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Blog entries about: triathlon |
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Lucky it's not a cycle across the channel
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I did the TriAthy yesterday. Feeling pretty good about myself today, apart from slightly stiff shoulders and the fact that my emersion has packed in. Don't worry though, my shoulders will be better tomorrow and I have the number of a good plumber.
The swim (750m) went well. I covered it in 8.46 (including about 30 seconds if you take out struggling on to the pontoon and getting to the chip marker in transition), which is a pretty good time, even if I say so myself. I knew I did OK when I saw the Ace still getting ready for the bike. I was 3.41 minutes in transition (very poor), and then the cycling.
What is it about about cycling? It should be easy right? Everyone says: "Oh, cycling? Sure that will be easy!" Everyone is wrong. Cycling is shit. Horrendous. Awful. I finished the cycle in 50 minutes. Ugly. If I want to a better triathete this is where I need to focus. Maybe next year, after this channel stuff. Think I might focus on Tris then. CJ got a punchure and I passed him walking his bike home. On the way out he told me I was 3 minutes behind the Ace, when I passed him again on the return leg, he told me the gap had swelled to 7 minutes. So it was to remain. On the plus side it meant I sped up for the second 10k of my cycle.
1.20 in transition to running. Could have been better. Second transition was nice though, with lots of people clapping and cheering. On a general note, the support of people along the route was brilliant. On all the races I have been on, I find this really gives me a lift.
On to the run. When I get off the bike, I always feel like my legs are going to cramp. It takes at least a kilometer for this to go away. Also, I get a pain across my lower back from the cycling. This doesn't really ease until I stop running. Still, 26 minutes, happy enough.
So. 1.30.33. And as irritating as I find that 33 seconds, I am happy with my time. I'd also recommend triathlon. It's low cost and easy enough to participate in.
Oh yeah. No goddamn medal. These people need to cop on.
Roll on June, it's swimming time.
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Connections
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Human beings are always looking for signs and concidences and ascribing meaning to them. 'Apophenia' is the term coined by Klaus Conrad to describe the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. You can either believe there is a meaning to the pattern or not. Life's gestalt, how does your brain decide?
What has this got to do with swimming? Not much, maybe. Like a drunken tool, I hurt my right arm when arm-wrestling. It's getting much better, thankfully. Also, I sat opposite a girl on the train today who looked the spit of Velma from Scooby-Doo. Glasses, jumper everything. On the way out, I met two girls in evening dress, one was wearing a big pair of glasses, trying and failing to cover the bruises around her eyes. I have begun to notice that tap-water is tasting a little worse.
All this and more is weighing on my mind, and as I try to find a connection between these events I can't. Not apophenia so. At least seeing odd things gives me something to think about when swimming.
TriAthy tomorrow. Looking forward to it.
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if at first you dont succeed tri again...
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I am doing my second triathlon this weekend (30/5/09) with 2 days to go I am somewhat ill at ease with the lack of preparation done for it.
The fear of the unknown with the first one led me to do at least 60K on the bike and 5k on the run in preparation. How have I prepared for this one - the H cup final in edinburgh mostly. I have not gotten seriously onto the bike since the last tri and I have had a bit of a lull on the swimming front. The bad news - the forecast for the weekend is HOT, the good news - we are not starting until 1730 so it wont be too bad one way or another!
Also the sea swims start in 10 days time - this whole fitness malarky is suddenly looking very serious. Am going to have to get into the sea again before then to stave off shock - perhaps Sunday to help numb the post triathlon aches. Then again on Monday to keep up with the Jones' and the Murphys
My prediction…pain.
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Try....do
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It is true that myself and the swimmer formerly known as wolf (TSFKAW) did a triathlon recently. While I am happy to recommend doing such an event I am not happy to recommend this particular event. Why? The waves. 8 waves by 30 minutes = 4 hours of waiting to go when you are (for some crazy reason) in the élite wave. If you are a chick then do the race…you will be home in time for lunch. You go off in the first 2 waves. Smart men that we are though, we realised that this temporal glitch was going to see my breakfast of porridge wasted (in terms of energy - despite all the effort that went into making it - thanks TSFKAW)so I had to go in search of food in Portlaoise. A grubby and generally unhappy man threw 2 brown bread hang sandwiches together and that sorted that problem out.
But that only wasted 20 minutes at most…there was 4 hours of this. A gameboy or scrabble was really required.
Eventually I was preparing to race and I met the guys in my lane (3 others) 2 would be doing 750m in 10 mins (GREEEAT) I said I would be 15 mins at best.
In we went, lapped 4 or 5 times by the pacey lads and last out of the pool (it was close though - I might have been second last but of course I was in lane 5 and had to get all the way across the building to get out - and then get photographed by the goons as I jogged along in my tiny togs)
Transition - 4 mins…drying off, checking blood sugar, getting out of togs, putting on runners and top and helmet (don’t forget helmet or you will be in trouble). I made 2 major mistakes here (and they are related) 1. I did not put on my cycling shorts. 2. I took off my togs. The real solution to both problems is to wear the "tri shorts that everone seemed to be wearing (or indeed tri suits in some cases). Why? Faster transition is a good reason…a better reason is so that you don’t get severe chaffing on your inner thighs after the run section ( I think the togs may have saved me on the chaffing front - but that is unproven)…so tri shorts are a must for me for the TriAthy at the end of May.
So I was last onto the bike, I saw no one ahead of me through the whole cycle (other than people on their way back), and I was last off the bike and off on the run.
The run was HELLLLLL. After about 1k my quads were seizing up and I thought I might have to stop - but then I saw TSFKAW on his way back to the finish so I felt if he was finishing it then I suppose I would have to, despite the fact that there would be blood oozing from my thighs and I could feel the chaffing starting up (why did I not put on those cycling shorts? WHYYY?)
When I got to the turning point I was so far behind all the élite goons that the steward had left his post…groan.
On the upside I did complete and received a tinny medal and a cup of tasty soup (as well as a gourmet TSFKAW sandwich).
The weekend improved to an extent when I travelled to the UK to watch leinster beat harlequins in a dogfight at the stoop (although my legs did not function well for the days I was there and the chaffing was at its worst on easter monday)
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Try a tri (& Medals)
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CJ (neé Elvis) and I (formerly Wolf) did a triathlon at the weekend, the Portlaoise Try-athlon. It was a sprint, so that's a 750m swim, 20k cycle and 5k run. We had registered in the competent swim category (12 - 15 minutes), so I was in wave 7, CJ in wave 8. The net effect of this was sitting. Sitting for hours (4 of them) as people did the backstroke, breaststroke and not-dying-substroke to get from one end of the pool to the other 30 times.
When I got in I acquitted myself nicely at 14 and a half minutes. I'd have been faster except for the goon in front of me who wouldn't get out of the way. On to transition (3 mins), a quick flash for the crowd as I dispensed with my togs, and off for my cycle. Since the beginning of the year I had done 9.77km (total) cycling. This was a mistake. The bike ride was not great, either physically or psychologically. Folk passing me out, cramp in my left calve, general misery. 51 minutes, and a resolution to cycle more before the next one. I met CJ on his way out, he was at the 5k mark, I was at the 15k mark. Back into Porlaoise where the traffic was backed up, went on the outside of the queue and then the inside trying not to die.
Back to transition, 38 secs, and out for the run. Legs like lead. Met CJ at the 4k/1k mark. 5k in 27 minutes, slow enough for me, but happy enough after the cycle. A total time of 1hr37mins. A PB (obviously), and a benchmark for the next one
And I got a medal.
I was talking to Al (heretofore 'The Ace') about this, and he was saying that he never got any medals for races that he has been in. Needless to say I was horrified. What the hell is the point if you don't get medals? The medal for the tri was pretty shit (in comparison to the Mooathon cow medal) but that's not the point. Screw personal achievement, if there isn't a piece of anonymous compound metal at the end, I'm not interested. Now, it could be that he just never went looking for the medals after his races, but he was certain that the swim races have no medals. What's that about? Jesus guys! Pull the finger out. I have a shoebox that I have to put these things into.
I am now worried that I won't get a medal after the channel swim. This really puts the whole thing in jeopardy for me. What I am supposed to wear into work after I do it? Huh? A grin? My clothes? My knowledge of what I did? No way man! I am going to mail the CSA to find out, I'll let you know what they say.
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