It was a long drive home. Labor Day traffic was pretty bad, but during the 4+ hour drive I kept thinking about running again. My 20 miler on Saturday went really well. I finish in 3:00:07. My knees were beat up, but are nearly fully recovered now. I will learn more tomorrow when I get out there for an easy 5 miler. I gotta say that running in the country is so much better. I had a great time. It was a chilly morning probably around 50 degrees. I took off at about 5:30am and got to see the sun come up as I was heading East. I didn't eat as much as I should have starting out, just taking a single Cliff Shot gel. Passing by a pasture, I had a herd of horses trot along with me. It was like I was made to run just like them. The rolling hills were a nice challenge - nothing was too steep or intense - just nice variety. Passed through forests and farm fields and lots and lots of fresh air. The Garmin was great. I got to see my pace slip from 8min to 9:30 and I was able to pick... Read full entry
chrissy1 says:
Glad u had a great run and mini vacation. 15 miles and still a 8mm that's awesome!
I squeezed in an easy 5 mile run this morning. I will now be packing up the minivan with gear and family and heading up North to the middle of Wisconsin to camp over the weekend. Originally I was only going to do a quick 2 or 3 miler, but I figured that since I will be confined in the van with everyone the longer run would help keep me calm. I have planned a 20 miler for either Saturday or Sunday which I am really looking forward to. It will be really nice to run through the woods. I won't be forgetting to bring the Garmin. :-) Have great weekends and runs. See y'all in a few days.
chrissy1 says:
Enjoy the weekend away and please b sure to let us know how that 20 miler goes.
adigerati says:
Be sure to read in the manual for your Garmin how to use it to find your way back to where you started. That's something that might really come in handy during a 20 mile trek through the woods.
johnnyk8 says:
I'm headed North too!
Sposta be a high of 50 and a low of 30 this weekend up in my neck of the woods.
It came yesterday. My Garmin Forerunner 310XT. It is big and will take some getting used to, but I think I am going to love this thing. Ran with it for the first time today and found myself really pushing myself. Being able to see my pace as I go is amazing. My HR was definitely higher as a result of me pushing the pace, but I now feel like it was a good workout. I can't wait to get a few weeks of training with this computer under my belt. I have a lot to learn about using this thing, but I think it is going to be a good running companion.
johnnyk8 says:
This is gonna be dangerous!!
chrissy1 says:
I was Like a kid in a candy store when I got mine. I c u r gonna b just the same. Enjoy it!!! It was a great investment in your training.
adigerati says:
Excellent choice. Let me know how the vibrate alarm works. Hope you got a good deal.
I just analyzed my morning run. This thing is too cool! I got it off Amazon so didn't get a great deal, but better price than in the stores. The vibration works really well. It totally catches my attention. I want to run more so I can analyze more.
Looking at my numbers for August I am quite surprised. I racked more miles this month than ever in my life. I ran over 40 miles farther than I did in July.
Total Distance: 296.96 miles
Total Time: 36:19:12 min
Run Distance: 128.89 miles
Run Time: 19:44:07 min
Swim Distance: 9853 km
Swim Time: 4:27:45 min
Bike Distance: 160.07 miles
Bike Time: 9:16:20 min
Walk Distance: 8 miles
Walk Time: 2:06:00 min
September will be running heavy as I expect my biking to drop off severely. I want to continue to swim because it seems to be a great way to give my legs and body a rest from the impact of running.
johnnyk8 says:
I totally agree with you on keeping up the swimming. What an awesome way to get a workout in without pounding on the knees and hips.
I need to install a lap pool in my backyard. Wait, I bet make sure the motgage is paid first. They are $$$$!!
After working until 10pm or so on Saturday night, I finished packing the car and getting everything ready for Sunday morning. I was in bed around 11:15pm and asleep a little after 11:30pm. I got up at 3:00am feeling pretty good considering I wasn't asleep very long. I was out the door at 3:25am and had a casual drive downtown. Very light traffic. I pulled into the parking garage and started getting my stuff out. A few other people were unloading as well. Some were already heading out of the garage which made me feel behind schedule. I spent 10 minutes pumping my tires up because of a problem with the valve on my pump. Note 1: Need new pump. Then a woman asked me to look at her brakes. When she squeezed them they would not let go of the wheel. After a moment we traced the problem to the clamp she used for her bike lock. It was clamping the brake cable and loosening the clamp fixed it. +1 Karma. I made my way to the transi... Read full entry
adigerati says:
Awesome write up! I feel like I have just experienced my first tri and if I ever do compete in one (my dream) I now have a general idea plus some heads ups. Thanks for the insider look.
How much better do you think you could have done had you gotten an appropriate amount of sleep? That had to have some effect on your performance.
tmgkatrina says:
Have to DITTO the thanks for the great writeup!!! Like @adigerati I felt like I just did my first TRI also! Great job and thanks for sharing!
johnnyk8 says:
You sir are a wordsmith.
Congrats on the awesome race and bankrolling of Karma points
Thanks for the well wishes for the triathlon. I wanted to provide a quick summary of the event. Overall, I was really happy with my results. I did really well on the swim, had a good bike, and an okay run. My transitions went smooth and my energy was good throughout the whole triathlon. I finished the .9 mile swim in 28:19 which was in the top 7%. I finished the 40k bike in 1:12:47 which was in the top 23%. I finished the 10k run in 53:29 which was in the top 11%. I think the heat killed a lot of people's times thus I did better in comparison, but with numbers like these how could I be anything but ecstatic. I am working on a detailed summary of the say for those who are interested in reading a book about my day. Thanks again, Everyone!
strutton1313 says:
Awesome Job!!!!!!
chrissy1 says:
I was waiting for your numbers. U did great just like we knew u would!!!
rcblu2 says:
I realized I didn't post my finish time. I finished in 2:38:51. I was 294th out of 3859 participants. That put me in the top 8% overall. Once again, I think the heat slowed everyone down (except for me for some reason).
I have to work tonight so I am prepping for the Chicago Triathlon early. I am a little intimidated by the size of this event. I will be up at 3:00am so I can leave by 3:30am. It is about 40 min to downtown and then I have to park and get to the race site. Transition Area will be open 4:15 to 5:45 and it will be crowded. My wave goes at 8:08. That will be a long wait, but other waves won't go for another 1.5 hours. Crazy.
I don't have any major goal for this triathlon. I am hoping for a good swim. I am going to try to be at the front when we start because I am a pretty good swimmer. I don't know what to expect on the bike. I will push hard, but if I don't feel well I am going to relax a bit and just enjoy the day. For the run I would love to be close to 8min miles, but we will see. Once again, if I am not feeling it I will just try to take in more of the experience.
I can feel the butterflies stirring. Wish me luck.
adigerati says:
Good luck! Are you going to wear a wet suit for the swim?
rcblu2 says:
Thanks. Yes, I am wearing a wetsuit. It will be my second swim with it.
johnnyk8 says:
Best of luck and LOVE YOUR ATTITUDE. You are a rolemodel for us all.
chrissy1 says:
Good Luck...that is early.
im sure u r gonna rock that triathalon, as u always do!!!
let us know how it goes.
adigerati says:
I use to surf and I always felt like swimming in a wetsuit was easier but I imagine that in a triathlon there is a big trade off because of the transition time.
mohanty401 says:
best of luck!! we have seen you made such an admirable progress (through this website)... and you deserve a good event! have fun!
