I never got the chance to discuss my S&S #3 times...
Swim: 17:04
Transition: 1:21 (5th best transition time for the 750!)
Run: 25:33
First of all, I cut a full minute off my swim of two weeks ago (I don’t count S&S #3 since it seems to have been a short course). I asked around and no one seems to think this was a short course, which is great. I sprinkled in some freestyle, just 5-6 short sets of ten breaths (all breathing to my left side) and did the rest breast stroke. It seems to have made a difference since I sent a new personal best by a solid minute. I may try and set up the intervals so they’re a little more organized (and gradually getting longer) in future races. As I was getting out of the water, one kid who was watching shouted, “way to be original, no wetsuit!” which was kind of cool.
The transition rocked. I set a personal best in 1:21 and had the 5th best T time for the 750. This was my first race with the bungee laces and I think they really saved me some time. I also didn’t put on my HR monitor, so that probably saved me some time. I’m going to set up my Transition next week so that I don’t put on anything other than my shoes and socks when I get out of the water. My HR monitor and singlet/jersey I’ll carry with me and put on as I dash to the run.
The run sucked. It was really hot and I didn’t bring a hat with me (stupid!). Considering that, I missed my personal best from last week by 30 seconds and it was still my second best time, so with the minute gained on the swim and 20-30 seconds from the transition, I really can’t complain.
Today:
Longest bike ride of the training plan... and ever for me actually. 68 miles... what a ride! I finished in 4:44, but that includes a 15 minute stop to help a fellow cyclist with a flat tire. The MS 150 was yesterday and today and one of the riders was alongside the road taking her wheel off. I asked if she needed help and, not surprisingly, she did. She developed a flat at some point. She didn't have a pump, didn't have any CO2 cannisters, or a spare tube. She had only one tire lever and had never changed a tire before. As it happens, I've known I needed to practice changing a tire so this was a great chance to help someone else and get some practice. I got the tube out and checked it but couldn't find a hole. The tire was still partly inflated and I couldn't force the air out anywhere. With no replacement tube and no hole to patch there wasn't a whole lot to do. Since there wasn't a hole and she didn't seem to know too much about maintaining a bike, it seemed entirely possible her tire had just been getting slowly lower over time and she never checked the pressure... *sigh*
Anyhow, I put her tube back on and used my CO2 cannister to reinflate her tire. It wasn't far to the next designated stop for the ride so if she had any further problems, she could deal with it there.
Since I gave up my only CO2 cannister I had to stop later at one of the local bike shops to get a new cannister. I also stopped to refill my water and Gatorade bottles which took another 10 minutes between the two stops.
All told, I'm pretty happy with the ride. I felt better than I expected to when it was done and got in a short 20 minute 'recovery' run when I was done. Considering I was doing the run with an additional 12 miles of biking on my legs I was really, really pleased.
I'm even more pleased that I have tomorrow off!
Swim: 17:04
Transition: 1:21 (5th best transition time for the 750!)
Run: 25:33
First of all, I cut a full minute off my swim of two weeks ago (I don’t count S&S #3 since it seems to have been a short course). I asked around and no one seems to think this was a short course, which is great. I sprinkled in some freestyle, just 5-6 short sets of ten breaths (all breathing to my left side) and did the rest breast stroke. It seems to have made a difference since I sent a new personal best by a solid minute. I may try and set up the intervals so they’re a little more organized (and gradually getting longer) in future races. As I was getting out of the water, one kid who was watching shouted, “way to be original, no wetsuit!” which was kind of cool.
The transition rocked. I set a personal best in 1:21 and had the 5th best T time for the 750. This was my first race with the bungee laces and I think they really saved me some time. I also didn’t put on my HR monitor, so that probably saved me some time. I’m going to set up my Transition next week so that I don’t put on anything other than my shoes and socks when I get out of the water. My HR monitor and singlet/jersey I’ll carry with me and put on as I dash to the run.
The run sucked. It was really hot and I didn’t bring a hat with me (stupid!). Considering that, I missed my personal best from last week by 30 seconds and it was still my second best time, so with the minute gained on the swim and 20-30 seconds from the transition, I really can’t complain.
Today:
Longest bike ride of the training plan... and ever for me actually. 68 miles... what a ride! I finished in 4:44, but that includes a 15 minute stop to help a fellow cyclist with a flat tire. The MS 150 was yesterday and today and one of the riders was alongside the road taking her wheel off. I asked if she needed help and, not surprisingly, she did. She developed a flat at some point. She didn't have a pump, didn't have any CO2 cannisters, or a spare tube. She had only one tire lever and had never changed a tire before. As it happens, I've known I needed to practice changing a tire so this was a great chance to help someone else and get some practice. I got the tube out and checked it but couldn't find a hole. The tire was still partly inflated and I couldn't force the air out anywhere. With no replacement tube and no hole to patch there wasn't a whole lot to do. Since there wasn't a hole and she didn't seem to know too much about maintaining a bike, it seemed entirely possible her tire had just been getting slowly lower over time and she never checked the pressure... *sigh*
Anyhow, I put her tube back on and used my CO2 cannister to reinflate her tire. It wasn't far to the next designated stop for the ride so if she had any further problems, she could deal with it there.
Since I gave up my only CO2 cannister I had to stop later at one of the local bike shops to get a new cannister. I also stopped to refill my water and Gatorade bottles which took another 10 minutes between the two stops.
All told, I'm pretty happy with the ride. I felt better than I expected to when it was done and got in a short 20 minute 'recovery' run when I was done. Considering I was doing the run with an additional 12 miles of biking on my legs I was really, really pleased.
I'm even more pleased that I have tomorrow off!
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1 comment:
Bren,
Good progress!
I have no reason to think that any of the S&S swims this year have been short. They use lasers to measure the distance, and after a couple of problems last year they have been pretty good about measuring every week.
Great transition! You beat me and I've doing this for years.
As a tip, there's no reason to put on a singlet when you get out of the water. You can swim and run in the same outfit. That's the purpose of the one-piece tri suits. Also, you can put your HRM strap on before the swim and wear it for the entire race.
Congratulations on your long ride Sunday. Along with the ride to Jamestown on Saturday you put in about 100 miles biking over the weekend. Plus, the karma of helping another cyclist in need. That will come back to you.
Mike
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