Twinkle Toes

First, I just realized I never posted March's totals:

Swim: 12,635 meters, 5 swims, 2535 m avg

Bike: 224 miles, 12 rides

Run: 79.85 miles, 16 runs

Yoga: once, 30 minutes

Strength: none.

Yes yes yes yes yes, Ironman training is in full effect. Holy crap. 224 miles on the bike? 16 runs? I did not realize I was that close to 80 miles running. That's a total of 34 workouts. I was amazed at first about how many workouts I was missing. But I think 34 workouts in one month is pretty good. Yep, I think I'll be ok.

Of course, getting a 5 mile run in is also typically a good workout.

Last week's log:

Monday 3.97 miles running in 30 minutes

Tuesday 4000 meter swim

Wednesday 28 miles on the bike

Thursday 3200 meter swim

Friday Nothing nada zilch zip rest day

Saturday the big duathon. see race report below.

Sunday 5 mile run 6 mile bike

It was a bit of an easier week. The swim practices were totally bananas. I really started fitting in with this team more, and keeping up more with their pace. I mean these people are FAST! It does not play games. We did an endurance practice. 4k? practice? We talking bout practice? Yep. These dudes don't play. The coaches are pretty amazing too.

Do the DU!

Saturday morning was the Cary Long and Short Course Duathlon. Funny little race. Since I'm a member of the Delta team, I got 40% off of the registration fee. It was too good of a deal to turn down. And during Ironman training, if it says "long course" I gotta be in. This one was a 5 mile run, 31 mile bike, and another 5 mile run. Long course, let the party begin.

It was so freaking cold. It's April for goodness sakes! Why was it 40 degrees and cloudy on a saturday morning? Luckily the race t-shirt was long sleeve, it was the only sleves I had with me once I got out there. It was supposed to be 70 degrees and sunny that morning.

So we're all shivering cold. I knew it was going to be a pretty competitive field from looking at last years results. The short course people took off, and we gave them a 10 minute head start. Then, we were off.

A funny thing happened when I was standing in the starting corral, I got that "familiar grumble". I already hit the bathrooms once, so this was going to be trouble.

I took off like a bat out of hell just trying to keep up. Ran the first 3.5 miles in about 24 minutes. That's pretty fast, and I wouldn't be able to hold it for long. The course was a 2.5 mile loop that we ran twice each time. It wasn't particularly hilly, but there was some decent challenges in there. Finished the first 5 mile run in 41:05, just over an 8 minute pace. My target was 45 minutes so I was feeling pretty good.

T1 was uneventful. I took off the running shoes, slid on the bike shoes and helmet, grabbed Roberta and took off. Call it 1:55 (should be under 90 seconds).

The bike was a pretty decent course. There was lots of car traffic. Not too many hills. This was a one loop affair, 31 miles. It was still really cold. There was apparently a pretty stiff wind behind me pushing for the first half of the course. But being a loop, that meant it was in my face the second half of the course. Wind stinging like I was being stabbed in the face. My feet went totally numb with about 5 miles left. It got pretty nasty. My target for 31 miles was an hour and a half. Actual time was 1:47:08. That cold and wind killed me.

T2 came with a little surprise! I came rolling in half dead ready to abandon where there was Kelley and the kids were there to cheer me on! It was so great to see them there. Totally made T2 bearable. Off went the bike shoes thank God and the running shoes went back on. I took off the long sleeve shirt since I knew running would be warmer and it was later in the day. T2 time was 1:51, should have been under 90 seconds and I swear it felt longer than T1.

I love this pic. I'm sure it's just the angle but I look really thin.

Yea, I haven't forgotten about that gut rumble. It got quite uncomfortable while I was biking. No port-a-johns on the run course or the bike course, or near transition. I came screaming out of T2 back onto the run course, and the first thing I did was head 200 yards off course to the park bathrooms. I knew that with a race belt on and a one piece tri suit, there was no way I was going to be in and out of there quickly. According to Garmin time, it took about 4 minutes. I actually saw the race director taking a leak as soon as I got in there, and I told him he needed more crappers on the course. I was still in race mode, so I don't think that my tone conveyed a funny, which I really was just giving him a hard time. I was just out having fun.

Back onto the run course, and I got right into the pain cave. I had nothing left in the tank and 5 more miles to cover. The first loop went by without a real hitch. Kept it slow but manageable. The second loop had a lot of walking. Every hill was walking. I kept my nutrition up, so really all the goods were there. But I was running on fumes. The pain cave is a good place to be once you learn to appreciate it. Last run time was 49:45, including 4 minutes on the crapper. Target was once again 45 minutes flat. Mission accomplished.

That finish line was a beautiful thing! I saw it coming, Kelley was taking pictures and the kids were there cheering me on. Guess what the first thing was that I said after crossing the finish line? "Hey, thank God, I've got to take a shit". Yep, it was a bad day for the bowels. I could barely get the timing chip off of my leg before heading down to the bathrooms.

They had a bounce house and face painting that the girls loved. So cute! All in all it was a great day. I had some tough times on the bike and spent some time of the pain cave. And did I mention it was a competitive field? I'm knocking down 8 minute miles here and I still finished 46th out of 52 men. My total time was 3:21:41. My target was to break 3 hours. Dang poop and wind blew it again. The winner came in at 2:18. The 5 mile runs? 27 and 30 minutes. My age group? Finished 9th out of 10 men (35-39). The top 3 went 2:21, 2:23, and 2:25. Unbelievably competetive.

I went home, crashed, unpacked, and ate all day long. That race was a serious calorie burner.

Sunday was pretty incredible too! My brothers band is on a big tour right now, 18,000+ miles total driving. They are playing all over the US and Canada. If they are coming to your town be sure to check out the show. They played in Raleigh sunday night. They are running the show as the opening band for William Fitzsimmons, then playing as the backup band for William's set. I got to hang with the band for a bit, William is a pretty cool dude. Then Michael came back to the house for a while and had dinner with us. The kids went nuts, and we got no pictures. Got a good one at the show, though.

It really was a wild night. Lots of fun. Catch the show if you can. Got an oly triathlon coming up next weekend!