember that being the toughest part of the run.

It looks like I’ll be heading up to this run by myself.  Grae has another commitment this weekend and Caroline (Sweet Scaroline) has been recruited to scrimmage practices this weekend to prepare for some of the many great bouts happening in September.  Check out http://www.carolinarollergirls.com/ for info on that.

When I get home tonight, I’ll have a new toy to play with — Garmin Forerunner 305.

OK, so I made it through my first sprint triathlon and I have to say it wasn’t that bad. I went to the Durham Bulls game Friday night and spent most of the time chatting with Grae about the triathlon. I got to bed around midnight and woke up right at 5am when my alarm went off. I slept great and actually felt great for it being so early.

Grae showed up right on time and we were off to Hillsborough. We arrived with plenty of time to check in and setup our transition areas. Grae did a lot of reading up on how to lay out the transition equipment so that everything is ready for a quick in and out of the area.

After we setup our transition, we had plenty of time to kill. The race started at 8am and Grae was in the pool at 9:17 and I was 9:35. We had time to watch the swimmers and even take a few practice laps in the smaller pool. All that time really eats at your nerves and the pre-swim in the pool was actually pretty relaxing.

Grae was off right at 9:17 and I watched him from the side of the pool. He seemed to get stuck in large groups of swimmers. He finished his swim just about the same time I was getting in line to start my swim.

Then it was my turn. I got in the pool and had 30 seconds to wait for my official GO since the person before me was a no show. After two laps, I knew it was going to take me a while to swim and my goal went from doing well in the swim to just finishing. I worked hard at keeping a nice smooth pace. The laps seemed to never end and I must say that it was the worst part of the triathlon experience for me. I did finish and took off for the transition.

In the transition area I dried off my feet and put on my shoes and socks. I then went to put on my tank top and had the most trouble bringing it down my wet back. I really wish I would have taken the time to dry my back. I downed a gel pack, but on my helmet and took the bike to the mounting area. I got on the bike, spent more time than I would have liked getting my shoes in the clips and then took off for the bike ride. This part of the triathlon was by far the best part of the triathlon. You go from the pool where it’s loud, crammed with people, to the bike where you are out on the open road. I give all the credit to the bike I borrowed from Ron. It was easy to navigate through the gears and handled well.

I got back from the bike ride and put by bike and helmet back into the transition area and grabbed some water and my hat and headed out for the 5K. I was feeling tired, but not too bad considering all I’ve done. The 5K was mentally the easiest because I run in 5K races a lot. It was going well until the second lap of the run where I started to cramp up in my legs. I tried to walk, but I only felt it getting worse, so I kept on running. After the last water station I thought I’d stop for a second to try to stretch, but that didn’t work, so I just pushed through the pain till the end. The only problem I had with the cramped legs is that I couldn’t sprint the last 100 or so feet through the finish line.

So, I finished, got some water and took a deep breath of relief that it was over. The experience has been a good one and I’m even more excited about future races.

Check out Grae’s Race Report: http://www.lafrider.com/index.php/endurance-challenge-triathlon-2007-report/ 

Borrowed a bike yesterday evening and took it for short half mile spin. I also got swimming goggles and tri shorts, so I guess I’m ready to do this triathlon on Saturday morning. Let’s see, the pool here at State is still closed, so I offically logged no swimming laps, borrowed the bike last night and logged a 1 minute half mile on it — nervous? naw — well maybe — ok maybe I just shouldn’t think too much about it now. Hopefully I’ll have a full race report sometime this weekend if I can find time to be online.

Grae’s Post 

OK so I signed up for this triathlon this weekend and I’m starting to become a little nervous.  I’m been reading up on beginner sites such as:  http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/  and http://www.trinewbies.com/  There are very good articles on how to train and what to expect.

The pool here at NC State opens back up tomorrow and I expect to go and do some laps Wed, Thurs, and Friday.  I’m also going to try to get in a bike ride Friday evening with Grae since I haven’t trained at all on a bike other than stationary bikes.

My goal with this triathlon is to finish.  Set that initial time to beat for any other future triathlons I may compete in.  We’ll see how it goes.