I'm back

I admit I've been slacking on the blog recently. I was sick last week, so I didn't do much of anything. But I'm back with a vengance this week.

• Sunday: Did an easy, 18-mile bike with the crew from Central Penn Racing. It was Sarah's last ride with the group, so good luck to her! That might I played two matches (6 games) of volleyball. We won 5 of 6.
• Monday: an easy 30-minute run with Sue and Joseph.
• Tuesday: a yoga session with a private instructor. It was rough, man: my legs were shaking during downward dog!
• Wednesday: upper-body strength training, which did not leave me feeling as well-trained as I would have liked. Time to take up the weights!
• Thursday: I did a great 10-mile run in the cold rain. It was originally supposed to be 8.4 miles, but I felt so good I just kept going. And here's something else about that: because I got there late, I had to run solo. A reporter who had come to take some pictures also got there late. I was the first one he found as he drove up the road behind me, so he took some pics of my and my chi. If he ever publishes them, I will see if I can post one here.

I'm not sure what I'll get down this weekend: Sue and I are going to scenic Pittsburgh, but I hope we'll be able to use the gym facilities at the hotel.

LSD Running -- It's a trip

I just got done with what ChiRunning calls the LSD (long, slow, distance) run. Today's run was 9.22 miles, which I did in 1:22:55. That's actually much faster than my marathon training dictates, especially given the hilliness of the course. I should have done it at about a 9:41 per mile pace. Instead I did in in 9:00 per mile. Oh well.

It's On!!!

I've officially registered for the Philadelphia Marathon, so there's no turning back now. I have just over two months to get marathon-ready, but I'm a good portion of the way there already.

My ISP is giving me a hassle with my online storage area, but as soon as I get that resolved I'll post a link to my calendar with my training schedule.

The Dam Triathlon: My Near-Death Experience

I had been debating whether to do this one for the past few weeks. Sue and I have both been in a low-energy state for the past few weeks, and my shoulders have been really sore for the past week as well. But I wasn't going to get another chance at a tri until next summer, so I decided on Saturday afternoon to do it. Sue thought I was crazy, and in retrospect she may have been correct.

I was struggling early on in the swim: it seemed so easy, but I was still moving so slowly. Then, about 200 yards in, disaster. I was crawling along behind some people, and suddenly I got kicked in the stomach. The air was instantly gone from my lungs, and I couldn't get any back in. If that had happened about 20 yards before then, the water was still shallow enough to stand. But right there it was over my head. In my gasping I got a couple of huge mouthfuls of water.

Fortunately, I was right by a buoy, so I grabbed onto it for a second until I was breathing again. After about 30 seconds I felt better, so I started off again. After about 20 strokes I knew I was in trouble. It hurt to reach out my arm, and it hurt worse to breathe in deeply. Worst of all was that after swallowing that water, I felt like I was going to puke at any second. But now I was well past a buoy, and too far from the next one. My only option was to swam for shore, about 50 yards away.

I frantically clawed at the water to get there: I couldn't put my head down because I couldn't breath, so that made swimming much harder. There were honestly a few seconds there where I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. In a panic now, I but everything I had into getting those 20 or so yards. The guy in the kayak got to me with about 5 yards to go, when I could stand up, and helped me onto the shore. I was doubled over in pain, unable to breathe, and unsteady on my feet.

I didn't want to sit though, I wanted to get back out there. So I stood there with Sue and the woman who was coordinating the event. But when my hands started to feel tingly, I knew I was done. I made my way over to the First Aid station, got an Oxygen mask, and just tried to relax. After about 10 or 15 minutes, I felt better. And believe it or not, I was considering trying to finish the race. But once I got back on my feet, and felt how unsteady they were, and how hard it was to breathe, I made the decision to go home.

It still hurts this morning where I got kicked, so my breathing is a little shallow today. But getting kicked is part of the sport: I'm sure the person who did it has no idea it happened, and would be very sorry about it if he did. But my two triathlon experiences have taught me that before the next one, I need to improve my swimming to the point where I can swim near the front. It's way better to make people pass me than for me to come up on people and get kicked or boxed in.

After my marathon, I'm going to find a Total Immersion Swimming instructor to help me.

Week in Review

Have I mentioned that Blogger has not been friendly recently? I've been having trouble logging in, so I haven't been able to post anything recently. But it seems to be working better today. So, to catch you up:

Saturday: Sue and I did HP Yoga (non-prop). Some of those balance poses are tough!
Sunday: Sue, Joseph, and I did the course for the KofC 5K.
Monday: Sue and I spent several hours doing yardwork.
Tuesday: Sue and I did the upper-body workout at the gym. Some things were quite difficult, but I really enjoyed the dumbell arm swings and horizontal swings at the end: they were energizing.
Wednesday: I did a five-mile run. I've been reading ChiRunning, and I tried to be mindful of the pose I was using. The lean reminded me of how I used to run in high school. I keep falling out of the pose, but I remember the words of Baron Baptiste: "As often as you forget, remember." My shoulders were really sore at the end of the run, much as I tried to relax them during. I'm not sure if that was from the strength training on Tuesday or from the running position.

Tadpole Time Trial

Last night I rode the Tadpole Time Trial, a 10-mile bike along a rolling, wooded road. I felt good leading up to it. I had originally planned to drive to the start (about 6 miles from work), but when I got in the car I realized that I had 20 minutes to get there. It's relatively flat road, so instead of turning the ignition I got on the bike and road out there.
I started off great on the ride, I was riding smooth and easy, and fast (for me). I was well under my goal pace of 28 minutes. The last hill before the turn-around is long and steep in places, and that hurt some, but I felt like I would finish strong. The route back is more downhill than uphill.
I got down the big hill, and then just after the 6-mile mark there is a short, steep hill before a longish flat section. I attacked the hill in a big gear, standing up and cranking with everything I had. Then, about 2/3rds of the way up, BONK! The power plant just died.
I made it to the top, but I was hurting, and I couldn't accelerate on the flat at all. I limped along for the next couple of miles at an agonizingly slow pace, watching people who had started after me roll past. I put in a final sprint at the end, but even then I felt like I had no juice. I knew I could go faster than that, but there was just no power.
I finished dead last, in a disappointing 31 minutes. I've been thinking about why I tanked so badly: could it be the lack of gym time over the past month? Or maybe the nagging fatigue Sue and I have both been fighting for the past week? Nutrition? Hydration? I'm just not sure.
I do know that I can do that trial much faster than that, and I intend to do so.