Aluminmum Results

Today I ran the Aluminum Man Triathlon. Being sick, I wasn't real sure what to expect. My goal time was 1:45 and I completed it in 1:44:18. For the most part I am satisfied with my performance, but I still see room for improvement. My swim was much faster, finishing in just over 14 min (4 min faster than my previous best). The bike was just under 53 min. I am not unhappy with this time, but I feel I really can improve this time with better equipment and more ride training. The run is where this race fell apart. Getting off my bike, my lower back really stiffened up, and I really just struggled. My time was just under 33 min, a full two min slower than my previous worst. I found my self having to walk sections, to try and control the pain. This was the most uncomfortable I have been in all three of my triathlons. Another issue I had on the bike and run was medicine. Prior to the race, so I could breath during the swim, I took some sudaphed. It worked wonders for the swim, but really was not good for the bike or run. It just really dried my mouth out. I felt like I was at the dentist with gauze in my mouth I was so dry. I guess next time I will suffer with the swim, so I can not be so dried out for the rest. A better option would be to not get sick two days before a race.

Not only did I meet my goal with the Triathlon today, but Michigan beat Notre Dame. This makes me happy! It is funny, because friend Brad was talking a lot of trash last weekend, and Now he won't field my phone calls. He can only avoid me for so long.

I get to fly my Bengals flag tomorrow. Adrienne told me I could fly it on game day. That will be fun.

Triathlon Goals

Tomorrow is my third sprint triathlon for the season. I ran my self down traveling and now I have a head cold. I am not sure how tomorrow will go, but I thought I would post my goals. Hopefully I get in the zone and perform really well. My goals for this race are to continue to improve over my pace from the Portland Tri. I would like to see the following times: Swim 18 min, Bike 48 min, Run 29 min. This would give me a total time of approx 1:45. If I can hit this I will be satisfied. I will post the results tomorrow after they are posted online.

Weekend Getaway

This past weekend was my man weekend getaway to Michigan. This year marked the 8th year that Scott, Jeff and I have made a trip to the Big House to watch Michigan play. It is for me the one big “guys” trip I take every year. Now that I am out on the west coast, it is a much bigger trip, which makes it that much more fun. Michigan won on opening weekend, and the world somehow feels normal again.

This trip also combines to be a trip home to see family and friends in Toledo. My parents were not in town for the weekend, but we did get to spend a couple of hours together in the Detroit airport as they were on their way to London. I stayed with my sister all four nights, and other than the train noise in the morning, slept well. It is interesting how the sounds that you are around all the time become less obtrusive. The post office by my apartment is like that. When I first moved in I heard it every night, but now I don’t even notice it. The trains are that way for them. On my last morning I cooked crepes for my nephew before he had to go to school. I think he liked it, and I do enjoy cooking breakfast, so it was a win win.

I have the triathlon coming this weekend. I am somewhat regretting signing up now, as I had a very lazy and gluttonous eating weekend. I had good intentions, and I had planned to go running but didn’t i never made it out. I am not expecting good results going in, so it will be interesting. I am going to get a couple of light workouts in this week leading up to Saturday’s race, but I don’t think I will really push hard until race day. With this distance matching Hagg Lake, Hopefully I can beat that time.

My friends Sean and Melissa got married this past weekend, and I thought I would take a moment to wish them the best.

Aluminum Man

I finally decided to sign up and compete in the Aluminum Man Sprint Triathlon. The race is Sept 12th, in the Dalles, OR. It looks like it will be a really fun course with some great scenery. Adrienne and I are going to make a trip out of it and spend that night in Hood River. I will post results after the race.

Last night at the gym we did a 5 sets for each partner each set was 200m row- 20-24K swing-run a lap partner workout. I was partnered with Eric and we finished in 20:13. I am not sure why, but I enjoy this format. It is one of the workouts where I can really push myself.

Tonight we are going out for Sean's bachelor party. We thought of several options for this party, and we settled on a Taco Cart tour. It should be a fun low key night.

If you would like to see pictures from the Cupcake contest, click on the Recreate Fitness link to the right. In the blog they have pictures and a slide show.