Spiderman!

So yesterday I went for an early morning 8 mile run and I ran like Spiderman! :-)

No, not like this guy:

Or even like this guy:

Much more like this guy:

It was a beautiful crisp Fall morning so I headed to Barton's Creek to start my run by running the trails that criss-cross the neighborhood. I was clearly the first person on the trails because within a few seconds of turning off the road and onto the trail I was running through a continuous line of spider webs that were strung across the path! Now it's not unusual to run through the occasional web, but this was different - for some reason there seemed to be a huge number of them and pretty soon I was starting to feel a bit like a human cocoon! I plowed on, looking like a mad man wiping imaginary flies away from my face as I ran and after about a mile saw a figure running towards me in the opposite direction doing the same routine. I'm not sure who she was, but I'm sure that the mystery Spiderwoman was as pleased that I had cleared the way for her as I was that she had cleared my path!

Please don't tell SWMBO about this post - she's absolutely petrified of spiders and if she knows that I was covered in webs she will very likely not come near me for a month!

Triangle Open Water Championships - Race Report

A few weeks back I was eagerly reviewing what workouts The Coachman had scheduled for me on www.trainingpeaks.com when I noticed:

Saturday September 14th

"1.2 mile open water swim. Triangle Champ Swim would be good."

A quick online search told me that FS Series would be hosting the final event of the Triangle Open Water Swim Series - the championships - at Vista Point on Jordan Lake that day. Now that all sounded a bit intimidating, but when the Coachman told me that entry was free if I volunteered, the cheap bastard in me took over and I signed up!

Saturday morning came and I woke to an early alarm and headed out to Vista Point (which was also the site of the swim portion of the Raleigh Ironman 70.3 event) in plenty of time to get there for 06:30 when I was needed to help with set-up and the registration table.

It was chilly! The wind was whipping and I was pleased that I decided to wear an extra layer over my T shirt! Brrrr..... It was pretty dark when I arrived, but I knew that the water conditions wouldn't be pretty!

We soon had the registration tables set-up and registration lists, T shirts, timing chips and swim caps laid out and waiting for the first arrivals.




The early crew......



Pretty soon the first competitors turned-up and the whining about the cold started! Now it certainly felt chilly after a long Carolina summer, but it wasn't that bad! The water temperature was still around 80 F, so the race would not be wetsuit legal.

The big concern in my eyes was not the temperature, but the wind! The flag on the FS Series trailer was whipping around and, sure enough, once the sun came up we could see white caps on Jordan lake and waves coming ashore. Not exactly ideal conditions!

Another major concern (for The Otter at least - she worked very hard not to stand next to me!) was that I was still coughing and sneezing as a result of a nasty late summer cold that I had picked-up. Breathing was a bit of a struggle - not exactly ideal for swimming!

After checking-in 120 or so hardy souls, it was time to head down to the start area on the beach and get ready to swim! There were 2.4 mile and 1.2 mile races and I was thankful that I had signed-up for the shorter distance!

The course was an elongated rectangle - out on the left side; right around a buoy; a shorter leg to the second turn buoy and back to the beach (2 laps for the folks doing 2.4 miles).

As expected based on the wind, conditions were tough (but at least the water was warmer than the air temperature!). The wind was blowing on-shore and slighlty from the swimmer's right, so the first long leg was a relentless "face wash" as you swam into the wind. I like to breathe every third stroke, but I soon figured that breathing to my right just resulted in a refreshing drink of muddy Jordan Lake water, so I switched to breathing every second stroke on my left hand side.

The outward journey felt like hard work, so I was happy to reach the first turn buoy. I made a reasonable turn and tried to sight to the second turn buoy, only to find that I had gone blind! The glare of the sun off the water was intense and, coupled with the chop, it was pretty much impossible to see. For a while I just followed the swimmer in front of me and hoped that they had either super eyesight or a better sense of direction that some people I know (Compass!). Eventually I made visual contact with the buoy and was relieved to realise that I was at least swimming roughly in the right direction! I made a slight course correction and switched to breast stroke now and again on the second leg to make sure that I was staying on track.

Finally I was on the final leg. The swimming finally got easier was there was a nice surfing effect from the waves. The only issue was that they were coming from over my left shoulder so, if I wasn't careful I would find myself being pushed to the right and off-course.

I finally made it ashore in the horribly slow time of around 45 minutes, but am certainly not beating myself up given the conditions, the fact that it was a training outing and, in particular, because I was having trouble breathing on land, let alone in the water! For reference, I swam the same distance in 39 minutes at the Ironman Raleigh race.

All-in-all, I was pleased that I did it. If I can do that in tough conditions and without a wetsuit, the swim at Beach-to-Battleship 70.3 at the end of the month will be a breeze!

Highs and Lows

Wow! Where did summer go? As I type this post (which I notice is my 200th!) it's almost September; the Junior Sassoons are back at school and I haven't made any entries to this blog for well over a month. Fear not, however, dear reader, I'm alive and well and still training hard! (Yeah, like you really care that much - if you're reading this drivel I'm assuming that you're suffering some sort of terminal insomnia or are mind crushingly bored!) :-)

I haven't raced since Ironman 70.3 Raleigh back in early June, but I have been keeping-up with The Coachman's instructions (more-or-less!) and I'm preparing for the Outer Banks Olympic Distance race on September 21st and the Beach-to-Battleship 70.3 miler in late October. Looking forward to both races immensely!

To get me back into the swing of things, here are a few highs and lows from the last couple of months of training:

High: Spending a good deal of time in Nags Head and being able to run on the beach! There's nothing quite like a barefoot run as the sun is coming up!

Low: A double flat ride that ended before it had really started.

High: Biking! I've had a bike focus over the summer and feel as if it's starting to pay off.

Low: Not having much opportunity to ride with Compass, Snort and Flipper. How I miss their bitchy banter, frequent pee stops and completely inappropriate potty humor!

High: Some really nice, steady open water swims in the ocean.

Low: Sore knees! Nothing too bad, but just a little concerning.

High: Riding with a group of experienced "roadies" and being able to keep-up!

Low: Another ride where I flatted 4+ miles from home. Changed the tire but found out that my CO2 cylinder was empty. Walked home in cleats....

High: Best workout of the year(or, maybe, ever) was when I had run about three miles up the beach early one moring and came across a huge pod of dolphin feeding in the waves very close to shore and putting on an amazing ariel display. Absolutely awe inspiring! I gave up my workout and walked/jogged as I followed them back down the beach for a couple of miles before they headed off-shore.

Now if only I could work out how to swim like they do......

Oh and one more final High: Finally getting to drop Compass on a few hills! [Sorry Compass, couldn't resist that one!] :-)

What Are The Odds?

Ugh.  Another disasterous ride down here on the Outer Banks this morning.....

We have guests this weekend, so I was determined to get in my long ride early today.   I was quiet as can be as I made coffee so as not to wake the passed-out masses and soon headed out on a beautiful sunny morning with just a mild breeze from the west.

As it was so early I decided that I would be safe riding over the bridge to Manteo and then on through town and over the old bridge to Mashoes and beyond.   Well, it wasn't to be....

I crossed the bridge and was a lttle over five miles into the ride on the causeway between Pirate's Cove and Manteo when I ran over something metallic (I heard the clinking sound) and felt that unmistakable feeling as my back tire deflated.   Damn!   Not to worry - a quick change and I would be on my way.  I found a pretty good gash in my brand new tire (see previous post) but no obvious cause of the flat.  I cleaned things carefully and put the new tube on the rim.  The tire was a little more difficult than usual to get back on the rim as it was new, but after just a little wrestling that too was in-place.   Now just pump it up and I would be on my way.  I got out my CO2 cylinder, placed it over the valve, pressed the button and......  pfffffttttttt......   just a pathetic little puff of gas and the thing was empty.   WTF?   It has never been used, but apparently must have been happily and slowly leaking gas without me knowing.   No spare canister and no pump with me.   Now what?

It was still too early to call SWMBO, who enjoys her bed on Sunday mornings, so I decided not to disturb her unless absolutely necessary.  There are usually plenty of riders here, so I figured that I would just start walking slowly and I would be sure to run into some friendly soul with a pump.   Ummmm... not so much!   One very nice lady on a beach cruiser stopped, but her tires had different valve to mine, so her pump was of little use.  I kept walking and was soon at the bridge.   This left me in a quandry: walk over or try to catch a ride?   I tried to look suitably pathetic on the side of the road for a while, but what little traffic there was just kept speeding past.   What the heck, I'll walk....   now the quandry became do I walk into oncoming traffic for safety reasons, or do I walk with traffic to increase the chances of someone giving me a ride?   I chose the former and walked over this baby:

OK, OK, I know it's upside down.....    Can't manage to rotate this one!   :-)

A little later I saw a biker coming towards me - finally!    Unfortunately, it was a guy on a roadie who completely and utterly ignored me, despite me yelling to see if he had a pump as he passed.   Who rides past someone walking their bike in the middle of nowhere?   What a D-Bag!   Oh well, keep walking....

Soon enough I was walking back up the beach road.  Surely now someone would stop to help?   I was within less than a mile from home when finally a friendly voice called out from a driveway.  Two very nice couples from Virginia were just heading out for their ride and had a pump - phew!   After pumping-up and having a nice chat I was able to ride the last few minutes home.  Six miles of riding and walking four plus miles in bike cleats counts as a workout, right?

Now I'm off to OBX Cycles to buy another new tube; a couple of CO2 cylinders and a small hand pump.  Damn you Bike Gods!

Sometimes it's just not meant to be.....

After a tough work week featuring long days, cancelled flights and all manner of general hassles, I finally made it down to Nags Head to join SWMBO and the Junior Sassoons on Friday evening.

I was looking forward to my scheduled two hour ride on Saturday, but I guess it just wasn't to be.

Things didn't start well when I got my bike out....  flat rear tire.  Ugh.   I changed that one and started north on the beach road having used my only spare inner tube.  Bad idea.....    about six miles in I felt a judder in my rear wheel and, sure enough, another flat.....    Damn, damn, damn!    I was lucky that the spot where I flatted was only about half a mile south of Outer Banks Cycles, so I was able to walk m bike there.  I new tire and three spare tubes later I was on my way again, but by this time the off-shore cross winds were getting crazy and I was working hard to avoid getting blown into traffic.  Once the thunder and lightning started I knew that the ride was over and turned for home. 

Just a little over 18 miles - not at all what I had in mind, but at least I lived to fight another day!

Guest Blog Post - "The Bell Tolls for Thee"

Something new!    Writing this blog can sometimes get a bit old, so to change things up thi week we have a guest post!   Ladies and gentlemen, I give you The Compass!    This was written after our ride together last Sunday.....

She cleans-up pretty well!

The Bell Tolls for Thee

I have never been one for waking up early.  In fact, after 36 years of life on this planet, I can proclaim with certainty that almost nothing good ever happens before noon.  Triathlon has become a pastime that I absolutely adore, yet still, when race day comes – I find that the hour of my alarm clock is nearly as daunting as the race itself!  So when my faithful cycling comrade (whom I refer to as “Vidal”) emailed me last week to say that he would like Saturday’s ride to start at 7 a.m., I nearly slammed my head against the keyboard.  I knew this might be the last time I would be able to ride with Vidal for weeks to come, but 7 A.M.???  Frantically, I emailed back – “7 a.m. riding or 7 a.m. ‘hair & makeup’?”  This is what Vidal has nicknamed the (admittedly) inordinate amount of time I spend messing with my bike shoes, my helmet and my 8 layers of clothing on every ride.  Thankfully, he conceded to my plea.  “7 a.m. hair & makeup”.  Phew! 

Saturday morning came, and I rolled into Vidal’s driveway at 7 a.m. on the dot.  I noticed immediately that The Slut was not parked outside as usual, and the garage door was closed.  There was no smell of coffee - no chirpy British voice harrying me to shake off the morning and stop scowling.  What could be going on here?

I pulled up Vidal’s facebook page and immediately got my answer.  Apparently, “One Direction” happened.  That’s right.  Zayn, Liam, Harry, Louis and (everyone’s favorite -) Niall.  The pictures told me all I needed to know.  In spite of the fact that Vidal wasn’t smiling in any of these concert photos, it was clear that he, SWMBO, and the little Sassoons had had one heck of an exciting Friday night.

After one text message and one unanswered phone call later, I could only assume that he had likely gone deaf from adolescent, female screaming.  A slight smirk appeared on my face.  In the few minutes that had passed, I had already come up with several good punch lines at Vidal’s expense.  Finally – after being the butt of so many (usually accurate) jokes, I would have my vengeance.

Just then, Vidal burst from the house and onto the footpath.  Well, “burst” may be a bit of an exaggeration.  He swung open the door wobbled through it, looking discombobulated.  He muttered something that sounded vaguely like, “I’ll be freddie in a few thin-mints.”  I stared in confusion at the once again closed door and wondered if he’d ever be coming back.  He returned shortly thereafter carrying coffee and looking pitiful.  I couldn’t even bring myself to use any of my well-formed punch lines.  Instead, I sat patiently beside my readied bike, residing myself to the hope that this would possibly buy me some future credit.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, Vidal would have some credit owed to SWMBO as well.  Turns out that my earlier call had awoken him so abruptly that he leapt out of bed shouting “Get the phone! Get the phone!”  SWMBO responded sleepily to inform him that their bedroom phone was not ringing, which only escalated his frazzled ranting.  When she finally awakened to his satisfaction and held out the receiver (featuring only a dial tone), he acknowledged that it must be his cell . . . which was downstairs . . . oops.

Anyway, once the coffee (and the pillow lines on Vidal’s face) had dwindled, we finally did head out for our moderate 35-miler.  Having not ridden in any serious fashion since the Raleigh 70.3 three weeks earlier, I expected the hills to be a little rough. Turns out they felt brutal!  Clearly my legs must have sustained some sort of atrophy from sitting in Vidal’s driveway for so long.  This ride also included an impromptu pedal-for-our-lives interval, courtesy of a dog that looked like Lassie but did a fair impersonation of Kujo.  And the coups de gras of the morning occurred when traveling 32 mph downhill and having some newbie jogger step directly in front of my wheel.  Managed to avoid injury to either one of us, though I thought about pulling over and leaving him (and any of his potential offspring) with something to think about.

Having said all of that, I did enjoy this ride.  It was a great workout with great weather - and it is always nice to spend time with the Sassoons (especially after biking, when we can all exchange punch lines together!).  I look forward to my next weekend cycling adventure with Vidal – though I suspect it will not be at 7 a.m.

Note from me.....    I'm in a band!!    Awesome!    And I have by far the best hair!

So What's Next?

Almost two weeks have passed since Ironman 70.3 Raleigh; my legs feel back to normal and I have enjoyed some lighter workouts and (like George Washington, I cannot tell a lie) some junk food and a few extra glasses of wine.

But now it's time to get busy again.

So what's next?

As the Raleigh race was approaching I did think about taking a couple of months off over the summer to enjoy spending a bit of time at the coast and generally "de-tox" without feeling the need to keep to a rigorous and regular workout schedule.   Several things made me change my mind however:

• I know myself and "taking it a little easier" could quite easily become "laze around and drink too much beer"....    that's NOT what I want!
• SWMBO has been incredibly supportive and has encouraged me to keep training as long as it doesn't interfere significantly with family life.  (Thanks dear!)
• After Ironman 70.3 Raleigh, I really want to do another 70.3 this year!

Before rushing to any decisions I wanted to talk things over with the Coachman, so after the One Step Beyond Coaching group swim session at Triangle Aquatic Center on Tuesday morning we met for breakfast to go over what the rest of the season might look like and beyond.

First decision was that Beach-to-Battleship 70.3 in Wilmington, NC on October 26th (Set-Up Events) would be a good target race.  Objective (weather allowing) is to use the tide assisted swim and flat course to crush the 6 hour barrier. 

We had a good discussion about how training would look for the next couple of months, especially as I'm hoping to spend quite a bit of time at the coast.  I have also had some concerns about my knees having been a bit sore for the past month or so.  I was pleased with our decision to move to a bike and core focus for a while (with maintenance swim and run workouts) before moving back into a full build for the race.

I also decided that I am not going to do any other races between now and Beach-to-Battleship except, perhaps, Outer Banks Olympic for primarily social reasons.

Now this is where it gets a bit scary..........

I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I....   ummmm.....   sort of.......   broached the subject of possibly...... doing a full 140.6 mile Ironman event next fall....    there.....   yep.....    I said it!

Now I'm still a long way from being fully committed to this yet, but The Coachman saw no reason why I shouldn't do it.   My biggest concern is to get family buy in for the amount of training it will entail.  I was somewhat ecouraged by The Coachman saying that much of the training would be broadly similar to what I'm doing now, with the main difference being longer "long" bike and run workouts as the chosen event gets closer. 

Maybe it's time to start looking for a "destination" race to take SWMBO and the Junior Sassoons to?  Next years late season options seem to be:

Lake Tahoe (Sept.)
Kona (Oct.)    World Championships - OK, so maybe not!!
Florida (Nov.)
Arizona (Nov.)
Cozumel (Dec.)

Decisions, decisions.   Florida is a popular "first timers" race, but it sells out extremely quickly (as does Arizona).  I quite like the sound of Lake Tahoe, but there's plenty of time to worry about where!

Another thing that I would like to do if (and it's still a big IF!) I decide to do this, is to try to raise some money for charity.   I need to work on this.  There are several good causes that are close to our hearts and it will be nice to feel that I'm doing something for others as I indulge in this incredibly self-centered sport!

So there, I've said it in public.  I guess time will tell whether it comes to fruition or not!

And for those who may be wondering:  No, I will most certainly not be getting one of these if I happen to sign-up and actually finish....