Tri - Runner's Roost

A blog from a "Middle of the Pack Marathoner" starting his journey from Newbie to Ironman. The ride is awesome!

I Don’t Wanna Stop

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History

I started running in January of 2004 to get in shape. I had gained too much weight and felt terrible. I was able to run my first 5K 3 months later. 2 years later and 50 lbs lighter, I have continued to push for greater goals and have run 5 marathons and I am training for an Iron distance triathlon now. Everyday I wake up with a positive attitude towards life, training and my future.

Marathons Completed

Arizona RockNRoll 2007
Salt Lake City Marathon 2006
Steamboat Marathon 2005
Boulder Backroads 2005
Las Vegas Marathon 2005

Why do I Tri?

Should be why do I want to Tri? I want to see just how far I can push myself. With everyday I am in the best shape of my life. And I'm never going back!!!!

Sponsors

Elite Family Fitness-Canon City
BB's Tanning and Massage

Scheduled Races

Littlefoot Triathlon
Bolder Boulder 10K
Highland Ranch Sprint
Boulder Long Triathlon
Redman Iron Distance

Race Report

May 14, 2007

Little Foot Triathlon

The Little Foot Triathlon was held on Sunday. There were about 200 participants in this years event. The weather was real nice with a low in the morning of about 60 degrees. The water temperature was 58 degrees.

After spending the night in my car waiting for the gates to open to the park, I pulled into the parking area and started getting ready. I was surprisingly calm for the first triathlon of the year. I felt that my training had prepared me for this event.

After getting my timing chip and body marking I got my transition area set up. With the water temperatures as cold as they were I brought my full wetsuit to swim. I noticed that some were wearing long-john wetsuits and 2 brave souls were only wearing bathing suits. Once I got in the water I was happy that I had my long sleeve wetsuit - the water was really frickin cold. I dunked my head under and felt my breath go away. My face was so cold I could not move my lips right.

The coldness of the water had a bigger effect on me than I thought. Once our wave started I started swimming and felt that I could not get my breath. This same thing happened last year in Steamboat and I have no explanation for it. I was once again forced to swim side stroke off and on for the first 200 yards. Every time I tried to get into rhythm I felt that I could not breath right and would go back to side stroke. After the first 200 yards I finally got my rhythm and could swim well. I did get blown off course for the final stretch and ended up to the right of the finish by about 100 feet. I was very happy to be out of the water and into transition.

The bike segment was a whole lot better. I did not get a chance to check out the course so for the first lap I did not push real hard. The 2nd and 3rd laps were awesome. I passed quite a few other riders. I was out of the saddle on the hills and in aero for everything else. The total ride took 49:15 for 15 miles. Not my fastest but there were some hills to deal with. I think I could have pushed harder and I need to do that - I tend to hold back and that is something I need to work on.

T1 went very quickly - even though I had to tie my shoes. Since yesterday I stopped in at the shoe store and got my elastic laces. The run was fairly good. Once again I should have pushed harder. I could not feel my feet until the half way point. It really is weird running and not being able to feel your feet. The run was mostly uphill for the first half, Enough to slow me down. I was able to stretch out my stride on the way back down and finish with a pretty good time.

I learned a lot from the first tri of the year and will have to adjust my training to progress. I need to get in the open water more - I am not sure if the temperature of the water affected me or if this is some kind of anxiety. Last year at Prospect Lake I had no problems with the swim. Then at Steamboat Springs I had the same thing happened to me. I feels like my chest is tight and I cannot get any air. But after about 200 yards I feel better and can swim without any problems. So I need to get in the OPEN water more. My bike is pretty good but I do need to push harder without holding back - same goes for the run. I do need to start getting more brick workouts in.

I finished at 1:36:46. My age group 40-44 was real competitive. I finished 13th out of 17. But if you look at the 35-40 group I would have finished 6th out of 16. I guess I should feel lucky since about 12-14 people were fished out by the boat. I really do think the water temperatures had a lot to do with it. But I will find somewhere and someone to swim with open water. When I get this fixed I will then be close to placing in my age group. In a pool I have no problems going fast and finishing strong.

posted by Mondo @ 8:30 AM

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