So what has been happening since May?

Well…

I’ve selected my next major race

I’m going to race in the Bethel Island Triathlon on my 4oth

birthday (SEP 25). This is an olympic distance triathlon so it will be

a little longer than my last one.



SWIM BIKE RUN

Napa Valley .5 mile (.8k) 17 mile (27k) 4 mile (6.4k)

Bethel Island .9 mile (1.5k) 24 mile (40k) 6.2 mile (10k)

The pros will run a race like this in 1:45 to 2:00 hours. My extremely hopeful goal is to finish close to

2 hours 40 minutes. I’m hoping for a breakdown like this:



SWIM BIKE RUN

35 minutes 1 hour 10 minutes 59 minutes

Okay, so this doesn’t account for any transition time, but I think you know what I’m trying to say.

More information about the race is available on OnYourMark Events.

DAVE RACE RESULTS!!!

Swim 1/2 mile – 18:00

Transition 1 – 6:20

Bike 15 miles – 48:09

Transition 2 – 5:20

Run 4 miles – 38:39

Total Time – 1 hour 56 minutes 31 seconds

#239 overall out of 500 participants

In comparison, the guy who won my age group and came in 4th place overall had these times:

Swim 1/2 mile – 12:23

Transition 1 – 2:29

Bike 15 miles – 41:25

Transition 2 – 1:18

Run 4 miles – 26:02

Total Time – 1 hour 23 minutes 38 seconds






See a quick photo album for more commentary and pictures…

I’m really happy with the way the race went. I was able to just relax and enjoy each part. I had good energy through the whole race and came away feeling like I could have pushed even harder.

My original goal was to come in under 2 hours and I did that even with over 10 minutes of transition time (I’m probably the only one that ran to their motel room for a quick potty-stop because of a bit of over-hydration during transition 2).

I’m so glad that I was able to prepare well and feel great on race day! Thanks to everyone who has been supporting me for the past few months as I got myself ready to do this.

Here’s this week’s activity log:

Quintana Roo Ultrafull Triathlon Wetsuit

Bought the wetsuit out on Craig’s List and am trying it out this week.

MON – Got out the wet suit and swam over at the cabana club pool. The first comments from people were, “Oh, I think the pool’s warm enough, you don’t need that.” FUNNY!

The suit fits me decent, but it seems like it could be a little longer and a little less tight in the shoulders. I think my big butt takes some of length out of it.

When I was done with the swim, ran 3 miles.

TUE – Went back to the pool in just my tri-shorts and swam 1/2 mile. My stroke is still horrible and I can’t sustain a crawl for more than 2 or 3 laps. My side stroke and breast stroke are terrific, however. :> Guess I’ll be alternating during my swim.

WED – 4 mile run. Time was just over 38 minutes.

THU – nada

FRI – Ran without any music. Instead I used a 5/1 (run/walk) setting on my watch to see how I’d do. Ended up running a 37:30 for 4 miles. Not a bad time for me.

SAT – Went for a long ride today – out to the top of Calaveras and back – a little less than 50 miles. Felt very good, but was overall tired at the end. Flatted on one of the decents and had to use my new Innovations Ultraflate Plus CO2 pump for the first time. I only had one cartridge, but it worked just great:

Here’s this week’s activity log:

I’m really nervous now. I stunk last saturday out on the course and the race is in 2 weeks.

MON - Went for my normal run – GUESS WHAT?? I stunk!!

I’m actually happy about it. It means that my poor performance last saturday wasn’t really me. I must have some kind of virus or bacteria or something bothering me. I couldn’t even run a mile this morning.

TUE - nada

WED - nada

THU - nada

FRI - nada

SAT - After that little break, went for a 4 mile run. Felt a little rusty, but overall it wasn’t too bad. I guess I’m over whatever I had. YES!

Here’s this week’s activity log:

Trying to take it easy this week. I plan on going with Song out to Lake Berryessa to do a test race out on the course.

MON - 4 mile run.

TUE - nada

WED - 4 mile run.

THU - nada

FRI - nada

SAT - Drove out to Lake Berryessa with Song to try out the ride and run part of the race. It was a pretty hot Saturday and we didn’t get out on the ride until noon.

Anyway…

I stunk.

Totally.

We started the ride and I pushed hard on the first hill or two and quickly ran out of gas. I have no idea why. Just did not “have it.” I then had a screw come off my front derailleur as I was shifting down to my inside chain ring and my chain jammed completely.

So…

For the rest of the ride I could only use my smaller chain ring and my larger gears in my rear cluster. In other words, no using my granny gears on the climbs and no using my big ring on the descents – the worst of both worlds.

Once we finished the ride, I didn’t feel like running at all. But, I put my shoes on and started off… walking. A lot of walking. Not much running. No gas.

Here were my times:

Ride (17 miles) – 53 minutes

Run (4 miles) – 51 minutes

Well, at least that sets an easy benchmark to beat on race day!

Here’s this week’s activity log:

MON – Wanted to see how I’d feel running hills. Did a 4 mile run on hilly Foothill Ave and felt great. I did it right around my normal time (38 – 40 minutes) and felt good. 50 push-ups.

TUE – Sat around on Carmel beach all day – very tiring!

WED – Did my normal 4 mile flat run. My knees were a little sore. I think I won’t do a lot of hill training before my run. I can do the hills without a problem – just don’t want to wear out my knees before the race. 45 push-ups.

THU – nada

FRI – nada. Stayed up late this week doing taxes. Still recovering.

SAT – Didn’t feel great today, but ended up training anyway. Went for a 4 mile run that took more effort than normal. Then went on a quick 20 mile ride. It was pretty windy, but didn’t have a headwind most of the time.

Rode down to Sunol and back. Averaged just over 19 mph. Felt better than running.

Here’s this week’s activity log:

MON – nada. Not sure why not.

TUE – 4 mile run. 3 sets of 15 push-ups.

WED – nada. Late night working on taxes.

THU – 4 mile run in the morning. 2 hour ride Thursday night up the frontage road that parallels the 580 freeway up the Dublin grade, down to the Palomares exit, back up the frontage road and down the hill. I had a really gusty 25 – 35 mph headwind coming up the hill which made life a little more painful.

FRI – Went swimming with Catherine at the Aquatic Center. Did a benchmark 1/2 mile swim. Did it in 17:30. The funniest thing is that my freestyle stroke is so bad I ended up swimming the whole thing with an alternating breast and side stroke. At least I know if I can get my freestyle down before the race, I can always just get by with my slow strokes. 3 sets of 15 push-ups.

SAT – 2:30 min training ride. Did two loops up the frontage road again. This course is very similar to what I’ll be riding in the triathlon – a few decent hills, some false flats, and a bit of flat. I felt great on the ride and my legs are finally getting more used to being on the bike.

Here’s this week’s activity log:

MON – 4 mile run. 3 sets of 15 push-ups.

TUE – nada

WED – Went swimming with Catherine at the Aquatic Center. My breathing and stroke still stink.

THU – 4 mile run. 3 sets of 15 push-ups.

FRI – 3 sets of 15 push-ups.

SAT – 2 hour ride. About 35 miles. Went out on Calaveras Rd. for some medium climbing. Felt good, except that I’m still getting some cramping in my shoulders an hour or so into the ride. I’m not sure if my push-ups are making my shoulders tired or what. I’m drinking enough, so I don’t think it’s a hydration issue.

I ran into a big Team in Training group with quite a few beginners. It shouldn’t feel good to pass people on climbs, but I’ve always been passed so much it feels good to pass a few people every once in a while.

So, what happened during my February and March training? Did I stop? Have I given up?

Nope…

Just strained my back in mid-February and had to take a few weeks off. Training has been great throughout March and I’m feeling good about where I am with six weeks to go.

Here’s the rundown of the past few weeks of training…

Here’s this week’s activity log:

MON – 4 mile run. 3 sets of 15 push-ups.

TUE – nada

WED – 4 mile run. 3 sets of 15 push-ups.

THU – nada – went to the PeopleSoft shareholders meeting.

FRI – 4 mile run – did it one of my faster practice times (37:30). 3 sets of 15 push-ups.

SAT – Went for my longest ride so far this season – about 2 hours of decent climbing. It was a reverse Palomares, which is a local ride but riding in the opposite direction with most of the climbing in the first half of the ride. Felt decent, but I’m still not up cycling-wise with where I peaked last year.