So my triathlon training has been continuing. Lotsa bike riding, because that's the most fun, a fair amount of running, and mostly a lot of swimming classes. My swim coach says that I should swim with tennis shoes on to strengthen my ankles and that will improve my kick/keep my legs from sinking. First of all I have "running shoes" , not "tennis shoes" and secondly I don't think she wants my dirty nasty 300+ mile shoes anywhere near her pool, let alone actually in the water. So needless to say I haven't done this, although the concept does sound amusing. She has done wonders for my swim tho, and it definitely showed off this past Sunday, as Chris and I headed south to participate in "Jack's Generic Triathlon".

You know you're gonna love a race when at packet pick-up the "pre-race swag" includes a pound of organic coffee! Sweet! There was also that nifty wicking Sweat-Vac hat, but whose brainchild was a black hat for the 100+ degree Texas heat? I think I'll stick to my white Nike hat for the race, thank-you.

Back home after packet pick-up we load our respective transition bags. This does get a little easier the second time around. I load the bikes in the bed of the truck, being careful to deflate the tires somewhat so they don't expand and pop in the garage due to the heat. Then we decide to turn in early and get a good nights sleep for our early morning departure time. That was the plan, anyway.

Two hours into our slumber, we are awaken to a high pitch screeching. It's sort of like the screaming our neighbor's cat might make should I ever get up the nerve to slowly skin that fat orange garden wrecker, but this noise is actually our air conditioner/furnace unit letting us know that 20 years is about all its gonna be good for. So I turn the AC up so it doesn't run, and we "attempt" to sleep, rather than panic over the thought of no AC and 105 degree days. Oh well, the alarm went off soon enough and we were heading down to the race.

We get down to the ski ranch early, and after re-inflating the bike tires we go get "marked up" and take our bikes into transition setup. Since we don't get to rack together, I have chosen a smaller towel for my gear. Soon we are setup and heading over to the team tent to relax and get some pre-race swim time in.

The water during pre-race wasn't too bad. A little warm, spongy on the bottom, but no killer hydrilla lake-weed like at our Couples Tri. I swim around a pair of ski jumps out in the lake, and then head back to shore for the pre-race meeting, National Anthem, and wave starts. My wave is scheduled to go of at 8:16 am.

The "open" wave begins the event promptly at 8:00 am. As the thrashing group of competitive folks head out in the swim, there is one guy in the back quickly going to a backstroke. Then we realize that he is the lone wheelchair athlete for this event, and even he has to complete the 500 meter swim first. Talk about a motivational boost!

My wave shuffles down to the waters edge at 8:14 am. My plan was to start toward the back and off to the right, clearly out of the way of the "better swimmers". Apparently I was not the only one with this plan. Two minutes later we are off. As I begin with my freestyle, breathing every three strokes, I see a guy closing in on me from the left. Sure enough, as he gets close he begins swimming into me. I'm thinking "Come on buddy, I'm off here on the edge, move over bacon", but he keeps the attack. Luckily Coach Swim Kim had prepped us well, and I decided to dart across "bacon's" back and pop up on his inside hip. Mission accomplished, and I carry on. But then "bacon" begins to assault me from the right side. Apparently he still wants a piece of "my water". No worries mon, I again cross over the top of him with a firm pressing down on his lower back. This time he gets the message and I swim on unabated.

And while I did (as usual) get a little caught up in the beginning of the race excitement and have to resort to breathing every two strokes, I did not have to resort to the breast stroke that slowly carried me through my prior Tri attempt. In fact about halfway through the swim I even slowed back down, regained my form and went back to breathing on the threes . . . briefly.

I suppose it was good that the buoy's seemed to appear quicker than I had anticipated, and I was quickly around the swim course and heading up the ramp to exit the water. One stage down and three to go. Through the parking lot I scampered and into the transition area to get ready for a bike ride.

Now we had set up our transition areas very early that morning. And right before heading down to the start line I noticed that I had my bike set so that I would have to pass the rack and turn to get back to it. So right then and there I had decided to change the direction of my bike, and also slide my shoes directly across to the other side as well. Notice I said "slide my shoes directly across to the other side". . . So now as I approach my bike during T1, slightly dinged out from the swim, I reach down, put on my helmet, shades, and then grab the shoe on the right and pull it onto my right foot. Except that when I "slid my shoes directly across to the other side" my left shoe was now on the right. So I put my foot down and stared at it, because something didn't seem quite right. No, this wouldn't do at all. Finally I realized the error of my ways and swapped my shoes, chuckling as I went. Then it was a delicate jaunt through the transition area out to the mount line and on my way.

As any good runner would, I tend to like hills. This goes for when I'm on a bike as well. Sure, they take a lot out of you, but when you're done with them you know what you're made of. That said, there were a LOT of hills on this ride. In fact the absolute principal of "what goes up must come down" did NOT seem to apply in this course. Each uphill, long and burning that it was, seemed to be followed by another uphill. OK, so maybe there was a brief descent thrown in on rare occasion, but I was too busy chugging sports drink at this point that I must have missed them. I did enjoy the screaming downhill mile to the bike dismount line, when I reached about 38 mph without even trying. That would have been a really bad time for a flat. Luckily that didn't happen. Best of all when I headed into T2, Savior of the Horned Toads Ann saw me and relayed the news that Chris had come through T1 with a big smile on her face. My babe had aced the swim!!! Woo-Hoo!!! That little tidbit made my race right there. Back to my transition area I swap shoes, grab my "white" running hat, and I'm on my way.

The run was fairly uneventful. Except that it was probably the longest 3 mile run of my life! Hot and sunny and hot and uphill and hot, it was a fairly hot run. But after the turnaround, I began to see other Tri Zoners coming up and swapped a lot of high fives with them. This really does give a boost to a run, and I highly recommend high-fiving little kids when ever you have a long race to endure. Back down across the gravel lot at the ski ranch, and I cruise on in past the finish line. Tri #2 is in the bag. I don't have a clue what my time was, because I left my Garmin GPS on my bike after T2 and didn't see the finish clock either. No worries, I had a fun race and finished with nothing left in the tank. Life is good.

First of all, I'm feeling bad about not updating my blog for . . . awhile. That was a reason I didn't blog for so long, life gets in the way and I'd let it drop. So I did. I'll try to be better on it . . . we'll see. And now onto today's installment.

Today is my birthday. So to celebrate I'm gonna skip my 25 mile bike workout tonight and go out to dinner with my lovely bride. We went to the gym this morning to swim, or rather we drove to the gym - and then drove home because I left the workout bag on the island in the kitchen. Is senility setting in? Oh well, I get a mulligan for today for things like that I suppose.

So I started thinking about what kind of shape I'm in on my %# th birthday. And I can't complain one bit. In fact, I started thinking about what sort of shape I am in today, versus what kind of shape I was in 10 years ago. And I do think I'm in much better shape today than back in 1998. So today's blog will be a comparison of then and now.

10-ish years ago I was getting divorced. Getting drunk. Getting stupid. And getting lazy. (There may be more I was gettin' but this is gettin' depressing so I'll move on). Then just beyond the 10 year ago mark (let's call it 11 years) I started dating this gal. She was somewhat of a fitness fiend. Always going to the gym to workout. ( I had a gym card). And she was always running the treadmills when work sent her away on business. ( I had a gym card). And she was always active and ate healthy. ( I had a gym card). So one morning while she was away on business I decided to take up running. The alarm went off, and I pulled on some shorts and running shoes and went out the door. I turned a couple of corners and headed up a long street watching the light posts blur by me as I ran. . .

OK, so I actually only passed about 3 light posts before I started making sounds that would probably best be described as indicative of imminent death. Then I crossed the street and came to a stop. I looked at my watch. I had been running 8 minutes.

But it was a start. The next day I ran 9 minutes. Eventually I made it to the end of the block. Then I made it two blocks. And so on, and so on. Now if I look at my "results" page here on active.com I can see how far I've come. So they only go back to 2003 with this new setup, but I'd say in the past 10 years there have been more than 50, or 75, or I can't remember how many races that I've competed in. I've run 5K's, 10K's 15K's, 20, 25, 30K's, half-marathon's and five marathon's. There have been literally thousands of miles of training that I've put in, rain or shine. I"ve met many other great runners, and made some good friendships. Not many of us ever "break the tape" (ok, so none of us do) but we all are winners in our own right.

And I've started training for triathlons. 10 years ago or so I bought a mountain bike, and went over the handlebars and down a rocky creek bed on one of my first rides. I still have scars on my elbows. The bike has hung up in the garage ever since (how is it that tires go flat when they get no use?). So a couple months back I bought a road bike and probably have 5 times the miles on it already. I'm working on my swim, and yesterday I actually registered for my first Triatholn event for the beginning of August. It's a sprint distance, but its a start.

And so looking in the mirror, I do not see the guy that I saw 10 years or so ago. "Elvis has left the building", never to return. I like what I see, and more importantly what I can do. When I run now I can see a LOT of light poles going by in a blur. For more than 8 minutes.

Oh, and the "fitness fiend" gal? We are heading down to Mexico to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks.

Life is good.

So I've gone and pulled the trigger on my new bike. I got the Felt Z35 with the carbon frame. I slapped some aero bars on it and I was ready to enter the world of triathlon. But maybe I should train a little first. So I'm gonna join a formal tri training group in a couple of weeks, but for now I'm just working out "for free". It is with that in mind that I decided to pull a "brick" today. That's tri-talk for a "B"ike ride + a "R"un + "ick". I didn't invent the word, that's just what it is.

Yesterday at work I was planning what my workout would be for today. We have off for Good Friday, so I was going to "bring Glory to the Lord" by pushing this body he gave me and having a good hard workout. That was the plan.

Well, I had grandious visions of a bike ride going all the way up mopac to wm cannon before my turn-around and then back to 45 before coming home. That would give me 21-ish miles. Heck, I'll even throw in the Veloway and make it close to 25. Then when I got home I was gonna head out for a 10 mile run, also known as "The Costco Loop". Yeah, that's the ticket. Here's what happened.

I had all my gear stashed by the front door so I could head out for my ride, come home and quickly "transition" to my running attire, and then blast out the door. So with cycling shoes, helmet, and some new duds that C just bought for me I was out the door. "HEY!!! Since when did it get so WINDY!!!!!" GAH - this is gonna be a little harder than I thought.

I start my bike ride looping through the neighborhood, and then down escarpment blvd. I get lucky and make the lights at both Davis and Slaughter lanes and commence to powering directly into a headwind for roughly 5 miles of rolling hills. I actually put my hands onto my brand spankin' new aero bars for about a second and then pulled them rapidly back off just before I was about to dive onto the pavement. Perhaps its best to try these out when it's a tad less windy. Finally I come to the end of Escarpment blvd and make my right hand turn onto US Hwy 45.

I don't quite make it up to the posted 70 mph speed limit, but do manage to hold my own against a little bit of traffic. I had the wind helping me a little bit for this stretch. I make my turn-around and now catch the eastbound 45 for some fun. I'm again heading into the wind, not quite keeping up with the traffic blasting past me, and breathing quite heavy. I believe its called "a spot of bother". But using "the big gear" as much as possible I turn up mopac and head over to the Veloway.

I had caught my breath by now, and downed quite a bit of Accelerade, so I was feeling quite peppy on the Veloway. I had just kept my own with 70 mph traffic, I can handle a bike path. Shortly into the ride I catch my first sharp left hand turn and skid the brakes but manage to save it. That brought my heart rate up a little bit more. But not to admit I'm cocky or anything, but it WAS my second time out on the Veloway, so I didn't want to look like a rookie, hence I regrouped and hit the gears again. I'd say about 90 seconds later I zig zag through a couple easy curves and come upon another hard left turn. Again I skid, only this time what slows me down is riding about 3 feet up the embankment to the side of the pavement. I had hit some leaves, yeah, that's my story, it was the leaves, and they made me lose control . . . a little bit. So I'm standing on the little hill, and let one guy go past, looking at him like "What? I'm fine! Carry on." and after he passes I attempt to pedal off this hill. I again spin my tire in the leaves, and this time I fall over like a kid riding without training wheels for the first time. One foot clipped into my left pedal, the other flailing about like one of the Rockettes. Finally I get up, look around to make sure nobody saw me, and pedal cautiously the rest of the way around the Veloway.

Once back on the road, I cross mopac northbound and pick it up back south again. This was a deviation from my original plan, but if I wanted to "live" to see the end of this workout I needed to trim some miles off here, and so I audibled. So heading back south on mopac I am again directly into the wind, and uphill. This reminds me of a story of when my dad went to school as a kid, but I digress. I catch 45 again, and catching the big gear I race my 70 mph carbon rocket up to escarpment blvd for the final stretch home. This time I had the wind at my back for the 5-ish miles and they flew right by. SportTracks says I was hitting over 25 mph during some stretches here, but also says those were my fastest areas of the day. I could have sworn I was close to 70 earlier, so I'll have to calibrate my Garmin. Anyhow, I finally pull into the driveway - I mean the transition area - and take my bike inside for my quick change. Total cycling mileage? 17.42.

Once I have my bike parked, I drag my running shoes over by the stairs to change. Except that I am still in my cycling shoes, and my clips are sliding on the pergo with wobbly legs and I quickly find myself doing the famous "Hamill Camel" and spinning to the floor. Water bottles, sport beans, everything is scattered across the floor and I crash down on the same side I fell on earlier when my training wheels came off. GAH! So sitting on the floor I swap shoes, put on my cap, eat sport beans off the floor, spit out some dog hair, and somehow fish my iPod wire down the back of my jersey and head out the door. I don't think I broke any records for my "transition".

The run wasn't too bad. It also wasn't anywhere near 10 miles. It wasn't anywhere near a 10K either. Let's just call it a 5K and be done with it. My legs weren't too wobbly to start with, probably due to my lengthy transition. (Is a 5 minute transition bad?). So my early mile was around a 7:30 pace. But the fact that I haven't really been able to catch my breath since . . . I started pedaling into the wind about an hour ago, was causing me to back off this pace a little bit. I took a couple of walk breaks in the park, and a couple more on the final leg of my run, and managed to finish the 3.35 miles with an 8:05 pace. My brick was coming to an end.

So that was today's workout. I learned a few things. Aero bars are tricky to balance with. Slick tires don't slow down all that quick. And pedaling with the wind is more fun than pedaling into it. I'll build on these before my next brick.

With "marathon season" officially behind us now, at least here in Austin, one is faced with what to do next. As I mentioned in an earlier post, one option is to do nothing for six months and then start training from scratch again. But I like to think I've evolved beyond that, finally. There is also the option to run "those fun little races" such as the myriad of 5K's and 10K's that will fill just about every weekend here in Austin from now until September or so. I'll do some of those (the Daisy 5K and TNT 2 Miler next weekend 'fer instance) but am not really into the crowded short race scene anymore. Maybe because I feel like I still need another long run after the finish line. But there is one other option that folks are talking about, Triathlons.

Yes, it is the start of Triathlon season here in central Texas. This is something I"ve never done before, so the whole newness factor has both its upsides and downsides. But C has been talking about it for awhile, and she got me psyched enough to go along and drink the Kool-aid, so here we go. But first a few dilemmas. Since I think I've got this running thing down, from a purely amateur perspective, let's address the other two thirds of a "Tri".

The Swim

I kinda, sorta, maybe know how to swim. I grew up outside Chicago, so summer swimming lessons at Bangs Lake always consisted of about 3 lessons in freezing June water temperatures before I made enough fuss to drop out. This went on for consecutive summer vacations while I was a kid. Eventually as I got older, I just watched other folks swim, copied their form, and "Voila" - I was a swimmer. I even took lifesaving classes in high school to be a gym class "Leader" and that pretty much perfected my knowledge. Fast forward to adulthood, and swimming to me is something best accomplished with a life-jacket worn as a diaper, and a beer in my hand. Methinks this won't work for a triathlon.

We changed gyms about a year back to 24Hour Fitness, in part because they have a pool. So I have swam (or swum) there and worked on my form. At first I could do one length before dying for air, but now I've surpassed that and can do two whole lengths before I need to grab the side of the pool. So . . . 25 meter pool X 2 lengths = I can swim 1/6 of what I need to swim for the Rookie, before I start to drown. This is apparently something that I will need to work on.

The Bike

I won't bore you with stories about how much I rode my bike as a kid, but I rode a LOT! We would get on our bikes in the morning and ride all day long, only stopping for lunch, and then back out again. And I rarely had to actually touch my handlebars, we just rode "no-handed" all over town for hours on end. My bike and I were one. (Hopefully you're not bored yet).

My adult-riding adventures are not nearly as impressive. I have a mountain bike I bought about 10 years ago. A friend of mine was really into mountain biking, and I went out for a few rides with him. Today my bike hangs on the wall in my garage, covered in dust, and I have scars on my elbows. If anyone wants a lightly-ridden, lightly-scarred mountain bike - keep your eye on CraigsList.

So right now I am in the middle of evaluating road bikes. These appear to be very similar to the "10-speed" that I rode all over town as a kid, except they have 3X the speeds, weigh a lot less, and so far seem a little trickier to handle. But I do have the confidence that once I find a bike I am comfortable with, even one that pushes me to be a better bike rider . . . ok, cyclist . . . then I think I can safely master at least two-thirds of a triathlon.

Next Steps

So I think I'm about to sign up for some swim classes, clinics, or whatever the name is for the lessons that help you do more than blow bubbles from your nose, and hopefully get some endurance into my swimming program. That coupled with some increasingly longer rides, will hopefully get me ready for "Tri Season" in Austin Texas. I'm not brave, nor foolish, enough to actually sign up for something yet. But I do realize that I need a little more training to be able to at least make that decision.

What a great day for a run. Perfect temperature, clear skies, the Austin Fit tent location right near the starting line made a great place to hook up with running partners. I'm gonna have fun today.

Great start! I love the fireworks . . . until I have to run through the smoke. Hack, cough. But the road is wide my friend, and Carmelo and I quickly settle into our rhythm for the race. I"m waving to the bands, smiling to the fans. We're going a little quick on 1st street but still a great run.

Mile 6-ish by Austin High my shoe comes untied. So I pull off to the right, and with hands still a little chilled because I just got rid of my gloves, I re-tie my right shoe. I tied it waaaaay to tight but didn't loosen it up again until just over 20.2 miles later. I've still got circulation in my left foot to compensate so I'll be fine.

Enfield and Exposition no longer scare me. We've run those enough that now I just think past these minor climbs. In fact I look back at my Garmin log and the mile along Enfield was one of my fastest of the race. Thanks to James Booher for having this uncanny "hill fetish", which I think earned him some nicknames from Robert.

People are calling my name, or saying "Go Livestrong" due to my shirt. I'm just tired enough to start thinking I actually know these people.

I'm gonna print bumper stickers that say "Ask me how much I hate Great Northern Blvd!". GAH! It doesn't matter if you run up it or down it. I appreciate the bag-piper, but this stretch could use a few more bands.

Yes, mile 20 was the half-way point in this marathon route. I begin to start calculating how quickly I can walk a 10K. I calculate if I can still PR. I calculate that I am no longer good at math, and just run. After all it's all downhill from here . . . right? Right?

I pass a friend cheering me on just past mile 23. We high-five, or low-five, or just somehow fived somewhere or other. Glad I was running at this point. He emailed me a picture he took of me. I didn't even realize he had a camera.

I pass Michele H's hubby's band playing Bon Jovi's Runaway and laugh a little bit. And then I see the San Jacinto hill. Grrr, just push it Dan!

Over the final hill and onto 11th street I begin to open up my stride. I am passing folks, and turn onto Congress. Could I be sprinting at 10th Street? My momentum begins to wane by 9th street, and I panic and search for the finish line. Dang it, I sprinted too soon! Arrrrghhhh -- I run like Charlie Brown closing in on the football! Finally I hear Evil call my name which provides me with a kick for the last 10 steps. I PR by almost 10 minutes. Woo-Hoo!!!! What a race.

While still in the chute, grabbing muchies and sipping on a cup of soup I see Robert come in. I am more happy to see his first marathon medal around his neck than I am for my PR. Congrats dude, you are a marathoner!!!!!!!

Finally, I'm not sure what felt better after the marathon, a Tequila shot at the Austin Fit tent, or a 30 minute soak down at Barton Springs pool. Let's call that a tie.