"How's your training going?"

I wrote most of this post as an email responding to the question, "How's your training going?"  I thought maybe, just maybe, some of you all might want to know too. 

My training (especially with power) goes well.  I torqued my elbow doing non-tri related stuff (what was I thinking?), so my swimming has been derailed a bit.  But, I always am looking for a reason not to swim.  I'm still going to the pool, just not logging the yardage I was a couple of months ago. 

I've been playing road racer a bit this year.  Family obligations have limited my long distance training this year, so I figured a few sprint and Oly tris with a lot of bike races should keep me both in shape and active enough to not go nuts.  Plus it is way, way cheaper. 

What I have learned so far: 

1. I should have gotten a power meter before race wheels. 

2. The power meter allows knowing exactly what you need to do in order to survive a crit.  Being able to see what the actual surges are and then training for them is of immense value.  Seeing that just about every race sees 500w for 30 to 45 seconds for every lap has got me doing shorter intervals.  My tri mind didn't really foresee this. 

3. The little ring does not decrease your manliness.  The power meter shows very quickly that you can go as fast, or faster, up a hill while using less power if you check your ego at the bottom of the hill.  You can still be a man with a 39x26. 

4.  TT pacing with power is the way to go.  I did a solo 50 mile TT effort at a meager wattage (about 70%) to see what would happen.  I did not display speed during the ride.  Just power.  When I arrived home more than 10 minutes sooner than I expected and felt super-duper excellent to boot, I knew I had just learned something. 

5.  If I am going to ride a TT with a power of over the above wattage I need to get a bigger gear than 50x12 on my TT bike.  That 50 mile ride had me out of gears for a larger portion than I would have expected.  I have an 11 rear cassette that I will have to give a shot to.  But I may have to go with a 53 tooth up front on the TT bike. 

6.  FTP testing can make you sit at your desk because it hurts to stand up after. 

7.  When you raise your FTP your training gets harder. Looking for new numbers is fun though. 

8.  You can actually recover on a recovery ride if you stay under 60% of your FTP. 

9.  In my previous TT efforts I was way slacking on the flats and hammering the hills too much. 

10.  RPE is hard to pace off of.  In a test where I duct taped the computer completely and went by RPE only, my average power was lower than I would have thought and the normalized power was through the roof.  The data actually looked a lot more like a crit rather than a TT effort.  I'm not sure if this will change the more I ride with power.  But, it is the case now. 

So, as you can see I have actually learned a few things. 

I plan on collecting data for a few more weeks and that should then get me into ToAD with a plan that has me ready to race.

As always, we shall see.

 

Remember that the Bone Rise is this coming Wednesday.

What Does Chris Do All Winter?

Answer: Freeze his toosh off.  No, seriously, this whole triathlon lifestyle I'm living makes me a regular freezy cat.  I've had the electric mattress pad rolling for more than a month now.  Long sleeves and sweaters have been in the wardrobe rotation fro just as long.  Maybe body fat does keep you warm.  Who knew?

 

As for training, I've studies my last few years.  Looked at some race results.  Not all mine, mind you.  And come up with some goals for the upcoming twelve month period (that is a year for those readers who are not so quick).  I will, most likely, write down those goals here in a few months.  But, for now they reside in my head.  Remember that my goals and mine and should not affect your life in any way, shape, or form.

 

Any who...  How to get to those goals.

 

Here is the general plan that I'm looking to follow until mid-January:

 

2 basic bike workouts every week with a FTP type workout every second week thrown in just for fun.

 

3 interval based swim workouts every week.  My "test" interval will be 6 or 7 x 200m.

 

1 long (read painfully boring) swim workout per week.  I do get some of my best thinking done during these swims, so I may become a dunce if I completely forego them.

 

4 solid runs per week with one at or below my goal race pace every two weeks, or so.  Weekly mileage should be above 30 miles during "work" weeks and around 20 on a recovery week.

 

I am an avid stretcher so yoga and stretching are just part of my life.  So, that will be there.  But, I don't count it for anything.

 

About the bike:  A typical training workout for me would be 4 minutes easy and 1 minute hard.  "Easy" and "Hard" will be by feel.  My intention is to do a little sleeping in and just keep on friendly terms with the old bicycle.

 

About the swim:  This is my new project.  Had I known I could get faster with just a little real work, I would have done this years ago.  Anyhow...  Now I do a warm-up, a drill set, two work sets, and a cool down.  This has also reinvigorated my desire to swim.

 

About the run:  This is still the third that I like best.  I intend to do about the same total mileage that I did in 2010 in 2011.  But, I intend to do a lot more speed work and even some track workouts.  These next 6 weeks, or so, I will just be getting my body ready to go a little faster than it is comfortable with.

 

Unfortunately, my personal (read "my family's" and really "my wife's") training schedule will not allow me to attend too many of the Brent Emery lead training sessions at the Milwaukee shop.  But, I will make attempts to make as many of those as I can in order to be in shape for the spring road races.

 

Send me an e-mail if you want to get together for some winter training fun.

Where have ya been?

Back by popular, or at least regular, demand, here is a blog post. Now, stop asking me, "When are you going to update us?" You can still e-mail me any questions. I just have not been in hyper-training mode. Actually, i forgot about the blog a little. Don't tell anyone. OK?

I've had a chance to unwind after the triathlon season. I've done a bit of running, biking, and swimming just for fun and fitness. That was actually kind of nice. Friday afternoon runs have been peaceful to say the least.

Now, the meat of today's topic: Reviewing the year's results/accomplishments and thinking a little about 2011. Overall, 2010 was a good year. Other than High Cliff, which kicked my a$$, I improved my times (Note plural here. It is called foreshadowing) from last year. Well, kind of and we'll get to that.

Over the course of the year I intended to run a little more than I did last year which looks like I will do.  Last year I ran just under 1,200 miles and this year I'll be over that for sure. For this year, as opposed to last year, I only ran 4 times each week. Basically, I cut out those 2 or 3 mile "short" runs with the intent to put those minutes in on the bike.

On the bike, I really had two main goals for the year. One was to get a solid tempo ride and a solid "long" ride in every week. The second was to complete the bone ride and be functional the next day.

My bike training consistency was more than I could have hoped for. Darn near every Monday I did a solid tempo ride and just about every Friday I, and the gang, got a good 60+ mile ride logged. I do have to note, and challenge some others, that I did most of my tempo rides alone. I quickly learned that when I got into pedal, pedal, pedal mode I quickly could leave others behind if they were not willing to push a little. Even when I did all the pulling, I would sometimes get into a zone where I would forget to look back every once in a while. Not wanting to be a jerk, I just figured that tempo ride was a day for a little alone time. Hint: Ben and Steve get on your trainer now so you can keep up;)

The Bone Ride this year saw more great weather and completing it was not even near the exhaustive effort it was in 2009. I can only credit this to the stupid number of 3+ hour trainer rides I did in February, March, and April.

Well, those are the two sports I did better in during 2010. I would really say that consistency of training allowed the gains I saw. I plan to do a very similar program in 2011 with a little more specificity. How's that for a fancy word, huh? Basically, I hope it means I'll have a power meter for next year to turn my engineering mind onto. Also, I have been experimenting with low heart rate running and have found that very interesting. That may find its way into my early season training too.

Now for sport number three: Swimming.

I will admit that, before about six weeks ago, I was a pool slacker. I read in some book somewhere when I started triathlon that swimming in a triathlon should be an aerobic effort and that I should be doing long distance workouts. So, off to the pool I went to reacquire the skill of swimming I had in my youth. With a solid eighteen years out of the pool I started training myself to swim longer and longer distances. As my swim fitness grew, my times got faster. But, as my race results show, my swimming speed stagnated (I have a word of the day subscription if you didn't know). I also found swimming, as I was doing it, bring with a capitol "B". I would often, turn a 2000m swim into an 800m swim just because I couldn't look at that stupid black line any more.

What did I see that jumped at me from my race results from the past three years? My swim times were all about the same. My swims didn't improve at all let alone in relation to my bike and run times.

Verdict: Get serious about swimming. Or is that a sentence?

Being college educated, maybe overly so, I looked into what kind of training I should have been doing and got myself started. Heck, I even went out and bought a pair of paddles. I have to admit that I will not buy a pull buoy because I don't want to be labeled as the tri guy at the pool. Everyone knows that triathletes go to the pool and stick that thing between their legs just way too much. Anyway, I have been using the paddles and actual drills (Yes, I am doing swimming drills) to reestablish proper form and intervals to work on going faster. So, far it has been so good. Let's see what happens in 2011.

That is what has been on my mind. Swimming faster and just logging a few rides and a bunch of base aerobic runs. Oh, and I might have been playing husband and father too. Now you know why I haven't posted anything.

One final thought. I really want to log a least one outdoor ride a week this winter. I'm not sure how that will work. So, far I've bailed on a bunch of Ben's morning rides. Now that I am skinny (or at least close to it), I have a hard time staying warm. Heck, I have the electric mattress pad on the bed already.

OK. A second final thought. One of my ideas for 2011 is to race about eight or nine pounds lighter than in 2010. For most of 2010 I went between 175 and 178 pounds. I have a feeling that being in the high 160's may pay dividends come race day. Editor's Note: Julie thinks this is crazy and this may make riding outside in the depths of winter even harder. The Wii Fit in the family room says I should weigh 166. Can you take training advice from Nintendo? I just want my Mii to look better.

 

It has been a while

Well, gentle reader, I didn't want you all (ya'all to the folks south of the Mason-Dixon line) to think all I have been doing is sitting around and eating big hamburgers.  Sidebar: Big hamburgers are delicious.

 

Now back to the story at hand.

 

The Jayhawk Latebird Tri.  Ben did a great job explaining his side of the story.  Now for the truth.  Or, at least my rendition of the events.  Yes, yes I know that the race was a month ago.  I've been not being a triathlete for a while.  So, you just had to wait for this gripping tale.

 

The whole Emery's gang was there.  Brent, Julie, my Julie, Ben, Kari, Matt, Andy, Scott (my hero), Anna, and I were all in attendance.  Ben's Steve (actually Anna's Steve but he was Ben's Steve first) was out due to injuries and or other commitments.

 

I have to admit that it was my hope that all the fast guys like Scott and Andy would be exhausted from IM WI and other training to allow me to contest for an overall win.  Not so.  But fun was had.

 

Leading up to the race Ben and Kari started swimming again.  From our conversations, it was learned by me that both were definitely faster that I was.  This made me happy because Kari was in my lane for the swim.  I was planning on drafting off her for the entire swim.  Well, that didn't happen either.  I started first in the lane and Kari right behind me.  Throughout the swim she was right behind me, but never passed.  So, there I was stuck actually swimming.  I saw Ben get out of the water as I started my last 50m.  At that point I knew I has him.  Not only was I starting about 2 minutes behind him, but I knew my transitions would be faster than his.

 

Sure enough, as I exited the pool into transition, there was Ben messing with his wardrobe.  I understand that fashion can influence speed on the bike.  But I'm not sure whatever Ben was messing with was worth it.  I believe he was color coordinating his earrings and nail polish.  I'm not sure, but that is what I am going with.  So, I passed Ben while he was standing still in transition.

 

On to the bike I went.  Pedal, pedal, pedal.  At the first turn, which might be about 1.5 or 2 miles in, I glanced back and saw nobody.  I continued to pedal, pedal.  I did finally see Ben after the turnaround at about mile 7 or 8.  By my computer's clock I had a bit over a minute on him for sure at this point.  I kept my pace nice and even figuring that he would have to seriously blow himself up to catch me on the bike.

 

In T2 I had a good transition and was not able to see Ben at all.  Figuring transition time, etc. I figured I had over 2 minutes at this point.  I didn't think Ben was going to run 6 minute miles, so I went on to concentrate on my run and hopefully a decent overall time.

 

Mr. Garmin kept me at 6:45 pace through the whole run.  Which had me feeling quite good.  Sidebar again: Mr. Garmin had my average pace as 6:48 min/mi for 3.24mi but timing and scoring had me at 7:11 for 3.1mi.  I finished the run strong and feeling pretty good.  What was really cool was that I was the first person through the forest section and I was able to run with a family of deer for a little bit.  Not exactly a normal race thing.

 

In the end, I think I was 6th overall.  Andy beat me this time where I beat him in the spring.  Ben, although he was looking really good (earrings and nails you know), came in a couple of minutes behind me.  It was really, really cool to see all the Emery's folks finish. 

 

My Julie really did well.  She wound up 3rd in her age group and with a personal best course time.  I have to admit that her accomplishment far outweighs anything I did that day.

 

End of the race season.  That was the last of the races for 2010.  I might do a couple of running races yet.  But, we'll see.

 

I made it through the Monday and Tuesday after Whitewater without working out.  By Wednesday the ants in my pants required some feeding.  Since then, I've just been working out for workout's sake.  No real goals, just staying in shape.

 

I've taken a look at my results this year.  Although my swim times have not been poor, they were not front of the pack kind of times either.  I, to date, have really only done aerobic swim training.  I'd go swim 800, 1500, 2000, 2500 meters straight.  If I ever did pace work, it was rare.  And, I mean rare.  Like, maybe, 10 times in the last 5 years.  My race plan has always been to not work too hard on the swim, catch the fast swimmers on the bike and try to run as fast as I can.  I think my strategy may need to change a little for next year.

 

I know what I was capable of swimming in my youth (yut south of M-D line).  I also know that I am not 20 years-old any more (even though I try to act it).  So, my "until new year's resolution" is to swim like a swimmer for a bit.  I should be able to get my aerobic swimming pace into the high 1:20's over the next few months.  Maybe coming out of the water with the lead pack will allow me to conserve a little on the bike to allow my runs to be stronger.  Come along with me and we'll see.

 

So you've been warned.  If you see me in person I'll smell like chlorine, I might have marks on my hands from my paddles (which are way fancier now then they were in 1989 the last time I used paddles), and as usual I'll have a new goal to be working towards.

 

If you're looking to school me in the pool, give me a shout via e-mail, etc.  I am more than will to suffer if you can get this old man any faster.

Let's Talk Overtraining

The big "O".

 

Get your mind out of the gutter.  I mean "Overtraining".  First, I am writing it as one word.  I'm not sure it is, but I am too lazy to look it up.  So, one word it will be to me.

 

I've been thinking and promising these thoughts for a while.  A real world example has prompted me to actually write it down.  Or, in this case type it down.

 

Second, a brief review.  We train so that our body will adapt.  Some train to just make it without dying.  Other train to make it in less time than it took last week, last year, last decade.  Adaption is our goal.  By training we stress our bodies, expect them to repair themselves, and then expect them to get better.  Here is the formula (Forgive the engineer/scientist thing it will not last long):

 

Training=Stress

Repair=Recovery (Active or Inactive)

Result=Faster or Stronger

 

Training + Repair = Result

 

Simple substitution yields:

 

Training + Recovery = Faster or Training + Recovery = Stronger

 

Without going into a bunch of Gaussian Elimination, I will tell you what that silliness yields.

 

We all know what training is.  And, we probably all know how to do.

 

We all also know what our desired result(s) are.

 

That leaves us with recovery.  I would actually argue that both training and results are a function (fancy calculus term here) of recovery.  Thus:

 

Results f(Recovery)

 

Training f(Recovery)

 

Note two things are linked to recovery.  IT IS NOT Recovery f(Training, Results).

 

The amount of recovery needed will depend to the volume and intensity of training.  But, it will also depend on what you are trying to get out of your training (results).

 

Enough talking in math circles.

 

You can train all you want.  Or, you can try to.  At some point you have to allow your body the time and ability to heal itself in order for it to adapt.

 

What does that mean?  It means all your workouts can't be at warp speed.  It means that you can't do three-a-day workouts for six months straight.  Without recovery, be it moderate/slow paced workouts or complete rest, you will very quickly see results flushed down the toilet.

 

What do I do?  I make sure my workout plan involves some active recovery, and I make sure that my plan included one complete off day a week.  I do at least one swim, bike, and run workout a week at about 60% effort.  That means a nice swim for the sake of swimming, a bike ride where I suck wheel most of the time, and a jog.  Side note: while jogging I look for dead bodies.  It always seems that joggers find dead bodies all the time and I log enough miles that I should find one soon.

 

What is/are the sign/s of overtraining?  Google it yourself. 

 

Here is what I have seen recently.  When Ben started "Tri Training" again he added all kinds of stress to his happy training routine.  He started running and even started some swimming.  I'm not Ben (He is much younger than I), but I would call that added stress.  When you go from just riding your little bike to being a triathlete, you are upping the ante as they (I still don't know who "they" are) say.  What he didn't do was add recovery at the same time.  He really added a lot of running and swimming.  But, like I noted, he is younger than I and knows his own body. 

 

How do I know?  Well, we went for an easy Sunday morning ride.  We don't usually ride on Sundays.  But, I had taken off to attend some family chores (see below post)on Saturday, so 60 miles of no work fit in both our schedules.  To fast forward, Ben had a bad day on his bicycle.  He had more issues than I could pay attention to.  Granted, I have a short attention span.  But, he did not have fun.  I actually thought he was practicing for marriage or something.  I'm not sure how many days in a row he worked out previously.  I was coming off a complete day off, so I was fresh as a daisy.  Or the sweaty male equivalent of a daisy.  I was tootling on my bike and Ben was working way harder than he should have been.  What Ben found was the point at which his body could no longer repair itself from the training that he had been putting it through.  Ben, very quickly, figured out that he overtrained himself.

 

Now, everyone's limit will be different.  There is diet, sleep, life stress equations all that to add to the above equations (Gaussian elimination is really necessary).  Once you've been there you will not quickly forget it.  I try to, but sometimes fail at, being 5% undertrained rather than 1% overtrained.  Sometime training is too fun to stop.

 

Your mileage may vary.

There is More to Life than Triathlon

Yes.  Believe it or not.

 

Now, I'm just as OCD about my tri training and participation as most others.  I think it is important to have as plan, stick to it, and be constant in your training.  But, let's face it, most of our chances of going pro as slim.  Triathlon is a great way to get, and keep, one's body healthy.  It is a great group of people to hang out with.  And, it is just plain old fun.

 

But, there is a point of diminishing returns.  What I am talking about here is both over training and about negatively impacting one's non-triathlon life.  The second, of course, assumes that you have a life.  If you don't, that sucks for you.  Get one, you'll like one.

 

First, to the second.  With Ironman Wisconsin around the corner, I have witnesses a lot of triathletes not talking about tapers, runs, or bike rides.  They are talking about how their families are all looking forward to when, "Ironman is over."  Now, I don't know what their family dynamics are like, but I can speak to mine.

 

I would like to do Ironman.  At least one, but I know myself and one would probably start a trend.  My wife knows this too.  I've sat down with the numbers and with my training schedule.  For me, personally, to do an Ironman would require about an extra eight (8) hours of training a week.  Side note: When I say "do" an Ironman I speak to maximizing my personal performance at one.  I would not like to "just do one to finish it".  That is not to say that just finishing an Ironman is not an accomplishment.  I just feel that if I am going to do that volume of training, I want to maximize whatever my performance would be at that race distance.  Back to the story:  So, I need about eight more hours a week for about three months.  For Ironman Wisconsin, that would mean for the months of June, July, and August I would have to keep my training schedule about the same as it is now during the week, but would have to add Saturday and Sunday training.  See, right now, I only train for two hours on Saturday.  I do a kind of long run and a short swim on Saturday and Sunday is my off day.  I think for Ironman I would need Saturday for a long bike and medium run and would have to add a long run on Sunday.  I would make Monday an off day, but still.  Now, what does that have to do with the subject?  In order for me to change my training as such, I would seriously impact my family's schedule.  And, I would make seeing Daddy on the weekend more difficult.  Believe me, Julie and I have discussed this at length.  She understands that I want to do Ironman.  And, I understand what function I play in our family unit.  Together, right now, I remain content to race one Half Iron distance and a bunch of sprints.  Maybe next year I'll do a couple or three halfs (not halves).  We'll see.

 

So, to the second point from above, I have a lot of fun training for and racing triathlons.  But, I have a lot of fun being a husband and father.  I do what I can to prioritize and get in my tri training done.  But, through much negotiation with Julie and some actual understanding, I know that husband and father are better life titles than triathlete.  Some of the guys I've recently overheard talking along with what they are saying about their families, have lead me to think that either one, some, or all of the following may have taken place in their lives:

 

1.  They did not really understand how much training is necessary to do an IM.

2.  They did not express how much training is necessary to do an IM to their family.

3.  Their family did not really understand how much training is necessary to do an IM.

4.  There was not a family discussion about doing an IM.

5.  Real life priorities were not kept during IM training.

 

I can definitely see how any or all of those above could happen.  A couple of those are holes that could just keep getting deeper if you let them.

 

In the end, as non-professional athletes, what are those fifteen minutes off your Ironman time worth?  If you want to go to Hawaii, I'll bet just about any travel agent will book the flights for you.  Heck, what is that silly piece of tin with an attached ribbon from your local tri worth?  What are they worth when you weigh them against your life outside of triathlon?

 

As for over training.  I'll touch on that in an upcoming post.  I have to admit that I am just tired of typing right now.

 

See ya.

 

 

Waupaca Area Triathlon Race Report

I have to say that the Waupaca Area Tri is my favorite.  Sure, I do some other well run races.  But, this one is the best.  The level of volunteers and the fact that the whole community comes out to watch and cheer makes for a great event.

 

Anyhow, Julie and I arrived early Saturday morning and got ourselves set-up.  The swim is 1/2 mile, the bike a little short of 20 miles and the run is supposed to be 3 miles (it is 3.22 according to Mr. Garmin).  The long swim and little longer bike plays well into my strengths without making me run any more than necessary.  Julie, on the other hand, was not thrilled with the 1/2 mile swim.

 

Standing on the beach before the start of the elite wave, there were two young guys doing very vigorous warm-ups.  They were both wearing red "guard" Speedos and Swedish goggles.  I looked at them and said, "Self, those are the feet to follow."  My thoughts were confirmed as I over heard them planning on taking turns at the front every big buoy.  Yeah!  The horn went off and into the water we all went.  The Speedo guys did not disappoint.  They went out fast and I was just able to stay in their draft.  I thought that I would be able to stay with them and maybe get a PR on the swim.  Well, the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.  At about the 200m mark, I was forced to swim over set of Speedo feet one.  I don't know what he did, but I think he just stopped or slowed way, way down.  Anyhow, I sped up a little to catch back on to Speedo feet number two.  I was not on his bubble for more than 100 meters when he too fell off.  He actually grabbed the lane line.  So, around him I go.  I had to hammer a little more than I would like to catch the lead group which had put about 20 or 25 feet on me by the 1/4 mile turn around.  After the turn, I was able to find a good pace and a couple of feet.  But, the feet I was finding were a little on the slow side.  I wound up swimming the last 300m by myself.  Not my plan, but what can you do.  I got out of the water in 3rd or 4th.

 

I passed one or two in T1 and onto my bike I went.  This year's bike route was a little different from the last few years.  Luckily, Julie and I were able to ride the changed portion of the course on Thursday, so I had a good idea of what to expect.  The new course has a bunch of little hills rather than the two on the previous course.  Anyhow, on the bike I worked just off my cadence.  I've found a way to disconnect the speed sensor (remove the wheel magnet, duh) so I just get my cadence and nothing else.  My goal was to spin 90 to 100 rpm for the race distance and see what I get out of it. 

 

At about the 10 mile mark, I was passed by another guy on a pretty P2.  I have to admit to being partial to the white and red Cervelos for an unknown reason.  I was able to stay with him for about 2 more miles, but those young guys are pretty fast.  While I was still with him, a course marshal indicated to us that we were 2 minutes behind the leader.  That put me in 3rd overall.  Knowing this and being able to hear the sound of two disc wheels echoing down the country road made me very happy with life at the time.  After a while, I was not able to keep up the pace that my new friend was keeping, so I slowly lost touch with him.  With around one mile to go, I was passed again going up a hill.  I repassed this guy after a 90 degree corner (which he must have used his brakes going around) and a little down hill section that I was willing to hammer on just before T2.

 

In T2 my new Nike Lunar Racer 2's went on way easier than the ones "lost" at Tri-ing for Children.  Plus they match my Emery's kit better too.

 

The run course is flat and fast.  This is not good for me.  The guy I repassed on the bike re-repassed me at about the 1/2 mile mark and proceed to run about 30 seconds per mile faster than I was able to.  Forth overall.  Let me remind you, gentle reader, that I really enjoy running the most.  I am just not the fastest runner out there.  I know this.  So, when on the run, I am in "just try to save the time you gained in the water and on the bike" mode.  I thought I did a pretty good job of that.  Another fast guy passed me around the 2 mile mark.  Fifth overall.  I was able to up the pace a little within the last 1/2 mile, or so, and finish strong.

 

It turns out that the overall winner came from wave number 4.  So, my 5th was actually 6th.  But, hey I'll take that.  Final result was 6th overall and 1st in my old guy age group.

 

After I was done, I was able to see Julie and her friend Jen through T2 and then catch them both out on the run course.  I have to say, I'm really getting into the whole cheering out on the course.  It is way more fun than I would have thought.

 

Overall, it was a great weekend.  Julie and I were able to get a good race in.  The kids got some solid time in the lake with grandma and grandpa too.  Heck, the dogs even got a bath.  So, life is good.  Fluffy puppies and tired kids are always good things.

 

Over the next couple of weeks, I am planning on posted some stuff about training plans and equipment choices.  I've been looking at new toys, their prices, and what they might do for my race results.  I've also been noticing that although I do like racing (a lot), I may actually like training better.  More to come...