Posts Tagged ‘ biking ’

Into the Home Stretch

04/11/2011

This weekend included a BIG brick training, a 24-mile bike ride and 4-mile run at the notoriously windy Hecksher State Park. I’ve been working up to this with shorter bricks for the last month. Early Saturday morning, when we ventured out for training, the wind was tolerable, a first since we started training there. Cold, but not as windy. There was fog still in the park at 6:45, the first time I think I’ve ever been happy to see fog because it meant the winds weren’t whipping the way they usually are on this bike course. Recent advice from my triathlete cousin included not starting out too fast on the run coming off the bike. He need not worry there. Getting off the bike after 24 miles (my longest ride to date) on Saturday, I could barely lift my leg over the seat, much less run or even walk....

Logging The Miles

03/22/2011

Sunday was my best workout day yet. And with 6 weeks to go, I’m confident that I’ll be able to cross the finish line at St. Anthony’s on May 1st. I may need a wheel chair to get to the after-party, but I’ll cross the finish line! I started my day with my planned workout, a 6.2-mile run. I walked a .2 warm-up and started running. I didn’t stop running until I’d completed my second loop of my 3.2-mile course, so my total run was 6.2 miles, no walking. The run took me 1:14 minutes, just under a 12-minute mile pace. For me, that pace worked perfectly for that distance. I felt strong until about 5.4 miles and then the legs really didn’t want to work anymore. But there wasn’t much more to go and I knew I had it. It still amazes me how much of running success...

Swim, Run, Bike

11/27/2010

First, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. For me and my family, there is much to be thankful for. My sister-in-law came through extensive open heart surgery with flying colors. My family is healthy and employed and happy. I have my health and I have a goal. I’m running, swimming and biking (tomorrow) again. I have an Olympic distance triathlon on the calendar. And I have six months to train. There are differences this time from when I started this triathlon thing. I am doing this race with a friend. I am doing this race for a cause. I’m on a team. I have people supporting me. I have people training me. And I am already, in just a couple of sessions, learning so much about myself. I am a slow runner but I’m getting stronger. And I’m determined again to be a better runner. I participated in...

Not Ready To Race

07/06/2010

While my hip feels somewhat better, I am not back in racing form. I’ve been working out, but not getting very far very fast. This past week, I went on three runs. A 2.5-mile run that I finished with some walking, a 3.5-mile run where I got 2.7 miles before packing it in and a 3.2-mile run where I made it only 1.5 miles. Race distance on Sunday is 3.5 miles. With my hip screwed up, I hadn’t been running for almost a month. And it’s going to take me longer than two weeks to get back in racing form I’m realizing now. Add to that it’s been 100 degrees here, which kind of limits training, for me at least. My run yesterday, the 1.5-mile run, was cut short mostly because of the heat– 85 degrees at 8:00 am. I know hard-core runners don’t let the heat stop them,...

Thinking About Triathlon? Start Training Now

11/02/2009

This week will mark my year anniversary with the gym I go to. I never thought I would join a gym, much less actually use it for a full year. Throw my money at it, sure. Go? This is something new for me. It is also a year since I set my sights on becoming a triathlete. I joined the gym to begin winter training. Considering the physical condition I was in when I made this decision, I really surprised myself when I completed my first race in April. It was a small duathlon (1 mile run, 6 mile bike, 1 mile run), but as I’d never run a mile in my entire life, it was a feat. Starting training 6 months prior was a good idea. It was still a really tough race for me. And the one in August was tough too. It wasn’t until my third...

T minus 7 days to Trek Women Triathlon

09/06/2009

My final and longest triathlon of the season is a week from today. Two weeks ago, I will admit, I was still on the fence about this race, even though I had signed up for it and paid the fee. I am such a newbie triathlete, and my first race on August 1, was tough, and shorter than this next one. That one was a 1/4 mile swim, 6 mile bike, 2 mile run. I did ok on the swim and bike, but by the run, I was toast. I finished with a lot of walking breaks, but I finished and I was proud of that. The Trek Women triathlon on Sept. 13 is also a 1/4 mile swim, but with a 9-mile bike and 5K (3.1 mile) run. That’s quite a lot longer than the first one. When I signed up for this one (and I swear I...

I Am Officially A Triathlete!

08/01/2009

I finished! I swam 400 meters, biked 6 miles and ran 2 miles this morning. My first triathlon. I finished! The swim was great. It was a pool swim where we had to snake up and down 8 lanes in a 50-meter pool. I seeded myself at 10:30 for this based on what I was doing in training and finished the swim in 10:57. I didn’t have anyone passing me and I even passed a couple of people at the lane ends so I felt strong in this leg. With the confusion at the ends of the lanes and getting into and out of the water, I was happy with my time. My bike was strong and I managed to shave a minute off my last time, even with all of the bike issues I was having getting ready for this race. Finished the bike in 23 minutes and...

Goldilocks and the Three Bikes – A Triathlon Tale

07/23/2009

I have a triathlon coming up in a week. And I have yet to find a bike I am comfortable with. I would be Goldilocks in this tale. I’m blonde, maybe not young, but hey, use your imagination. My first bike was just too big. And the seat was too hard. And while I rode it in my first race, it freaked me out because my feet didn’t come anywhere near the ground and I felt like I had no control. And the seat hurt my butt…a lot. Gears were smooth and the bike was fast. It was a great bike, but not the right fit. My second bike (and by the way these are borrowed bikes while I’m trying to figure out if I like this triathlon thing) is too small and the seat is too…are you ready for this?…soft! This bike is a girl’s bike so my...

Triathlon Training – Part 2

05/12/2009

Now that I’ve completed my first race and signed up for the second one ) for August 1, it’s time to really get training again. The first time out, my only real goal was to finish. I did that. But that’s not good enough for this next time. Now I want to finish respectably. My goal for next time is to run the entire two miles (and be running a full 3 miles by race day), shave at least 3 minutes off my bike time, and swim the 400 meters (which I didn’t get to do this first time) in 9 minutes or less. Right now, my swim time is about 10 minutes for 400 meters, but I’m in a 25-yard pool which is 20 laps. The race pool is 50-meter lanes, 8 laps. Less turning, less time. So Saturday, I got my butt back in gear and this...

4 days and counting

04/14/2009

So as I mentioned, they changed my race yesterday. It’s no longer a triathlon, it’s a duathlon due to technical difficulties with the pool. And the swimming was my strongest discipline. Oh well. Anyway, I got up this morning and did the race lengths for my workout: 1 mile run, 6 mile bike, 1 mile run. And it didn’t kill me. First mile was pretty strong, very little walking. Bike was good too. Second mile was tougher, especially right off the bike, but I completed that one in 13 minutes. And I finished the whole thing in about 54 minutes, transitions and all. The weather was good this morning. Cloudy, but warmer than it’s been and only a breeze. Hallelujah! The weather’s supposed to be good on Saturday too. Now that I know I can finish the distances this way, I feel better, and I’m actually looking forward to...

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