Buttefly sucks...

.. but I tamed it. I think. I did the Master's checkoff challenge 100y butterfly in about 1:33. Considering how much I struggled with it over the last few months, this was a pretty significant personal accomplishment. It felt great to finish and do it right, even though I was pretty much exhausted.

Training is still going good. I haven't been running more than once a week because of my pool workouts 3 and 4 days a week. This isn't really a bad thing but as I get closer to May (SGTri @ Sand Hollow) I'll be picking it up to 2 days a week for each discipline. My weight is steadily decreasing - teetering between 196 and 199 now. My size 36 pants that used to fit comfortably are falling off my ass. I'm in-between sizes right now because 34's fit a little snug but they fit.

Looking forward to May 9th!

Sore!

Been a few weeks since my last update.

Davis meet was great - I finished pretty much dead last in my age group in all 3 events, but I put a good showing all things considered. My 50Y Free was 0:33, 50Y Back was 0:42, and my 100Y Free came in around 1:24 (I swallowed a gallon of water at 75 yards and had to sidestroke.) The only heat I finished last in was the 100Y Free. Considering that 3 months ago I could barely pull out a 50Y in ~60 seconds, I'd say I'm improving well.

This morning my shoulders have been mega-sore, either from lack of stretching or over-reaching on my free crawl. We did 9 X 100 sets, I finished about 850Y on 2:10 per.

More good news is that I continue to lose weight. I'm wobbling between 198 and 202 now, but my diet isn't letting me lose weight in big chunks. Slow and steady so it stays off. Friends have commented that I look slimmer, and my size 36 pants (that were big before) are downright drowning me now. I could easily get in a 34 or 33 now without too much trouble.

Starting to look at my options for next spring's Tri meets as the registration / calendars are opening up. Can't wait to get it going!

2100!

Swam a full 2100 this morning, including a so-so 400 in 8:45. It's an improvement on my time by about a minute from 2 weeks ago. Water stamina is great. Spent part of the morning working on my backstroke entry and turns. I haven't been running in almost a week but plan on hitting it tomorrow morning, we'll see how that turns out.

Noticeable improvement.

When I started back in the pool a few months ago, I could hardly break the 50M mark in under a minute. This morning I crushed my original speed by almost half, putting in a good showing at 0:33. For a chubby guy like me, that's pretty damn good, and that was swimming a 25M pool with a really crappy kick-turn. I bet I could close in on 0:30 if I had a straight 50M to drop the head and just sprint.

My goggles keep flipping off on my platform entry dives. How frustrating. I'll probably need new goggles for competition and I can still use my good ones for workouts, they are pretty comfy. We did 200 IM 4-team relays this morning, which was fun. I swam my best free time in one leg, and did a so-so back (0:40 maybe?) in another heat.

I'm exhausted today after doing a night-morning swim workout.

On a related note, I'm closing in on the under-200 mark at about 203. :D

200 IM - Crushed!

Ok, more like it crushed me. This morning's 6AM Master's started off easy, but we did timed 200 IM's in heats. I can count on one hand the number of times I've actually finished 50 whole excruciating meters of the butterfly stroke, so you can undoubtedly envision how this ended (or began, as was the case for IM's). My lungs were toast after 50, and it set the stage for a nearly-doggy-paddle breast stroke and absolutely gassed 50-free. I crawled the last 25 to finish at an earth-shattering ... wait for it... 4:10. Ouch.

The silver lining for the day tho is I'm down another couple pounds this week - tipping the scales now at 203, with 185 being my goal weight. I also feel pretty damn good considering how tough that IM was on me.

Viva la butterflies!

Like a fish out of water.

We did IM's during our workout this morning but I have extremely limited experience with the butterfly and breast strokes. I could only muster about 50M worth of butterfly because I was powering with my arms and very little (effective) kicking. The breast was easier but sloooooooow. My free and back continue to improve tho I didn't do any timed distances today. I crammed in a conservative 5k over the weekend to preserve my running stamina. The weekend was busy so I'm completely exhausted this morning, but I suppose that's the price to pay.

Small victories.

Another morning at Master's swim, and another morning with improvement on my previous times. The Master's coach noticed I was bringing my hand up and not following through, and the kicking while breathing thing improved some. My first 400M came at 9:59 which is a full minute improvement from yesterday. I know it ain't exactly breaking records, but small victories are good.

I'm looking at doing the Master's competition swim in mid-November which should be good fun. With any luck I'll avoid total demoralization by putting in a good showing for my age group. Not sure which events I wanna do, but I was thinking the 50 and 100 Free, and maybe a 100 Back for fun.

Top 10 Fears.

My top 10 Tri Fears:

1. Won't actually go through with it.
2. Won't finish.
3. Finish dead last.
4. Be mocked mercifully in a speedo and swim cap.
5. Wardrobe malfunction during a transition and bear my rear (or worse).
6. Cramp up and quit.
7. Swallow too much water.
8. Complete the Tri and never compete again.
9. Injured before competition.
10. That I may actually place in my age group (laughing).

This morning's swim was good despite swallowing a pint of pool water because my rotation is still iffy and my kicking seems to want to stall out while I breathe. I timed my 400M at 10:58 - just what I expected. I should be able to shave a good 2 or 3 minutes off that in the coming months. Tomorrow morning's Masters swim should be interesting.

Realization of a Goal.

As a moderately nerdy kid in my 20's and still relatively active, I had an ambition that I may one day complete a triathlon. Not compete, just complete, even if that meant dead last - at least I was crossing the finish line at some point with my head still attached.

The original goal was completing it prior to turning 30, which as you can see, materialized into something akin to promising tax breaks for the middle class by a political candidate. 30 came and went, and although I was still very active, I never had it in me to actually believe I could finish one. Who in their right mind would actually put themselves through the training required to complete one? They're absolutely nuts if you ask me. The disciplines are grueling, and to actually "compete" in any context of the word, you gotta be experienced, fast, and totally insane.

So forging ahead with the new goal, and keeping in mind that I fit the above insanity requirement: Complete a Sprint Tri before Summer 09'. Officially in print now so I can't back out or deny it.

And... that leaves us with the now. The harsh reality of the training requirement, which I still have yet to fully comprehend despite cautious ambition, the confidence and brashness of believing in oneself, are staring me in the face. And then there's actually going through with it. My swimming and running disciplines are absolutely and completely inadequate, and my cycling needs some serious improvement. My water stamina is horrible at best, and I sink like a rock with a 200-lb concrete slab attached, altho I do see noticeable improvement from week to week.

So here's the harsh stats as of October 22nd:

Weight: 205 LBS
Body Fat: Not sure but I'll have it checked. I'm sure it's like like 40% (sarcasm).
5K Run Time: 26:15.
400M Swim Time: 11:00.
20M Cycling: 1:12:00, give or take.

In order to "finish" the Sprint in a reasonable time (see 1:30:00 or less), I figure I need to come in at about 9:00 400M swim, 23:00 5K run, 35:00 13-mile bike and below-average transitions (15:00??). That puts me at about 82:00, or 1 hour 22 minutes. Individually I know I can drop my discipline times but the question is back-to-back-to-back.

Stay tuned.