Swim: One of my biggest fears/challenges/concerns is the swim portion in triathlons, especially as the distance gets longer. I have slowly increased my practice swims to the 1,900meter/1.2 mile distances I will have to swim in the actual race. After reviewing previous similar event results, the "middle of the pack" for men 45-49 is about 45 minutes. Anything over 1hr 10min will take you out of the race before you ever get on the bike. Last summer I was able to swim a mile in about an hour. I had a good swim 3 days ago and was able to get 1,900 meters in just under 54 minutes. Immediately afterwards I was able to do 2x50 meters at 1:00-1:10 min. My goal is 45-50 minutes for the swim portion and I feel I should be able to reach it without being completely shot for the bike and run.
Bike: My wife and I continue to use our indoor (Kurt Kinetic) trainers for bike riding even though it is FINALLY starting to warm up outside. We have several of Troy Jacobson's "Spinervals" dvds and I've found them to be very useful for keeping our bike workouts interesting. The trainer has also allowed me to "tweak" the settings on my (first) tri bike which hopefully will make my outdoor rides more beneficial and comfortable. I'm on my last day of a 3 day work stretch and hoping the weather will allow me to ride outside this week. I'm quite anxious to see if the indoor training has paid off. The bike portion of the half iron (70.3) tri is 56 miles. My goal would be to finish in 3 hrs, but that is averaging 18.7 mph for the entire ride...which I've never done for that distance before. More realistically I feel I could do 17mph which would put me done in about 3hrs 20min. See below for my next "big" bike workout/brick. Will keep you posted.
Run: Unless I sustain an injury between now and April, my goal of finishing the half marathon portion in 2 hours or less remains the same. February 25th was a big day for my wife and I as we travelled to Oxford, MS for the Run for Hope 5k/half marathon. Less than 2 weeks before the run my lovely bride decided she wanted to do the half marathon (she was signed up for the 5k, and her furthest training was 7 miles) even if it meant walking large portions. After my "concerned doctor/husband" warnings, she persisted and I agreed to switch her over and cheer her on. The bad news: it was COLD (30's starting temp/high 40's finish), and HILLY. The good news: we both accomplished our goals. She was a champ over the whole distance and finished in just over 2:50 running across the line after a 0.6 mile hill at the end. I'm really really proud of her! I was able to finish in just over 1:52 (7th out of 24 in my age group). More importantly for me, it was 5 minutes faster than St. Jude in December with a lot more hills....thanks to continued training since December in all 3 areas. This was much needed encouragement. I'm not an immensely competitive person, but I have to confess I enjoyed passing 2 younger guys in the last 100 yards of the run (one in his 20's that passed me a half mile earlier before the "big hill"). My pace was right at 7mph or 8:33min. mile. I certainly don't plan on running that hard/fast in New Orleans, but hope my speed/pace will be more steady on the flatter course. My next big training goal is in 3 weeks: Andrew Jackson 5k/half/marathon in Jackson, TN. My plan is to integrate at least 20-25 miles of cycling BEFORE I run that morning to prepare my body/mind for doing all three a few weeks later. Here's hoping all goes well!
A "brisk" 33 degree start of the Oxford, MS Run for Hope 1/2 marathon!
My "champion" running to her first half marathon finish!!!
I am so proud of you! And Debbie! I wish I could be there in New Orleans to cheer you on, but I'll have to manage to do that across the ocean. Love you!
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