Two Quick Tips If You Struggle With Breathing

Two Quick Tips If You Struggle With Breathing

Definitely something I need to work on. I have noticed my lead arm collapsing. When (if) I get back in the pool, this is something I need to work on for sure.
 

Training is about learning to hurt

I thought this was a fantastic article by Chrissie Wellington!
Train your brain, then your body

My wife is volunteering at Ironman Texas this weekend, and was invited by the race director to meet Chrissie... can't wait to hear how that went! She also scored a copy of her new book A Life Without Limits to get autographed.

I am starting to gain some motivation to do another triathlon. Work and home have both been so busy lately I have not been able to train consistently... but the good news is I have been getting some running and lifting in, and have lost 10 lbs with a semi-Paleo diet... I AM NO LONGER CLYDESDALE! 199.2 yesterday. And I will never be technically a Clydesdale again... particularly after they raise the limit to 225 lbs next year... LOL

Up until my last week, my runs were still improving. I ran 4 1/4 miles one week with no walk breaks, then 4 1/2 the next week... but that doesn't keep improving without running more than once a week. Last week's run was not so good. Gotta get back on track with my running... and speaking of track, my daughter is super excited that I am taking her with me to the track this morning! She is a swimmer and triathlete already at age 7, can't wait to see where she takes this. :)

My old college buddy Howard is about to do hit first tri, I am really excited for him! Go Howard!

Next potential race: Sylvan Beach Duathlon. I did this one last year, it was damn HOT. Some people were out spraying us with a water hose as we ran by, I hope they are out again this year!

I just got a great deal on a new SRAM GXP ceramic bearing bottom bracket for my bike. This thing is sweet! (WARNING: Bike part porn!)

(I am also having fun with my new camera, pretty happy about that shot!)

This will let me use the SRAM Red carbon crank that I took off Donna's new bike because it was too long for her. BUT, I am watching a bike frame on Ebay today... a Fuji D6 Matt Reed Edition... The frame is like Donna's but black and lime green. Wish me luck! Unfortunately, this bottom bracket won't match if I win that one though... LOL


Darren

Donna's New Bike!

Welcome the new tri bike member of our family, Caddie! It's a 2009 Fuji D6 Pro.

No, not my bike but my wife's. But I might get to keep the SRAM Red carbon crank with ceramic bearings that I had to take off to put her shorter one on! Oh shoot, she is gonna want another SRAM though...DOH!

Self-Myofascial Release

Self-Myofascial Release

Using a roller to relieve lower leg tension

Check it out, this is great stuff!

Why You Should Learn The Backstroke

Why You Should Learn The Backstroke

Interesting, I am going to have to work on that... particularly because of my slouch!

Is Procrastination Killing Your Swimming?

Is Procrastination Killing Your Swimming?

Yep, mine most definitely!

My First (Two) Half Marathon(s)!

Here's a really late report. But I realize I haven't had anything going on in this blog for a while. Time to wake it up!

I was planning on doing the Seabook Lucky Trails Half Marathon for a while, particularly since I got an Active.com Schwaggle deal on it for cheap! I thought it would be a good first race because it was on trails, and it usually has good schwag. But it it turned out that I reached 10 miles in my training faster than I thought! So I signed up for the Galveston Mardi Gras Half Marathon the week of the race. So here are my late race reports!

Galveston Mardi Gras Half Marathon 2/5/2012

Race morning the weather was definitely not cooperating. It was less than 50 degrees, raining, and very windy. YUK! But having signed up for this at the inflated last minute prices, I definitely was not going to skip out on this one. I wore a bike rain coat that Donna had picked up for the MS-150 before, nothing we were worried about in case I decided to ditch it along the way. With my favorite Under Armour long sleeved shirt and compression tights, the cold wet rain was really not too bad after I warmed up. I even pulled the jacket off and tied it around my waist after a couple of miles, once the rain eased up a bit. I kept it in case the rain picked up harder again and it got colder. The hardest part was the middle 7 miles along the Galveston seawall, all with a cross headwind!

Nutrition: Too long since the race for me to detail my race morning... I think it was an Ezekial English Muffin with eggs, and maybe a Powerbar. I think I also drank some Scivation Xtend, which I think is fantastic stuff. For the race itself, I took four bottles of water with about 400 calories worth of EFS Liquid Shot mixed in across the four. This worked perfectly for hydration and nutrition all in one, with roughly one bottle per 5K. A constant flow of energy since I sipped some each walk break, and no stomach issues!

Results: Not quite what I had hoped for, but given the conditions I am just glad I finished it. I am glad I did it though! 67th in my age group 2:40:37 for 12:16/M. Garmin details here.

 Seabrook Lucky Trails Half Marathon - 3/17/2012

Weather was nice but on the hot side. Leading up to the race, I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to do it. I was fighting IT band issues since Galveston. I went on a trip to visit my mom in Alabama and ran some trails back home the weekend before. That went pretty well, so I decided I could survive another half. I was hoping I would still beat my Galveston time and PR, but that didn't happen.


The trails are really tight in a lot of places, particularly with traffic in both directions since we were running two loops.That certainly didn't help things. I did and felt pretty good the first loop, but then I started fading. Between the heat and the lack of training since Galveston, I was just fizzling out.

Nutrition: Same as Galveston, but more water from the water stations.

Results: 30th in my age group, 2:42:31 for 12:24/M. No PR. Garmin results here.