Open-Water Swim in Harbor near Ocean - 500 meters
Bike - 20 km
Run - 5 km
Overall time - 1:34:00
So it sounds a lot easier just looking at the numbers, but today was definitely a challenge for me. I am so tired right now. Sleep is banging on my eyelids. Gotta record today, though.
I knew it was gonna be a tough day when I started my warm-up swim across the harbor to the starting point. The current was so strong, every one of us were being pushed out into the ocean. It was tough, esp having to swim straight into the current just to get back on track. And that was supposed to be warming us up. Talk about exhaustion before stepping up to the starting line.
I don't know how, but a 13-year-old boy beat every single one of us out of the water. I was way too far back to notice, but I heard that he smoked us all. Thankfully the swim after we started was much easier, since we didn't have to swim into the current, rather it carried us most of the way to the ending point. I think I came out in 13 minutes. I do know that is very slow since 75% of the other folks were already on their bikes.
Once we got to the bike, there was a massive hill waiting to greet us. I would actually say that hill was the nemesis of the entire race. Our bike route consisted of 4 1/2 laps around the city square. That meant we had to climb this hill 5 different times on our bike. It was a booger, esp since the steepest part was right at the top, once we were already wiped. But I pushed through. And I finally caught up with Masterson on the final lap.
Then came the business phone call about 100 meters from the transition area. I had a cooking class starting at that moment, and the driver was calling to tell me he was outside the house. Quite a site to see me unclipping my shoes from the pedals while conducting some business on the phone.
The run took us back to that great big hill another 3 times. The legs were jelly and the heat was blazing, but I kept thinking bigger picture. If I want to do the longer tris, I need to press on when I don't have much left. So I ran the 5k without stopping, and actually running the 3rd lap much faster than the first.
But all in all, I was towards the end of the Age Group, again. My friend Simo came in 4th overall. I am so excited to have him as a training buddy. He will definitely get me moving faster.
In the next few days, I will post my official times and some great pics.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Nudges
Bike - 30 miles
Swim - 1 km
I am completely exhausted. I hooked up with SiMohammed and his friend Kamal today for a cooling down 30-mile ride as we prep for the Tri in Larache next weekend. There was no cooling down about it.
With a fierce head wind, we headed out trek Fes about 25 kilometers, then turned around and flew back. They had me going 18mph into the wind up hills. Coming back, with the wind behind us, we were cruising easily between 26 - 30 mph. It was a killer. They kept telling me to get on the person's tire right in front of me. I couldn't keep up to do so. Then came the hand on the small of the back pushing me to keep up. What great friends that they help me so!!!
At one point, I looked at my heart rate monitor on my watch. I was around 160-163. I looked over at SiMo...barely at 140. He just laughed as I was gasping for breath. Then I picked up my speed on a straight away. Not 30 seconds later, both of them FLEW by me as if I were on a tricycle.
Back in town, immediately it was into the pool for a 1km swim. I haven't swam that slow since I had swimmies on my arms when I was 5. Maybe it was the large shorts I was wearing...or maybe I am just slow regardless.
Either way, I have been moaning all afternoon.
Swim - 1 km
I am completely exhausted. I hooked up with SiMohammed and his friend Kamal today for a cooling down 30-mile ride as we prep for the Tri in Larache next weekend. There was no cooling down about it.
With a fierce head wind, we headed out trek Fes about 25 kilometers, then turned around and flew back. They had me going 18mph into the wind up hills. Coming back, with the wind behind us, we were cruising easily between 26 - 30 mph. It was a killer. They kept telling me to get on the person's tire right in front of me. I couldn't keep up to do so. Then came the hand on the small of the back pushing me to keep up. What great friends that they help me so!!!
At one point, I looked at my heart rate monitor on my watch. I was around 160-163. I looked over at SiMo...barely at 140. He just laughed as I was gasping for breath. Then I picked up my speed on a straight away. Not 30 seconds later, both of them FLEW by me as if I were on a tricycle.
Back in town, immediately it was into the pool for a 1km swim. I haven't swam that slow since I had swimmies on my arms when I was 5. Maybe it was the large shorts I was wearing...or maybe I am just slow regardless.
Either way, I have been moaning all afternoon.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Catching Up
It has been too long since my last post. Things keep happening, yet I am not recording them. I need to put them down in this blog so that I can remember them later in life. But I just keep forgetting to find time to record anything. So here are some of the highlights from the past month:
* Swam 2700 meters a few weeks ago. Unfortunately had to swim fairly slow since I stupidly ate some lasagna about an hour prior to the swim. Kind of afraid I was gonna make a name for myself by hurling in the pool. But I held it down.
* Have done several longer brick days. I think 2 weeks ago, I rode about 30 miles, then got off and ran 6 (at a 8:45 pace). The last time I had tried to do that was the Tri in Austin on a 90 degree day. Didn't do a lot of running then. But was able to complete the 6-mile run fairly easily.
* Starting to ride with Masterson on Sundays in Rabat. This past weekend, we went and finally got shoes and clips for my bike. I had been using my tennis shoes in old pedals with zip ties as my clips. How embarrassing. But I did notice a major difference with the new kicks.
* Met a few folks up in Ifrane that love to do Tris. Now I've gone from nothing in this country to at least 3, if not more each year. Plus, Duncan has competed in numerous IronMan events, while Thomas is in training. Gonna learn from the pro while being pushed by the trainee. Looking forward to talking shop and competing with these guys.
Now that I am caught up on some of the more important details, I can't let this much time pass in between recordings. I have a horrible memory and don't want to forget the small things.
* Swam 2700 meters a few weeks ago. Unfortunately had to swim fairly slow since I stupidly ate some lasagna about an hour prior to the swim. Kind of afraid I was gonna make a name for myself by hurling in the pool. But I held it down.
* Have done several longer brick days. I think 2 weeks ago, I rode about 30 miles, then got off and ran 6 (at a 8:45 pace). The last time I had tried to do that was the Tri in Austin on a 90 degree day. Didn't do a lot of running then. But was able to complete the 6-mile run fairly easily.
* Starting to ride with Masterson on Sundays in Rabat. This past weekend, we went and finally got shoes and clips for my bike. I had been using my tennis shoes in old pedals with zip ties as my clips. How embarrassing. But I did notice a major difference with the new kicks.
* Met a few folks up in Ifrane that love to do Tris. Now I've gone from nothing in this country to at least 3, if not more each year. Plus, Duncan has competed in numerous IronMan events, while Thomas is in training. Gonna learn from the pro while being pushed by the trainee. Looking forward to talking shop and competing with these guys.
Now that I am caught up on some of the more important details, I can't let this much time pass in between recordings. I have a horrible memory and don't want to forget the small things.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Traffic
Swim 2000 meters (42:33)
400 meter splits (7:54, 8:00, 8:38, 8:51, 9:08)
Obviously I was getting slower throughout. And dealing with the boredom was pretty tough. Not to mention that fact that the military academy brought a good number of their folks to practice. All told, I would venture to say that there were close to 40 people in our 8 lane pool today.
So the main challenge is when you are trying to swim something continuous and the people in your lane are working on their kick-boarding exercises. Or they are first-time swimmers. But we all need to start somewhere. I am proud of them for trying.
And the nap that I mentioned earlier was delightful. I did not want to wake up after an hour (normally it's 20 - 30 minutes for me.) Have to let the body rest.
400 meter splits (7:54, 8:00, 8:38, 8:51, 9:08)
Obviously I was getting slower throughout. And dealing with the boredom was pretty tough. Not to mention that fact that the military academy brought a good number of their folks to practice. All told, I would venture to say that there were close to 40 people in our 8 lane pool today.
So the main challenge is when you are trying to swim something continuous and the people in your lane are working on their kick-boarding exercises. Or they are first-time swimmers. But we all need to start somewhere. I am proud of them for trying.
And the nap that I mentioned earlier was delightful. I did not want to wake up after an hour (normally it's 20 - 30 minutes for me.) Have to let the body rest.
Still Pushing
Run - 6 miles (51:51)
Early morning runs take a little while to get moving. The weary bones take a while to warm up. This morning it seemed to have taken a little extra longer. But once I got going, I was able to push it some. The mental aspect of running long distances around a track is challenging. Picturing the Iron Man and all the laps I will have to do there was motivation. It's not only about strengthen muscles and working lungs, but also about challenging the mind to stay focused and not let the body quit.
All in all, I was very happy with my run. I still had a lot left in me, but was thankful to be finished. Now it's off to the pool in about an hour. I am thinking I might shoot for 2000 meters today. I hope the body can keep up. And I already foresee a great nap or an early bedtime tonight.
Early morning runs take a little while to get moving. The weary bones take a while to warm up. This morning it seemed to have taken a little extra longer. But once I got going, I was able to push it some. The mental aspect of running long distances around a track is challenging. Picturing the Iron Man and all the laps I will have to do there was motivation. It's not only about strengthen muscles and working lungs, but also about challenging the mind to stay focused and not let the body quit.
All in all, I was very happy with my run. I still had a lot left in me, but was thankful to be finished. Now it's off to the pool in about an hour. I am thinking I might shoot for 2000 meters today. I hope the body can keep up. And I already foresee a great nap or an early bedtime tonight.
Reality Check
Bike - 37 miles (2:00:53) plus 3 miles warm-up
The other day, Mohammed asked me if I wanted to join him for a 60km bike ride on Sunday morning. I decided that it might be a good idea, but was a little apprehensive since the furthest I have ever gone was about 28 miles. I knew it was going to be a challenge, esp since biking is my weakest of the 3 disciplines.
I should have taken my first clue that it was going to be embarrassing when I met him near my house in all of his professional riding gear. I was cowering as I pulled up with my paper-clipped helmet, my zip-tied pedals (since I have no riding shoes and clips) and my way too small bike. He then proceeded to tell me we had to go over to a coffee shop to meet some of his friends. Clue #2.
My embarrassment only grew larger as 7 of his riding buddies began parking their bikes at the shop. Comparing my 2,500 dH bike with their 10,000 - 15,000 dH bikes was another kick in the gut. I just said my hellos and kept my sunglasses on to conceal my fear. Can I even keep up with them for the first 2 miles ?
Once we got started, I did all I could to not make a fool of myself. To get out to El-Hajb required going up and up and up low-grade hills. Every once in a while, Mo would put his hand on my back and help push to keep me up with everyone. But for the most part, I was able to keep pace with all of these guys for the first 15 miles or so. Then I realized that this was just their warm-up.
After a while, they began pulling away from me and I didn't mind. But at mile 19, I realized that I still had to make it back into town and my house. Once I turned around, I noticed that we had been going uphill for a majority of the ride. I felt somewhat encouraged, yet all alone out in the countryside of Morocco since they were long gone!
The ride back was much more fun, cuz it was downhill. It did get quite boring toward the end of the 40 miles. Thankfully I rode better and faster than ever before. But it was a major reality check. I am not great on the bike and I should train harder if I want to ride with those guys again. The rest of the day I just laid around and moaned and napped.
The other day, Mohammed asked me if I wanted to join him for a 60km bike ride on Sunday morning. I decided that it might be a good idea, but was a little apprehensive since the furthest I have ever gone was about 28 miles. I knew it was going to be a challenge, esp since biking is my weakest of the 3 disciplines.
I should have taken my first clue that it was going to be embarrassing when I met him near my house in all of his professional riding gear. I was cowering as I pulled up with my paper-clipped helmet, my zip-tied pedals (since I have no riding shoes and clips) and my way too small bike. He then proceeded to tell me we had to go over to a coffee shop to meet some of his friends. Clue #2.
My embarrassment only grew larger as 7 of his riding buddies began parking their bikes at the shop. Comparing my 2,500 dH bike with their 10,000 - 15,000 dH bikes was another kick in the gut. I just said my hellos and kept my sunglasses on to conceal my fear. Can I even keep up with them for the first 2 miles ?
Once we got started, I did all I could to not make a fool of myself. To get out to El-Hajb required going up and up and up low-grade hills. Every once in a while, Mo would put his hand on my back and help push to keep me up with everyone. But for the most part, I was able to keep pace with all of these guys for the first 15 miles or so. Then I realized that this was just their warm-up.
After a while, they began pulling away from me and I didn't mind. But at mile 19, I realized that I still had to make it back into town and my house. Once I turned around, I noticed that we had been going uphill for a majority of the ride. I felt somewhat encouraged, yet all alone out in the countryside of Morocco since they were long gone!
The ride back was much more fun, cuz it was downhill. It did get quite boring toward the end of the 40 miles. Thankfully I rode better and faster than ever before. But it was a major reality check. I am not great on the bike and I should train harder if I want to ride with those guys again. The rest of the day I just laid around and moaned and napped.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Game Time
Just found out yesterday about the Tri in Larache on May 30th. For the first time, it's part of the African Cup, so there will probably be some good folks out there. Not sure if it is an Olympic or Sprint, but I think Masterson is gonna do it with me. That boy needs to get in shape, though. He told me he can't run across the street to catch a taxi without getting winded. I actually stand a chance to post a faster time than him. Maybe I should have told him about it a month from now so his training would be minimal. But my legs should be strong enough that if he falls over on the run, he can hop on my back and I'll carry him to the finish. Maybe!
It's nice to have an actual race on the books and not just something I am doing on my own. The motivation factor wanes after a while. But looking forward to May 30th ought to be a lot of fun. Esp since I have someone to train with.
It's nice to have an actual race on the books and not just something I am doing on my own. The motivation factor wanes after a while. But looking forward to May 30th ought to be a lot of fun. Esp since I have someone to train with.
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