I haven’t been updating much about it, but I’ve been working out as usual. Friday was a 5-mile treadmill run after work.
On Saturday we had a “practice triathlon” over at the Pearland Y. Obviously I was not taking it too seriously, since I drank at least 3 glasses of wine at Becca’s on Friday night, and didn’t go to sleep until midnight. I paid for it when I got to the run. Still, it was a good way to get in some practice with the transitions, and test out my new tri shorts and swimming top.
300 yard swim – 5:16
T1 – 1:57
9 mile bike – 30:37 (17.6 mph)
T2 – 0:50
3 mile run – 34:26 (11:29/mile)
Total – 1:13:06
I’d estimated 6:00 for the swim, so I did very well there. I actually would have finished in more like 5:00 flat, I think, if I hadn’t had to pass two people in front of me. Which I had to do in the first place because I mis-estimated my time. Ah well.
The bike went well too, but I think my downfall really began here. I am not very good at hydrating myself while on the bike — I never drink enough. By the time I got to the run, I was dehydrated from the previous evening’s wine and dehydrated from the swim and bike and dehydrated from the heat…and it was all I could do to keep moving. We did three 1-mile loops, and I walked twice per loop. Blech.
Yesterday I did a 22-mile bike ride. It was pretty windy out, which I didn’t like at all, so I just kept reminding myself that it was good exercise. For the first 12 miles of the ride, heading more-or-less into the wind, I averaged a sluggish 14.9 mph. I finally reached the far end of my big loop and turned around to enjoy the tailwind, sped up to 17-18 mph on Todville, and cruised back down Nasa Parkway at 20 mph. The last 10 miles of my ride upped my average speed to 15.9 mph total for the ride.
I capped off the weekend with a soccer game last night. We won 4-1, and I got hit right smack in the kisser with a soccer ball. BAM. Right in the face. I’m surprised my nose didn’t start bleeding. I had to sit down, then go off the field just to shake my head and clear the tweety birds flying in circles around me. Unfortunately today I have nothing to show for it. What good is taking a ball in the face if you don’t even end up with a fat lip?
Man, your workouts are awesome. I’m so looking forward to doing a tri one day. First things first. Sorry no fat lip!!!
Just run straight into a brick wall as fast as you can to get some battle color. Duh.
Seriously, very nice specs on your practice tri.
I’ve been directly hit in the face with a soccer ball kicked from about 6′ away and it hurts like a mother. I remember the hit then blacking out for a few seconds while laying on the ground. No battle scars after that for me either.
BTW, what kind of bike do you have? Road, mountain, mountain with hybrid tires?
Brian, I actually have both a road bike and mountain bike. The mountain bike is a cheap one that I ride only occasionally. The road bike is a Specialized Sequoia (the cheapest version) that I bought three years ago. I’ve toyed with the idea of buying a new road bike with nicer components, but I just can’t justify it.