Messed around and did a Sprint Triathlon today

Today was a “throwback” kind of day.  A typical day for me a few years ago, when I was chasing my IRONMAN Arizona dream.  A day consisting of all three triathlon disciplines of swimming, biking and running.

The weather was an unusually windy day for this time of year.  I first noticed the windy conditions crossing back from my lake swim, when I thought someone had put me in the washing machine cycle.  The water was quite choppy, but I really enjoyed it.  I just imagined dancing with the lake instead of fighting with her.

https://www.strava.com/activities/485651288/embed/7dc32d4fe0357643ed734d228ce569aea5054411

After my swim, it was off to get the kiddos to school.  After my extended T1 transition, I hopped on Zapata and decided to go for a one hour bike ride.   Having set no goals other than to ride for an hour, I experienced a level of freedom and enjoyment that I haven’t experienced in awhile on the bike.  No cadence, no HR to monitor, no speed checks, just me and my sleigh rolling down the street.

I can’t believe it’s been almost three months since riding my bike.  All of this 5K run focus has left me time strapped for my other sports.  I quickly remembered how much fun it is to roll along versus pounding along the pavement.

With the exception of a little shoulder and tricep discomfort, I felt exceptionally spry and energetic during my first bike ride in eons.

https://www.strava.com/activities/485793428/embed/8a3c8b505cee640a77505351fde1f9dcdd49f4b1

I guess this is what they mean by end of the road.

 

Zapata was happy to be back on the road again!

My one hour bike ride flew by exceptionally fast and it was time for T2 and to get in my daily 5K run in.  Except this time my 5K was a brick, because I was running directly off my bike ride.  I had forgotten how tough it is to run off the bike.  My legs felt heavy for the first half of the run, but I was able to find a slow pace I could maintain.  I dare not push the pace due to risk of aggravating my hamstring and glute issues.

All in all a great day and a wonderful remembrance as to why I love triathlon so much.

I haven’t worn my trisuit in quite some time!

 

What have I been up to lately?

Digger the dog, swimming after his tennis ball in Lucky’s Lake

A group of morning swimmers gather around

It has indeed been awhile since I blogged.  I’m not sure why?  I could blame it on the kids, exhaustion, etc.  But, the fact remains I haven’t been blogging.  No excuses.  I’ve had plenty to blog about, I just have not made the effort.  I have been focusing a lot on my children’s activities this summer.  We have them both in basketball camps, and I have been actively training them in “Dad’s basketball and track school of discipline”  LOL.

In spite of the kids taking up a big chunk of my summer time, I have been keeping pretty consistent with my open water swimming, running and biking.  My bike has been in the shop for a couple of weeks that derailed my training several times this summer.  I always seem to have tire/bike trouble more than most.

My next triathlon adventure is the http://www.huntingtonsdiseasefl.org/ which will be an Olympic distance race.  I’m really doing the race in support of my good friend Sincy Curley who is doing his first Ironman distance race in Chattanooga this year on his 50th birthday.  I’ve been in better shape coming up on a triathlon race, but considering all things I feel pretty good.  I’m still working 3rd shift which continues to be a training challenge, as many days I’m just really tired and probably should not be training.

Today I ended up doing a triathlon of sorts.  During the summer months since the kids are out of school, I get to swim at Lucky’s Lake on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.  So, my day started with a lake swim, followed by a 25 mile bike ride and a 3 mile brick run.

SWIM https://connect.garmin.com/activity/embed/842415037

BIKE  https://www.strava.com/activities/350188659/embed/5c123629a97d7388d113893671318ffd6fb91998

RUN   https://www.strava.com/activities/350188852/embed/be44c92c47b0a884b959c0c7cb5ea3cfe722a5d1

I’ve set a goal to go the entire year running a minimum of 3 miles a day.  I’m currently on day 20 of the 365 day goal.  About day 10 I overdid my training and suffered a hip flexor strain.  As a result of this pain, I have been unable to run at any speed worth mentioning.

I will have a full race report for the Olympic race this weekend!!

 

2hr heart rate run (8 miles distance) by Mrslice at Garmin Connect – Details

2hr heart rate run (8 miles distance) by Mrslice at Garmin Connect – Details.

After listening to Phil Maffetone discusss training and overtraining, I decided to go on a HR training protocol for 3 months.  I’m hoping to decrease my injuries, run a 8 minute pace at my optimal heart rate which is 131 bpm.

Now that I have my trusty Garmin 910xt watch, I can track my vitals like heart rate again.