Vikingman! - The Bike

2:50. Not bad at all.

Honestly, that's all that I can say about the bike ride. Nothing of note occurred. I drank a bottle of HEED and sucked down a gel every lap. I got passed three times. Those guys were faster and had way cooler bikes and wheels and shit than I do. They also had on aero helmets that made them resemble the creatures in the Alien movies and made them just look a LOT faster than me.

I'm okay that I got passed. I passed at least one of them on the run. I think two. And that was with the calamity that was forthcoming.

T2 went much faster than T1 at about 3 minutes. In and out baby.

I know, lame post. But nothing happened. I rode well. My back got a little sore. Nothing out of the ordinary, though I'd say it was a better than ordinary ride. It was cold though. Being wet, my toes went numb immediately and stayed that way until about mile 2 of the run. My fingers too went numb, painfully numb, but thawed by lap 2 of 4 on the bike. I couldn't think of many songs to sing. But I did keep thinking that I couldn't believe that I still had a half marathon to run. Which is next time.

Race Report: Vikingman!

And it's over. At last. And I made it.

Saturday, September 11 was the Vikingman Triathlon in Burley, Idaho. This was my goal for the year. Not necessarily Vikingman, but a half-iron distance triathlon. All that I can say is that I met every goal I had in the race. Granted, it was a small field, but I still made it. The weather was ideal, though a little chilly. I wish this race report was more exciting, but for once, not much went down. I'm breaking the report into parts so the posts won't be ponderously long. Here it goes...

The Fun Run

The day before the race, a one-mile fun run was held. Wifey and Smarty Pants took on the challenge while I took photos and stared at the cold river. Smarty Pants ran the whole mile, other than a 10 second break. Not bad for a four year old. Chip off the sorta old block...

The Swim


It is well known that I dislike the water. I hate cold water. And I get terrified by dark water. I even wear clear lens goggles on sunny days to keep things bright. So the idea of swimming in murky 60° water before the sun even comes up had me going. Unlike other years, I've spent a fair amount of time open water swimming this summer and felt more prepared than ever for a 1.2 mile swim, even with the challenges of cold and dark.

I didn't sleep much. Just couldn't relax. Unlike the usual anxiety about swimming, I was more anxious about the cold and just wanted to get rolling. I was in and out of sleep until the alarm sounded at 4:30.

I set up transition in the dark, except for my handy clip-on flashlight. A good idea if you know you will be setting up in the dark. Then Wifey and Smarty Pants dropped me off at the swim start. I wandered down and waited in the 42° air for about 15 minutes until they finally let us into the water. It actually felt warm compared to the concrete boat ramp! I stuck my face in the water and started trying to blow bubbles to get used to the cold. It wasn't working well. I'd stick my face in the water and gasp. Before I was ready, the order to start was given and we were off.

It was a relief to go, like an anchor was dropped. I took off and had a tough time keeping my face in the water, but I settled down after a few strokes and found a rhythm. I also noticed that A LOT of other swimmers weren't handling the cold as well as I was. Bobbing heads were all around. I had one guy stop right in front of me and I swam into him. We apologized and I kept going. I whacked a couple of others as I swam by them and finally decided to move out farther into the river to get away from the others and make it easier to sight the buoys. The steam coming off the river made it tough to see. I finally started looking higher and found the bridge not far from the end of the swim. It gave me an idea of the amount of swimming that remained and let me pick up the pace the closer I got.

When I finally reached the dock. I pulled myself up. I didn't want help, I was afraid they'd pull me up too fast and I'd get dizzy. Wifey and Smarty were waiting and told me I was one of the first out of the water. SHOCKING! I was about 20th.

Other than one small moment of panic that I can't explain and some major brain freeze, the swim was great. Mat to mat time was 32.02. A little high considering the before and after time lag. But even that time is fantastic for me.

My transition was less than ideal. Sunscreen. Arm warmers. Chatting to Wifey. It was a long transition. 6:48. I needed about half that. Ultimately it ended up not mattering, but I need to fix that.

Next time is the bike!

As Ready as I'm Gonna Be

Five days out from Vikingman, my first half-iron distance triathlon.

I'm as ready as I'm gonna be.

I have no delusions about the race. 5-6 hours if I'm lucky. I won't be winning anything. My training hasn't exactly been to the letter. Still, I feel prepared for a good race. I'm swimming solidly. My bike is okay. The run is decent.

If I have any worries with the swim, I am always a little concerned with anxiety. I deal with it with most open water swim sessions. But I am now able to push past the fear and keep going forward. I'm confident my swim time for the 1.2 mile distance will be between 35-40 minutes.

The bike is usually my strong discipline in a triathlon, but lately it has been giving me some difficulty. I have a tough time getting comfortable and my quads don't cooperate, getting achy far too quickly. It could be nutrition-based though, so I am going to really be cognizant of eating and drinking during the race. Time should be around 2:50-3 hours for the 56 mile ride.

Running is the big unknown. How will my body respond after 3 hours on the bike? So far, my brick workouts have been positive, with runs following rides of 20-30 miles starting strong. After my last long run in my Lunarglides left my toes blistered, I'm having a debate on shoes. Maybe the Nimbus would be a better bet even though they are old. Or the Lunars with lots of BlisterShield on the feet would be better. Still, if the feet hold up I think a run of 1:50-2 hours is a good possibility.

Add in transitions and I really think that I am capable of a six hour gig. Provided I can stay out of the porta-johns, of course. Could I do better if I had trained harder? I'll know soon.

And We're Back

Sort of back.

Perhaps regular posts might incite the few of you who read this to check in more often and maybe even keep new readers interested. But... I get lazy. And forgetful.

My personal failings aside, I'm less than two weeks from my first (last?) half iron-distance triathlon. My preparation , as usual, has been less than ideal. The only constant in my training is my constantly spotty. Still, it mostly gets done. Mostly.

Mainly due to work, a bout with strep and the general lack of focus that pervades my brain. (I just lost focus and went for coffee.) Still, I feel pretty much ready to finish under six hours. I think I am capable of a 30 minute swim, three hour ride and a two hour run. Add-in transitions and I should be right around six. If I can go better, so much the awesomer.

(I just surfed over to a couple of websites. Lost focus again.)

My biggest race day fears are the swim, nutrition and gastrointestinal distress. But I think I have them all covered. I've been doing a fair bit of open water swimming as of late, with just a couple of panic issues. (I just checked water temp for the Snake River. Almost 66 degrees.) I know I can do it. Water temps could be a factor for me. If it gets too cold I could have a problem keeping my face in the water. But I think I can overcome that by getting into the water early and making sure the cooler water isn't a shock to me. Nutrition is going to be gels, water, electrolytes and whatever else my body wants. I think I'll be able to handle that because I'm not going to be hammering it. Which will also hopefully keep my GI system in check.

Fingers crossed.

I guess I have an additional thing I struggle with: Is it worth doing at all? I mean racing costs money and I often wonder if it is worth it with my approach to doing it, which is mostly half-assed. Here has been my "training" schedule pretty much all summer.

Monday: Nothing or a short run
Tuesday: Swim and a run if I didn't run on Monday
Wednesday: Run if I didn't on Tuesday
Thursday: Swim and ride
Friday: Run
Saturday: Nothing
Sunday: Long ride with a short run afterward. Sometimes.

Now if you ask me, that isn't exactly the path to victory. There is very little intensity in the workouts as I am pushing more for endurance. It just seems so haphazard. Yet, with my schedule, I don't want a set training plan because I end up missing workouts and then get pissed and down on myself for it. And it all comes back to the question: Is it worth it if I am not putting as much as I can into it? Or maybe this is all I can put into it without robbing from other areas of life. Like family time. Or work time. Or project time.

Is it worth it? I don't know. But on September 11 I'm doing it anyway.

The Wagon

So I hope to get back on the wagon. The blog wagon. I fell off, obviously and haven't done much in the last month. Busy. But, I have been getting down to business.

After RAGNAR, which was awesome other than a couple of raw-rubbing personalities and some minor stomach issues, I took a little break. I felt like I was ready for one after a long running schedule. Now when I run it isn't so great. I have a strange disconnect between my body and legs. Odd. I am coming around, though. Just takes time.

I have been riding and feeling better. Longer rides, 50 + miles. Building the endurance. Sadly, I have no climbing legs. My weight is staying down, but trying to get up hills is tough. Maybe I suffer from Lance Armstrong syndrome - I'm getting old. Again, it's coming around.

Swimming is going great. When I make it to the pool. I am up to 45 minutes non-stop and could keep going if I wanted. I swam at Bear Lake last weekend and had a good swim. Calmer than ever in the open water. That's good.

All this adds up to my coming half-Iron distance race in September: VIKINGMAN. First time ever at this distance. First time ever over sprint distance. If it goes well, I'll do XTERRA at the end of the month also. I should have decent form.

So that is some of what I am thinking about right now. More later.