Two months later..........

WOW, I was so eager to keep people up to date with my training and I didn't deliver. Well, the good thing is, the training has been going very well. I have kept up the training and I am now 4 weeks away from the Minuteman Triathlon on June 19th. Early mornings have been filled with protein smoothies and then a swim, run or bike to Pingree. I have been "hitting" all my times and am progressing along. The terrific news is that my bike has been re-furbed by Salem Cycle and it was all I hoped for.

They put on new wheels (Alex rimes, Tiagra hubs, and Maxxis tires), a new cassette and a 44 chain ring on the front. The best news is that it took 4 lbs off the bike and that in and of itself means a faster ride. I am now able to get a lot more out of my ride not spending so much time pedaling like a hamster in a wheel in a cage.

The best evidence of that is from the two rides I did with Team Comp. Last Saturday we did a 35 mile ride up and around the north shore. I was able to stay with the main group for most of the ride and I didn't feel like they were waiting for me at every rest stop.

The more rewarding ride was just yesterday. Along with the rest of my team, I rode with "Jen's Comprehensive Riders" and as a team we raised close to $4000 for the American Diabetes Association. It was a 65 mile (more than 100km) ride from Gloucester around Cape Ann, down through Beverly Farms, up through Ipswich and then back to Gloucester. Again, I had a great ride. I was able to stay with the group and we all rode in together at the end for an emotional end to a great morning. The best news for me is that the ride was more than a 1/2 Ironman distance ride (56 miles) and I felt great at the end. I am here Sunday morning ready to go for a swim later today. It's an amazing feeling when you KNOW you can do it. I think we might be doing a team swim up in Boxford at Stiles Pond.

I have got inspiration and strength from so many places along the way. I remember about 2 weeks ago I was supposed to do a 58 min run and I had "banked" extra time on the bike, so I knew I could shorten my run and was thinking about stopping after 30 minutes. The thought of Owen then popped into my mind. He has been doing a great job these last few weeks in the pool swimming without the aid of a "swim bubble". Part of my job has been trying to help him deal with some fear and worry of sinking. I have said to him, "You can do it Owen, I am here if you need me". He has been such a trooper about it. Well, when I felt about packing it in early last week, Owen popped into my mind and I thought, if he can do it and push through his fear, I know I can as well. Well, those last 20 minutes on the run, were pretty emotional for me, as I thought about Owen and the strength I get from him. And from Sue as well. Knowing how amazing a mother she is, really helps me keep going. She has been MORE than supportive for me. I love her SO MUCH and need her more than she knows. I tell her this as often as I can, and I am sure at times, she thinks they are just words, but that is so far from the truth.

We had a great team BBQ yesterday after the ride. Sue and Owen came along and it was a relaxing time for all. I actually made a birthday cake for Sue. Three others (Alice, Taylor, and Bill) were able to help with the candles since their birthdays were all around the same time.

There were no other children there but Owen did a great job playing on the swing set and then of course he "held court" a few times keeping some of the adults entertained them with "tails" *wink* of our cats. The one nice thing about parties after a race or ride is that very few are too interested in going all night long. Patrick and Denise put on a nice spread and it was nice debriefing with others about the ride that day.

Both Sue and I have enjoyed watching Owen with baseball this year. We just got back from his game. He is enjoying it a lot and he has a great team of kids. There is a WIDE range of ability on the team. Owen is learning how to catch and throw and his hitting is improving each week,

One full week of training down.

Well, I have now had one full week of my training done and I would have to say, things are going pretty well. I have stuck to the plan pretty much, but that might change when I head back to work in a week.

I did have one minor setback with the bike. When I was actually out onto the road, I noticed my avg. speed was WAY UP. I was usually doing between 11.5-12.5 mph and after 2 different rides, I was up to about 15.5 mph on average. Well I did a ride on Friday afternoon and decided to map it out when I got back home. My bike computer said the ride was about 9.75 miles and it was really only about 7.2 miles. How discouraging. I realized I had set up the wheel circumference correctly, but somehow over the winter, the bike computer switched over the "bike 2" which had a wheel setting of 26 inches instead of mine at 20 inches. A HUGE difference. I went out for a ride this morning for a little over an hour and when I got back and checked, all seemed in order. With a pretty strong headwind I still managed and average of 12.2 mph. I can't wait until I get new wheels in a couple of weeks. And with a change in gearing as well, I hope to get up to an average of 16 mph. Here's hoping.

Swimming this week went well. I was at the pool on Sunday and Tuesday. Both times, there we no problems and I was able to hit the prescribed swim times with no resting keeping my pace at about 4:20 for each 150 yards. I was at the Multisport Expo on Saturday and did a TI clinic. I came away with some good tips from the coach, but more importantly, he said my form was VERY RELAXED and smooth which as two important features of TI swimming. I need to work on rotating at my hips though and not my chest. I will work on that in the pool tomorrow. Using a snorkel will help for sure.

I did THREE runs this week. That is HUGE for me. I don't think I ever ran more than once a week all winter and most of the time it was once ever 2 weeks. The longest run of 45 minutes on Friday was great. I didn't get a chance to run until the evening so I decided to use the YMCA instead of running outside (Sue was real happy about that). I did a 5 minute warm-up walk and then started to run. I can now manage continual runs of 8 to 10 minutes. That is huge for me. When I first started I was happy to be able run for 2 min and then walk for 1 min. I was able to run for 40 minutes, by doing 8 min run, 2 min walk, 10 min run, 2 min walk, 8 min run, 2 min walk, and then 8 min run. I was able to increase the run speed for each section up to about 4.5 mph for the last section. Running continues to be my most challenging part and if I am able to one day do a 1/2 Ironman, it will all hinge on my running. Thirteen miles will not be an easy task. I am determined to keep plugging along.

There was so more news about the EXPO. First, I met up with Wendy from FIRM racing. They organized the Salem and TDD triathlons I did this summer. Wendy and Gail Vescio asked me to consider being the keynote speaker at the FIRMman race in Rhode Island at the end of the season. They have a banquet the night before and they have asked me to speak at the dinner. All I can say is, WOW. I said, "YES". What? Me, give up a chance to hold a microphone?

I also met with the guys from FITWERX in Peabody. They partner with a bike company from Montreal called GURU. Both companies are eager to consider designing a bike for me. The challenge is what interests both groups. Here's hoping some funding comes my way, because that is going to be a ton of $.

2 days down........and a long road to go.

Well, I am officially into my training and things are going well. Yesterday I did a 24min swim at the new Y on Leggs Hill and then a 48min ride on my trainer in the basement. For the swims, I will not use the snorkel or fins except for warm-up of cool down. I want to make sure I simulate real triathlon swimming as much as possible in a pool.

I had a 30min run this afternoon at the Salem Y. It would have to be my best run to date. I did a 3 min warm-up and then ran for 27 minutes. I only "walked" twice during the run. Once for 2 minutes and then again for a 1 minute. That is HUGE for me.

I never thought I would get much out of Eminem, but he sure has some motivational stuff to listen to. "Till I collapse" and "Lose Yourself".

"But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength
and just pull that shit out of you and get that motivation to not give up
and not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse."

Still my favorite quote for triathlon has got to be,

"Triathlon has become life in microcosm, a metaphor that gives truth to the wisdom passed from each generation to the next: work hard and you will be rewarded, have faith in yourself and you will excel; do not falter when an ill wind blows your way." Ashley Halsey

Tomorrow, it's a 40min swim back at the Y. Having 2 weeks off from school is going to help get me into a nice workout groove for sure. I have to make sure to get some things done around the house including doing the taxes and of course clean out the computer room/extra bedroom.

Starting my Official Prep Tomorrow

Well, here I am at the start of my 2 week spring vacation. I have spent the day with Sue and Owen up in Maine. We got to Tim Horton's in Scarborough after stopping at Tom's of Maine in Kennebunk. After that we got up to Freeport and hit LL BEAN and then the Nike store. I got an awesome bright orange fleece. Will go very well with my other Team Comp gear.

I have spent the evening working on my official 17 week plan to get me to the Black Fly Tri on July 10th. Along the way, I plan on doing the Patriot 1/2 Ironman Aquabike on June 20th.

I emailed Elaine Vescio on Team Comp in the hopes that she would look over my plan and give me any final pointers.

This is so exciting. To think, this time last year I didn't even have my bike and was still riding Sue's. And here I am now, a triathlete preparing for my first FULL season.

Off to bed soon since the clocks are moved ahead one hour.

Running during the fall and winter

Well.........running is certainly my least favorite part of triathlon. To the end, I have done a few runs this fall and look forward to running more again next spring.

I did the Witch City 5K Road Race in Salem, MA, October 25, 2009. My time was 44:37 for a mile pace of 14:22.

I did the Wild Turkey 5 Mile in Salem, MA on Thanksgiving Day. My time was 1:24.14 for a mile pace of 16:51.

Last weekend ( December 6th) I did the Jolly Jaunt 5k in Danvers, MA. It was fundraiser for the Special Olympics. I managed to raise almost $300. My time was 50.27 for a mile pace of 16:17. That was certainly the coldest weather I have ever ran in. Think I will be waiting until the spring to run a race again.

I picked up a bike trainer last weekend as well. I am just waiting to pick up an adapter for my 20 inch wheels and then I can cycle to my heart's content down in the basement.

I am hoping to get new wheels in tires in the spring. I will also hopefully be getting a bigger chain ring and new smaller cassette for the back gears. I am looking to end the "spinning out" I am doing when going downhill. There is only so high my cadence can go and I am hoping to be more efficient real soon!

TDD Triathlon in Douglas, MA

This race was held on Saturday September 19th, with a VERY civilized start time of 9AM. Sue and Owen were planning on coming along this time, so with about 2 days to go before the race, we decided to get a room at a hotel in Worcester, MA so we would not have to head down real early Saturday morning.

One thing I did this race was make up a list about 2 days before of all the equipment I needed to bring. Packing up to go was SO MUCH LESS stressful. I simply packed each item and crossed it off the list.

We found a nice place to stay and headed down on Friday night. We had dinner on the way down in Tewksbury, MA at Cracker Barrel. Not exactly the best place for a "carbo loading" dinner, but I made due with Roast Beef (they were out of the meatloaf) and some mashed potatoes. We continued on the hotel and got there much later than Owen's usual bed time. What I figured would happen, did, and I did not really get a good night sleep. Luckily I had got lots of rest on Thursday night. I was up most of the night both excited and nervous about the upcoming race. I have to remember not to worry about things I can't control. The weather report called for lots of wind and I was getting worried.

I was up at about 5:30AM for a shower. We all got up and down to the complimentary breakfast by about 6AM. Owen was excited with so many choices for breakfast. I had my usual pre-race meal of some yogurt, bagel with PB, banana, some coffee and OJ.

We got into the car and headed for Douglas. It took as about 30 minutes to arrive at the park. We arrived at about 7:40am and I unloaded all my gear. I wasn't out of the car for 2 minutes and both Kurt and Jen walked by. Sue and Owen headed out to explore the area and I headed to registration. Picked up my packet and headed for transition. I met lots of COMP team mates in and around transition. Mostly new but some recognizable faces as well. Very pleased to be in transition right near Patrick.

Unloaded my gear and headed for bodymarking and then an initial trip to the "facilities". After getting back to transition I got suited up and then back to the "head" on last time. I then headed over to the beach to find Sue and Owen for one more good luck hug etc. Owen of course had to do his "speed" ritual one more time. He stands in front of me and then proceeds to rub speed from his shoes onto my feet. He will even put is feet in both my cycling and running shoes and walk around in them. I tell you, IT WORKS!!!

I headed back to transition to make one final check on my gear and set-up.

I am bummed now, because I let too many weeks go by before I got back to finishing this post. I promise next season I will do a better job posted my reports right away.

Have a great winter!!!!

My first group ride with Team Comp

I want to start this by saying what a difference it makes to go for a ride with others. Except for some fund-raising rides, this is the first time I have gone for a ride with a group of people. I looked at it as my first chance to get some needed practice and at the same time get some advice from some more experienced riders. There were only 4 of us for the ride even though Rich showed up to send us off from the common. Kurt, Jen, Kelly, and myself headed off sometime after 8am.

We weren't more than 15 minutes away from the Salem Common when Jen said she noticed I was riding with my feet pointed at the bottom of my down-stroke. She mentioned that you get more power if your foot is flat (perpendicular) to the crank at the bottom of each cycle. Being a mathematician this is something I certainly should know. Kurt concurred and of course as soon as I got home, I lowered my seat by about 3/4 of an inch.

The ride itself was quite enjoyable and a good pace for me. The weather was perfect and of course the roads were all dry. Most of the route was familiar to me, except that I had gone the reverse direction from north to south through Topsfield Center on previous occasions. There were some challenging hills all culminating with "Great Hill" just outside of Topsfield. It leads up to a very quiet retirement community. It was a great up and over and I was amazed when Kurt had told me in the past the group had even completed the "up" portion five times before continuing back down the other side. Kelly decided to do it once more and of course she did it faster the second time. Once was certainly enough for me.

It is certainly a hill I will try again. I was given the choice of riding around and meeting them on the other side, which certainly was not an option for me.

After going through Topsfield Center we headed under route 1 to Ipswich Road. This area is very familiar to me as some of you know, there school where I teach is just across the road from Bradley Palmer Park. We headed down Highland St. to 1A and then cut over to the Beverly Airport. From there it was down towards 97 and on into Beverly and then Salem.

I chose to cut off from the group and take the Kernwood Bridge home in order to save some time. We had a family trip planned for Water Country and it was well after 11Am by this time. I said my good-byes to the group and headed for the bridge. What a mistake!!! Just as I headed down Kernwood, I noticed the tail-lights. The bridge was out, letting boats through and it looked like it had just turned. I waited there for at least 15 minutes and of course watched as my three team-mates cruised over the "big" bridge into Salem long before me. I should have stayed with them until the end.

Hopefully many more enjoyable rides to come with "TEAM COMP". I know when the pace picks up I won't be able to stay with the main pack. We averaged about 11.5 mph, which is a few mph under my usual pace, but I'm sure once they head out at 15-20 mph and more, I will be puling up the rear of the pack. Maybe I'll start my own peleton at the back of the pack. Just let me know the route and I'll get there.