If triathlon was easier, they'd call it Football

Did you see those candy-assed overpaid bitches on "the game" last night? I was pulling for the Cardinals. If the steelers opening drive field goal had been counted a touchdown, or Kurt Warner hadn't been picked off on the goal line right before halftime then we might be singing a different song today. So let me describe my super bowl party. I started with some yoga during the pregame show. Then we all went out to dinner and to a local circuit city store that's closing down. We found a new dvd player for the back room. I saw the kickoff from the restaurant. TiVo got first couple of hours anyway, so I wasn't worried. Then we came home and got the kids in the bath. Because it's not a great super bowl party without a couple of naked girls. Then we read bedtime stories and saw 7 minutes of springsteen at halftime. Then I caught up with TiVo, and we got to watch the forth quarter live before going to bed at 10:30. oh yea, that was wild.

Other than that, it was pretty uneventful weekend. Michael and Summer were in town from Charleston for his birthday, so we had dinner with the fam saturday night. Wifey did 12 miles on the treadmill saturday morning, I made it out to Furman for my 12 mile run too late in the day saturday, so I only got about 7 miles in (1:16, 750 calories).

I did find a trail to run on saturday. Coach Katie said the normal asphalt path I run on could be too hard on the knees. So I went off road, and it was pretty fun. There were a lot more hills, twists, and turns than the normal route has. And the loop was about 2.5 miles instead of the normal 1.3 mile loop. It would be a fantastic trail to take the mountain bike out on. Lots of single track MTB type of surfaces. But it was a good run.

Before the run, I went to the local running store and got a double chopat brace. This thing really got the job done. The double brace has velcro stuff for above and below the kneecap. It really kept my right knee stable and pain free. I really need to get in some more smaller runs, and I've got to go back to the store and get one for my left knee too. They were also having a big Mizuno sale, so I picked up another pair of shoes, and some extra gels for the marathon.

WHICH BY THE WAY IS IN TWO WEEKS

Oh my. Marathon prep is in full swing, we're starting to get a feel for the weather patterns and make some final race weekend plans. The condo has been paid for, travel plans are all set, everything else is falling into place. I know we're ready, but now's when the anxiety starts to set in. Relax, enjoy the taper. This is what all of those miles are for.

Sunday was sunny and in the low 60's here. So I had the girls with me outside and in the garden. It felt sooooo good to get dirty again. it's all still bed prep and planning at this point, but just pulling some weeds and clearing some space in the sunshine was a great start. I also got all of the planning done, planning the space and picking what i want to grow this summer. Time to get the seed orders placed.

Oh, I did sign up for that april triathlon with FS Series in Raleigh. It's a small sprint, 750 meter swim, 10.1 mile bike, and 5k run. I think with those distances I should be able to break an hour and a half. And Wifey's dad was thrilled that we would be coming to see him for the weekend. So we can kill a few birds with one stone. I'm really going to try and give this short bike route all I've got, it should be a flat and fast course. My tri last year was just to complete, not compete. This time I want to pay more attention to what i'm doing, not just wondering if I'll survive.

Speaking of surviving, I had a really good swim this morning. I FINALLY knocked out 100m consecutively to get a base time. Not that 2:15 is a fast swim pace, but I have to enter a pace for seeding in the races, and this will give me a guidline. Last year it took several months before I could do more than a few laps in the backyard pool, so I'm really glad to see the swim endurance falling in line. This morning I did a 1/4 mile breaststroke, 1/2 mile backstroke and maybe 44 laps freestyle in about an hour. Swimming is such a good workout, but it really takes a while to get good and be able to go long. What was really cool about today was my stroke count. When I first got in the pool a few weeks ago, I counted 24 strokes average to get one length of the pool. After working on the form and starting to breathe from both sides, I am averaging 19 strokes per lap today. Coach says that's the best indicator of improvement. I remember being overwhelmed by my first 8 mile run, then sweating bullets just thinking about running in double digit miles. Now 8 miles is an easy midweek jog. I know swimming is going to be the same way. And to be able to see some improvement already is really reassuring. And unexpected.

And if that weren't enough, I think I'm starting to get the hang of the clipless pedals. I was going to take the bike on the road sunday when it was so warm, and I ended up doing gardening stuff instead. But this is why triathlon is tough. You always have to be looking forward. Planning the next set of workouts and the next race. It also helps you achieve balance, which is what I lost when I was only running. Just doing the marathon training plan, I stopped lifting weights, stopped biking and stayed out of the pool. Then my knees and shins started hurting. Balance is the key to maintaining overall fitness. But that's another post for another day.