Showing posts with label Bike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bike. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

You might be a back of the packer if...

<------ Not me!

So far, I am adding lots of biking and running to my training! I am doing all three sports instead of mostly swimming like I have been lately. Yesterday morning, I ran 3.5 miles in about 45 minutes. I then went to yesterday evening's swim practice and swam for an hour.

The reason I only swam for an hour this time is because we had to get out early due to thunder and lightning. I decided to spend the last half an hour of swim practice (what would have been practice anyway, if there were no thunderstorms) riding on the stationary bike in the gym.

The funny thing about this ride: I didn't bring sneakers with me, thinking I was only going to be swimming. All I had with me were my flip-flops. I ended up peadeling twenty-five minutes on the bike in my flip-flops without the shoes falling off. I was pretty impressed.

The only thing that was wrong with the flip-flops is that I could feel the little harness on top of the pedals that you put your shoes in (don't know the exact name, but you know what I mean) digging into my feet. Another huge accomplishment, I ended up with no red marks on my feet! Yet again, I was impressed.

Although I discovered last night that I am great at bicycling in my flip-flop, I much prefer bicycling in my sneakers. I will definately remember to pack sneakers in my swim bag next time there is a threat of a thunderstorm.

I actually ended up swimming, biking, AND running last night. The swimming was great, but you know what? The biking and running weren't so bad either!

I was looking through one of those triathlon forums I like to read yet again (It's summer. I'm bored) and came across a funny thread titled "You might be a back of the packer if..." and of course I thought of plenty of things to say in that thread. I also thought of plenty more ideas that I didn't write down. Here are some of my thoughts:

1. You try to race people running... while still on your bike!

2. Everybody's packed up and leaving, and you are just about to start your run.

3. You consider it a huge victory when you finish second to last.

4. Many people finish Olympic distance triathlons in less time than it takes you to finish a sprint.

5. In all or most of your races, you finish dead last.

6. You get passed by ten year olds, eighty year olds, and 300 pound men- all in the same race.

7. You actually have people tell you to "fix your gears" while on the bike section of the race.

8. You have had a lifeguard ask if you were okay during the swim (Yes, this did happen during a triathlon in freezing cold water. My body does not do well with the cold at all. I wasn't wearing a wetsuit, and I started hypervenilating).

9. You have expierenced riding your bike or running all by yourself, with no one else in sight...in the middle of a race with over 200 people registered!

10. You do a sprint distance race and have people doing the olympic distance race pass you on the run. Never mind their race started half an hour later that yours and they swam and biked twice as far before passing you!

11. In the back of the pack, there is an intense competitipn not to get last place. In one triathlon, you lost that competition and had the "winner" (second to last) brag about beating you!

12. You have never onece said "on your left" on the bike...but have heard it said to you so many times it makes your head spin.

13. Besides the date and location of the race, one thing you have to take into serous consideration when choosing a race is the cut off times.

14. You scroll up from the bottom to read the race results instead of down from the top (I didn't make this one up, but read it on the triathlon forum. I found it SO true).

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Independent-Tri #1: Independent- Baby Du


Note: This picture is not of me (since I'm a girl!) or anyone I know- but the guy is really cute!

My first Independent-Tri was today. It was actually a duathlon. I ended up running 2 miles, then biking 4 miles, then running another 2 miles. My total time including transitions was 1 hour 27 minutes (yeah, I'm slow!)



This morning I went for a swim at my local health club, which lasted about 45 minutes. I then went to the grocrey store with my mom and did some other things before I went home. I started my Independent-Baby Du (called "Baby Du" because the distances were so short) in the late afternoon. The weather was perfect for a bunch of running and bicycling. Temperatures were in the lower sixties.



Run #1: Run #1 started out nice. I ran almost to the end of a long street and back. This was the first time in a while that I wore a watch while running- actually the fist time in a couple years. I ended up staring at the watch for a good portion of the run! I was still a little tired from this morning's swimming when I started, but I quickly warmed up. As I ran back towards my house, I spent a few minutes fumbling around to get my bike (The garage door was locked, so I tried to open the back door. The back door was also locked. I finally went in my house from the front door then went to the garage to get my bike) I got my bicycle, put on my helmet, and took off bicycling.



Total time for the run (excluding the transitions) :25 minutes



Bike: I rode my bike up and down the same street I ran on- I just went further. It felt nice to be on my bike outside again. There have only been a handful of times I rode my bike outside since last September (the end of triathlon season for me) My legs burned riding the uphhills, but I loved riding the downhills! It felt incredible having the cool wind blow on my increasingly sweaty face. I eventually rode back to my house and put my bike up. Transition only took about a minute this time since I left the garage door unlocked. This made it easy to put my bike up. I then quickly ran out of the garage to start my final leg of the Baby-Du



Total time for the bike (again, excluding transition): 30 minutes (I never said I was fast!)



Run #2: This second run was located on exactly the same route as my first fun. I ran up and down the same street on much more tired legs. My legs did not feel as brick-like as when I do triathlons, however. This was probably because I only rode my bike four miles. I ran through this route, enjoying the spring weather but eager to get done. I was hungry and wanted to shower. As I ran back to my house, I was proud that I finished my first Independent-Du and resolved to do these types of "races"more often.



Total time for Run #2: 28 minutes (yes, it actually WAS possible to slow down)



Total time for the whole event: 1 hour 27 minutes



Home: I was pretty tired when I got home. I took a quick shower, ate a bunch of food, read a book for a little while, then started on this blog. I am now eager to go to bed, and now have a new favorite workout.

I LOVED DOING THE INDEPENDENT- BABY DU!