Last week was the beginning of the Fall Season of our tri team for Team In Training. I have signed up to be a training captain again, and plan on riding in the Silverman event. It is a half-Ironman. Yup. I have gone from nuts to crazy.
Here is a picture of my first day back in the pool in about 2 months.
Just a glimpse.
I started riding my new bike, although last week was a wee bit chilly. I decided to tackle Old La Honda, a mountain that I attempted 6 months ago when I got my first road bike.
I made it up the 3 mile climb and boy was it a booger. But, coming down, I hit a lick bit of dew covered tar on the road. My back tire slid out… and I think I may have actually bounced one when I hit the pavement. I landed on the meaty portion of my left leg (with my thighs and hips….the whole thing is meaty). I got a nice strawberry, which after a week turned into a plum (got purple) and now is turning yellow. 
It isn’t pretty, but thank God I didn’t break my hip.
This last week has been a great week for training. Although the weather here was a bit undecided, I still got in:
a 30-minute open water swim in a wet suit
6 miles of running in the rain
28 miles of bike riding in the hill country
1 hour of push ups, stretching, and odd calisthenics
2.5 miles of 400m running drills
But, one thing I am very happy to report is that I finally broke 180lbs! I started this summer at 192 and have worked on my diet and my exercise to gain some new disciplines. What was the secret to my success? Sugar Free syrup. Well, maybe that and the training for a triathlon, too.
so, last week I came back from vacation at the family cabins in Colorado. Buffalo Creek is a little mountain town about 50-60 miles south of Denver.
My brother and I both brought our bikes up and we were able to get in 3 solid rides. It was tough b/c all of the rides were climbs, in high altitude. It was tough, but the scenery was great.
IN addition to the rides, we cooked most of our meals on a wood burning stoves, played card/board games every night for 2-3 hours, read Harry Potter 7, cut down trees, slept in, and ate tons. Yup….it was a great trip.
Yesterday I woke up feeling horrible. So, I decided that I needed sleep more than swim a mile and bike 15.
But, this morning after an Airborne Tab, Theraflu Daytime, Vitamin pill, water and a Cliff Bar, I decided to meet up with my TNT group for a bike ride. We went through Stevens Creek Canyon and climbed a few really good hills. I actually feel better after the ride and I think that it will ultimately help me to feel better. Especially since I am leaving on Wed AM to go to Denver.
A couple of weeks ago at track practice, we were timed on a run for a distance of 2 miles. Surprisingly, I was able to run the first mile in 7:26 and I finished the 2nd mile in 15:22. So, I was really happy with that. Tonight, we did about 6200 meters (roughly 3.75 miles) for our workout, and I was able to maintain a sub 2 minute 1/4 mile. All that to say, that I think I am improving.
On Saturday, we also did time trials for a swim. It happened at the end of our workout after having done about 1600 meters of swimming. But, I was able to do a 50 yard sprint in 1:22. Considering that I am not an aerodynamic build kind of guy….I thought it wasn’t too bad of a start.
The folks at Tour de Peninsula had a phtographer out at the ride taking action shots. So, here are a few of me. I think my arms look chubby.
Last night was our Tuesday night track workout for TNT. We started off with a light jog to loosen up, then some stretching and plyometrics (explosive muscular exercises). With the plyometrics was ‘core’ exercises that worked the heck out of my hamstrings.
Then we did a time trial. Basically, we have 3 instances before the event where we will get timed to help us know how we are improving. So, we ran 2 miles. I was very surprised to have run the first mile in 7:26, and the full sha-bang in 15:22 (7:54 on the second mile).
But, I didn’t realize how long it had been since I have done core exercises. I am feeling every inch of my hamstring today.
This morning, I and some friends, went up to Redwood City, CA, and rode in the 14th Tour de Peninsula.
It was a good ride, with several tough hills/mtns for me. It is only my 3rd week riding and we went 33 miles. Not too bad, but I hope to get better before leaving for Denver.
I’ll chalk this one up as additional training.
This morning our TNT group went swimming and cycling. The swim was very basic and was just feeling out everyone’s skill level. While I am not a great swimmer, I do have a bit of endurance in the pool. Total swim was about 1000 yards today. I am looking forward to our first open water swim in the bay in a month or so.
Cycling was slow and uneventful. We did a 3.5 mile loop about 4 times. But, that loop was through a neighborhood and must have had about 8 stop lights, 6 stop signs and plenty of debris on the ground. But, we did about 14 miles total. It was good doing a mini biathlon in a sense.
Our first Team In Training (TNT) workout was this past Tuesday night at Foothill college. It was a track workout. I tried to keep pace with a few ‘jack rabbits’ (the fast ones) but I had to slow down after about 15 minutes.
As a whole it was a fun and motivational night. more to come…