Bike - 22:32:32 - 617 km
Run - 6:58:44 - 78 km
Swim - 7:27:27 - 13700 meters
June here I come :)
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Now that I am a triathlete ...
I decided that I deserved some real triathlon shoes, so I got myself those bad boys :) Asics Tri Noosa
Now I just need to convince my doctor that my ITBand is back to normal so I can try those for a quick 5k!
Now I just need to convince my doctor that my ITBand is back to normal so I can try those for a quick 5k!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
I still can't believe it
Three days ago I completed my first triathlon, it was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed every moment of it.
It's weird though, because I am sitting here at my desk and I can't believe that I did it. Thinking about the swim that went by so fast that I could barely realize that I was swimming in open water, which was the part I was the most nervous about. Just to think about it again it makes me nervous, but then I realize that I did it and that it went really well so I have no reason to be nervous.
Since then I rode my bike twice, trying to get ready for my next race in two weeks. I will be racing in a 100km which, from what I heard, is a pretty hard course. Lots of hills and not much break during it.
I am hoping to be able to restart running soon too. I miss running, and I have a marathon training to start soon too if I want to be ready for New-York!
It's weird though, because I am sitting here at my desk and I can't believe that I did it. Thinking about the swim that went by so fast that I could barely realize that I was swimming in open water, which was the part I was the most nervous about. Just to think about it again it makes me nervous, but then I realize that I did it and that it went really well so I have no reason to be nervous.
Since then I rode my bike twice, trying to get ready for my next race in two weeks. I will be racing in a 100km which, from what I heard, is a pretty hard course. Lots of hills and not much break during it.
I am hoping to be able to restart running soon too. I miss running, and I have a marathon training to start soon too if I want to be ready for New-York!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
You can now call me a Triathlete :)
Yesterday was that day, the day I would become a Triathlete.
It all started out on Friday, I took the afternoon off from work to get all my stuff ready to leave by the end of the afternoon. We had a 2h30 drive to get where the Triathlon was, so around 4pm we jumped in the car and drove there. We stopped at the Triathlon site to see where it was, where to park the car etc and to get my race packet. Then we headed to the hotel and I then tried to sleep ...
I finally got up at 5am Saturday morning and started getting ready. On the way to the race we stopped at a coffee shop and I had a bagel and a coffee. Then off we go to the Triathlon.
Once there I prepared my transition zone with everything hoping I didn't forget anything. After that I walked around a little bit to talk with people and get used to the transition, where we would get out of the water. Then me and my wife we walked the run lap. After that I went to start warming up.
I ran a kilometer, then jumped on the bike and ride the track once. It was a really nice 4km track that we had to do five times. We were riding on the Formula One track in Montreal, believe me that place is like heaven. I had never seen such nice pavement :) After I came back from my warm up I realized I was almost late for the race talk. So I grabbed my wetsuit and ran to the beach, listened to the race talk and then I went into the lake to swim a little bit.
It was a run start, I was a bit nervous, well not a bit ... I was really nervous. Water was not too cold and I got maybe a 300 meters warm up so I was confident. But still I was nervous.
After talking with Steve yesterday I decided to stay outside so I wouldn't have any problem at the start and I wouldn't be in the washing machine too much. It was a good idea, but I still got cough into that freaking washing machine a little bit. I had people all around me, at some point I figured I could stop swimming and they would push me to the finish line ;)
The first 150 meters or so of the swim were a bit harder, I was not swimming at my pace and I was a little bit out of breath. Swimming too fast and the nerves are no good for the breathing.
After maybe 30 seconds in the water I realized I was dumb ... I should have go to switch my goggles, they were getting full of water, and I mean FULL. I had to swim the entire 750 meters with my left eye closed to make sure my lens wouldn't start floating into my goggles.
I swam to the third buoy, then turned right, swam to the next buoy, turned right again and start swimming to get back to the beach. I was by myself at that point and I figured everyone were already on their bike but whatever I had to finish it anyway. Then out of nowhere a guy in a kayak came by and told me "Turn left". this is where I realized that I was not out by myself, just 30 feet on the right of the pack.
So I moved back with the pack and swam to the beach.
As soon as I felt the sand with my hand I got up and started running. Removed my cap and my goggles and then removed the top of my wetsuit while running and stuck the cap/goggles into my left sleeve.
Ran to the transition zone and to my bike, had no problem to spot my bike. Once there I removed the bottom of my wetsuit, right foot got out well but had some problem with left one. I think that the timing chip didn't help. I had to sit down to remove it completely, which didn't help my transition time.
It was a bit chilly so I decided to put a jacket on to ride. I had a little battle with the zipper which cost me maybe 10 seconds too. Then helmet and sunglasses on and off we go.
Jumped on the bike and started riding. I got up to speed and then I tried to put my shoes on. Damns the velcro was all stuck together and I was unable to put my feet into my shoes. I had to battle with them for a little while which made me lose some precious time during the bike portion.
The track was a 4km lap that we had to ride 5 times. It was flat and really nice, such a great place to ride and get some speed. Besides the little problems I had with my shoes at the start it went really well. I pushed hard but tried to keep enough in the tank for the run portion.
As usual my bike split was my better leg of all three. I passed a lot of people on the bike, but got passed by the leader of the triathlon and of the duathlon too. Some of those guys are so fast it's incredible. I guess it shows I still have a lot of room for improvement ;)
I jumped of the bike and ran to my spot, racked the bike then put my shoes on. While putting my shoes on I got a little cramp in my left calf, that scared me a little bit but it went away pretty fast.
I then started fighting with my jacket's zipper again, I was not happy about it. But it still went pretty well.
After my T2 I went out and my running speed was good, I was around 4:30/km (7:14/mile) Ran the first 2k at that pace then I started getting slower a little bit. I wanted to push but I was not sure it was a good idea at that time. So I just slowed down a little bit for the next 2km and then finish strong with the last one.
On my last lap I crossed the finish line and walked around a little bit trying to get my breathing back to normal and then I realized I just finished my first triathlon, at that exact moment I had a HUGE smile on my face and I was really proud!
Thinking about it I now realize how much of an amazing day it was. I am so happy and so proud of what I accomplished over the last year. I am getting closer of my dream of being an Ironman one day :)
Official time - 1:13:54
Swim 750 meters - 14:27
T1 - 1:35
Bike 20 km - 34:21
T2 - 1:09
Run 5 km - 22:11
It all started out on Friday, I took the afternoon off from work to get all my stuff ready to leave by the end of the afternoon. We had a 2h30 drive to get where the Triathlon was, so around 4pm we jumped in the car and drove there. We stopped at the Triathlon site to see where it was, where to park the car etc and to get my race packet. Then we headed to the hotel and I then tried to sleep ...
I finally got up at 5am Saturday morning and started getting ready. On the way to the race we stopped at a coffee shop and I had a bagel and a coffee. Then off we go to the Triathlon.
Once there I prepared my transition zone with everything hoping I didn't forget anything. After that I walked around a little bit to talk with people and get used to the transition, where we would get out of the water. Then me and my wife we walked the run lap. After that I went to start warming up.
I ran a kilometer, then jumped on the bike and ride the track once. It was a really nice 4km track that we had to do five times. We were riding on the Formula One track in Montreal, believe me that place is like heaven. I had never seen such nice pavement :) After I came back from my warm up I realized I was almost late for the race talk. So I grabbed my wetsuit and ran to the beach, listened to the race talk and then I went into the lake to swim a little bit.
It was a run start, I was a bit nervous, well not a bit ... I was really nervous. Water was not too cold and I got maybe a 300 meters warm up so I was confident. But still I was nervous.
After talking with Steve yesterday I decided to stay outside so I wouldn't have any problem at the start and I wouldn't be in the washing machine too much. It was a good idea, but I still got cough into that freaking washing machine a little bit. I had people all around me, at some point I figured I could stop swimming and they would push me to the finish line ;)
The first 150 meters or so of the swim were a bit harder, I was not swimming at my pace and I was a little bit out of breath. Swimming too fast and the nerves are no good for the breathing.
After maybe 30 seconds in the water I realized I was dumb ... I should have go to switch my goggles, they were getting full of water, and I mean FULL. I had to swim the entire 750 meters with my left eye closed to make sure my lens wouldn't start floating into my goggles.
I swam to the third buoy, then turned right, swam to the next buoy, turned right again and start swimming to get back to the beach. I was by myself at that point and I figured everyone were already on their bike but whatever I had to finish it anyway. Then out of nowhere a guy in a kayak came by and told me "Turn left". this is where I realized that I was not out by myself, just 30 feet on the right of the pack.
So I moved back with the pack and swam to the beach.
As soon as I felt the sand with my hand I got up and started running. Removed my cap and my goggles and then removed the top of my wetsuit while running and stuck the cap/goggles into my left sleeve.
Ran to the transition zone and to my bike, had no problem to spot my bike. Once there I removed the bottom of my wetsuit, right foot got out well but had some problem with left one. I think that the timing chip didn't help. I had to sit down to remove it completely, which didn't help my transition time.
It was a bit chilly so I decided to put a jacket on to ride. I had a little battle with the zipper which cost me maybe 10 seconds too. Then helmet and sunglasses on and off we go.
Jumped on the bike and started riding. I got up to speed and then I tried to put my shoes on. Damns the velcro was all stuck together and I was unable to put my feet into my shoes. I had to battle with them for a little while which made me lose some precious time during the bike portion.
The track was a 4km lap that we had to ride 5 times. It was flat and really nice, such a great place to ride and get some speed. Besides the little problems I had with my shoes at the start it went really well. I pushed hard but tried to keep enough in the tank for the run portion.
As usual my bike split was my better leg of all three. I passed a lot of people on the bike, but got passed by the leader of the triathlon and of the duathlon too. Some of those guys are so fast it's incredible. I guess it shows I still have a lot of room for improvement ;)
I jumped of the bike and ran to my spot, racked the bike then put my shoes on. While putting my shoes on I got a little cramp in my left calf, that scared me a little bit but it went away pretty fast.
I then started fighting with my jacket's zipper again, I was not happy about it. But it still went pretty well.
After my T2 I went out and my running speed was good, I was around 4:30/km (7:14/mile) Ran the first 2k at that pace then I started getting slower a little bit. I wanted to push but I was not sure it was a good idea at that time. So I just slowed down a little bit for the next 2km and then finish strong with the last one.
On my last lap I crossed the finish line and walked around a little bit trying to get my breathing back to normal and then I realized I just finished my first triathlon, at that exact moment I had a HUGE smile on my face and I was really proud!
Thinking about it I now realize how much of an amazing day it was. I am so happy and so proud of what I accomplished over the last year. I am getting closer of my dream of being an Ironman one day :)
Official time - 1:13:54
Swim 750 meters - 14:27
T1 - 1:35
Bike 20 km - 34:21
T2 - 1:09
Run 5 km - 22:11
Friday, May 22, 2009
My first Triathlon is tomorrow
Tomorrow is a day that I will remember for the rest of my life. I have my first Triathlon ever. I did some Duathlon over the last year and some running races, but I never did a Triathlon.
Back last year when I was completing my first relay Duathlon I was looking at those people doing Triathlon and I was really impressed. Tomorrow I will be one of those persons, and it is really awesome just to think about it.
Back in September I couldn't swim more then 50 meters. Back in July last year I was not running at all. And back two years ago I was not even riding a bike. It is amazing how far I have come from two years ago. I was just sitting all day not doing much, and now look at me. I am proud of what I accomplished and tomorrow will be one more milestone, from potato couch to Ironman.
Tomorrow I will swim 750 meters, ride 20 kilometers and run 5 kilometers. I know I can complete all the distances without any doubt but I am still nervous about it.
It is probably because this is something new, that I have never done before, that it makes me nervous. It a good feeling though, nervous good ;)
I will make sure to get as many pictures of that first, so I have many memories to share with anyone who wants to hear about them. And to look at them later to remember how I became a triathlete.
Now I am off to the pool for a quick swim before work, just to get my body moving a bit. The last week has been really slow training wise. With my ITBand injury and the bad weather I didn't have the chance to get out much sadly.
Back last year when I was completing my first relay Duathlon I was looking at those people doing Triathlon and I was really impressed. Tomorrow I will be one of those persons, and it is really awesome just to think about it.
Back in September I couldn't swim more then 50 meters. Back in July last year I was not running at all. And back two years ago I was not even riding a bike. It is amazing how far I have come from two years ago. I was just sitting all day not doing much, and now look at me. I am proud of what I accomplished and tomorrow will be one more milestone, from potato couch to Ironman.
Tomorrow I will swim 750 meters, ride 20 kilometers and run 5 kilometers. I know I can complete all the distances without any doubt but I am still nervous about it.
It is probably because this is something new, that I have never done before, that it makes me nervous. It a good feeling though, nervous good ;)
I will make sure to get as many pictures of that first, so I have many memories to share with anyone who wants to hear about them. And to look at them later to remember how I became a triathlete.
Now I am off to the pool for a quick swim before work, just to get my body moving a bit. The last week has been really slow training wise. With my ITBand injury and the bad weather I didn't have the chance to get out much sadly.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
What a wonderful day :)
Here is what was in my email today.
I don't have much to say but WOO HOOO! ;)
May 19, 2009 |
|
| |
Countdown to the start November 1, 2009: 165 Days | |
Dear Robert Lejeune, Entry Number: Congratulations! You have been accepted to run the ING New York City Marathon 2009 on Sunday, November 1. On behalf of New York Road Runners, I welcome you to the 40th running of the world's greatest marathon. One of the things that makes this race so special is runners like you from around the world, and we're hard at work preparing to give you the experience of a lifetime. Shortly after June 1, you'll receive an e-mail from us that will include a link to our runner login page. From this page you can provide or verify your emergency race-day contact information, supply information that will allow us to assign your race-day transportation to the start, cancel your entry if needed, take advantage of special offers for marathon entrants, and more. In the meantime, please consider using your marathon experience as an opportunity to raise money for charity. Visit our charities page for more information. We'll be in touch frequently between now and race day, as we'll post the latest news on theING New York City Marathon site. We look forward to seeing you in November! Sincerely,
Mary Wittenberg | |
 | |
I don't have much to say but WOO HOOO! ;)
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Duathlon Sorel-Tracy
I woke up at 5h00 am and had breakfast, oatmeal with toast and some pineapple. Then I finished packing the car and drove there, a 2 hours drive. When we arrived there I went to get my package, not much to be honest. They gave us our bib and that was it, it was a non expensive race and now I know why ;)
It was cold so we stayed inside for a while, then I went back to the car and got my bike and my stuff. Headed to the transition zone to park the bike then I went inside to get dressed. Then I went outside to warm up before the race. I rode my bike for 3-4 km maybe to get the legs moving and after that I ran for 1.2km or so. Then I tried to stay as warm as I possibly could, with those 20-30 MPH winds it was really cold.
My plan was to run the first 5km around 22:30, I was aiming for a 4:30/km (6:56/mile) pace. When the race started I stayed with the MOP and I figured they would run at the pace I had planned. I realized pretty fast that they were running way faster that I was expecting.
First km was ran in 3:53/km (6:15/mile) and I knew I had to adjust pretty fast or it would be really hard. By kilometer two my ITBand started to bother me a little bit. Nothing bad but at that exact time I knew that the run after the bike leg would be painful. I tried to keep my pace to finish the 5k as fast as I possibly could without going too fast and burning my legs for the bike. I finished in 21:33, which was way better that my 25:03 last year :)
Then it was T1 time, I ran in put my helmet on and my sunglasses removed my shoes and off I went with the bike. Jumped on it and started getting speed, everything went fine up to when I tried to put the shoes on, at that time I had some problems and I lost some speed while trying to put them on. I do need to practice that move still I guess ;)
The course was really nice, mostly flat with some really small hills. The problem was the wind, it was blowing at 30km/h (20mph) with 50 km/h (32mph) gusts. It was a 11km lap that we had to do three times.
When I jumped on the bike my plan was to get as fast as possible with the head wind and then use the tailwind to get the average as high as possible before turning back into the wind. The beginning of the course was really tough on me, I was really tired from the run and I had a hard time pushing as much as I wanted to. The speed was there but I was seriously thinking that I would die ;) At some point I thought that they were wrong with the distances and that we already had like 15 kilometers done, I then checked my watch just to realize that it was just my imagination and at that time I knew it wouldn't be easy.
The road were not blocked and the traffic was a problem a couple of times. At some point I almost had to ride on the sidewalk because a car was in my lane. They were a bit short on volunteers sadly and we could see it during some portion of the bike course.
Overall I passed a lot of people on the bike, I would say close to 12-15. And I got passed by only two so overall I am happy. But I still think I need to train more and get faster ;)
By the time I reached T2 my feet were so cold I had problem running, and my ITBand was really, and I mean REALLY pissed at me at that point.
The last 2.5km were painful, I mean really. At some point I though I would have to walk a little bit to give the ITBand a break. I tried to keep a pace as fast as I could but it was really hard. I lost almost all the places that I gained on the bike during that run. I wanted to push so bad, but there were no way I could HTFU enough to not feel the ITBand sadly.
And then there it was, the finish line finally. I was pretty happy to see it.
My goal for today was sub 1:40:00 so I have to be happy.
Run 5k : 21:33
Ride 33k : 1:01:29
Run 2.5k : 13:51
I finished with a time of 1:38:58 :) Now lets get ready for next week sprint in Montreal, this will be my first sprint triathlon of the season and of my life. I am getting nervous more every day.
It was cold so we stayed inside for a while, then I went back to the car and got my bike and my stuff. Headed to the transition zone to park the bike then I went inside to get dressed. Then I went outside to warm up before the race. I rode my bike for 3-4 km maybe to get the legs moving and after that I ran for 1.2km or so. Then I tried to stay as warm as I possibly could, with those 20-30 MPH winds it was really cold.
My plan was to run the first 5km around 22:30, I was aiming for a 4:30/km (6:56/mile) pace. When the race started I stayed with the MOP and I figured they would run at the pace I had planned. I realized pretty fast that they were running way faster that I was expecting.
First km was ran in 3:53/km (6:15/mile) and I knew I had to adjust pretty fast or it would be really hard. By kilometer two my ITBand started to bother me a little bit. Nothing bad but at that exact time I knew that the run after the bike leg would be painful. I tried to keep my pace to finish the 5k as fast as I possibly could without going too fast and burning my legs for the bike. I finished in 21:33, which was way better that my 25:03 last year :)
Then it was T1 time, I ran in put my helmet on and my sunglasses removed my shoes and off I went with the bike. Jumped on it and started getting speed, everything went fine up to when I tried to put the shoes on, at that time I had some problems and I lost some speed while trying to put them on. I do need to practice that move still I guess ;)
The course was really nice, mostly flat with some really small hills. The problem was the wind, it was blowing at 30km/h (20mph) with 50 km/h (32mph) gusts. It was a 11km lap that we had to do three times.
When I jumped on the bike my plan was to get as fast as possible with the head wind and then use the tailwind to get the average as high as possible before turning back into the wind. The beginning of the course was really tough on me, I was really tired from the run and I had a hard time pushing as much as I wanted to. The speed was there but I was seriously thinking that I would die ;) At some point I thought that they were wrong with the distances and that we already had like 15 kilometers done, I then checked my watch just to realize that it was just my imagination and at that time I knew it wouldn't be easy.
The road were not blocked and the traffic was a problem a couple of times. At some point I almost had to ride on the sidewalk because a car was in my lane. They were a bit short on volunteers sadly and we could see it during some portion of the bike course.
Overall I passed a lot of people on the bike, I would say close to 12-15. And I got passed by only two so overall I am happy. But I still think I need to train more and get faster ;)
By the time I reached T2 my feet were so cold I had problem running, and my ITBand was really, and I mean REALLY pissed at me at that point.
The last 2.5km were painful, I mean really. At some point I though I would have to walk a little bit to give the ITBand a break. I tried to keep a pace as fast as I could but it was really hard. I lost almost all the places that I gained on the bike during that run. I wanted to push so bad, but there were no way I could HTFU enough to not feel the ITBand sadly.
And then there it was, the finish line finally. I was pretty happy to see it.
My goal for today was sub 1:40:00 so I have to be happy.
Run 5k : 21:33
Ride 33k : 1:01:29
Run 2.5k : 13:51
I finished with a time of 1:38:58 :) Now lets get ready for next week sprint in Montreal, this will be my first sprint triathlon of the season and of my life. I am getting nervous more every day.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Getting ready for tomorrow's race
My LBS has been nice enough to let me borrow those wonderful race wheels :) I always thought that my bike looked hot, but with those wheels on it looks even better.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Quick run to test the ITBand in the morning
I went for a quick 5km to test my ITBand before Sunday's Duathlon. Now I am wondering if it was a good or a bad idea. After maybe 2km I started feeling some pain with my left ITBand, nothing that would stop me from running or slowing me too much, but the pain is still there.
This morning I finally finished with a 3.5km run and the pace was ok for a training run, no way I'd beat a world record but it still was not too bad.
I have an appointment with my chyro this afternoon and he will work on my left leg once again trying to do some miracle. Lets hope he still knows how to do them :)
This morning I finally finished with a 3.5km run and the pace was ok for a training run, no way I'd beat a world record but it still was not too bad.
I have an appointment with my chyro this afternoon and he will work on my left leg once again trying to do some miracle. Lets hope he still knows how to do them :)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
First Duathlon of the season Sunday
Sunday is my first official multisports event of the year. A sprint Duathlon which consist of a 5km run, a 33km ride and a 2.5km run to finish. I still have some issues with my ITBand that bother me since my half marathon two weeks ago. I have reduce my running load by at least 50% in the last two weeks with hope that my ITBand will get back on track in time for the Duathlon. I guess that I will go out and run a 5km tomorrow morning to see how it feels as of now.
I don't have any control over that injury, and I want to make sure that I will heal as fast as possible since it's the begining of the race season, and that season is not that long around here sadly.
I went for a quick 40km ride yesterday to see how the ITBand would react, I felt no pain at all during the entire ride and just a little bit of soreness this morning. Nothing that would bother me at all during a race to be honest. Now lets just hope that it will feel the same tomorrow morning during my short run :)
I don't have any control over that injury, and I want to make sure that I will heal as fast as possible since it's the begining of the race season, and that season is not that long around here sadly.
I went for a quick 40km ride yesterday to see how the ITBand would react, I felt no pain at all during the entire ride and just a little bit of soreness this morning. Nothing that would bother me at all during a race to be honest. Now lets just hope that it will feel the same tomorrow morning during my short run :)
Sunday, May 10, 2009
First OWS ... ever :)
Yesterday I went for my first open water swim ever. I never went out to swim in a lake, sure when I was younger I went to lakes to play in the water and have fun with my friends. But yesterday was different, I was heading there to swim and have an idea how it was before my first triathlon, two weeks from now.
It was also the first time that I would try my new wetsuit, well not that new since I bought it second hand but new to me. I was a bit nervous, I had no idea how it would be, what the lake water temperature would be. I was wondering if I would be able to see the bottom of the lake or if I would swim without seeing anything. A lot of new stuff and I was a little bit nervous about all this. But since I have my first triathlon ever in two weeks I needed to get out there and swim in open water at least once before, to make sure I won't freak out on race day.
We got there and I touched the water to see how warm cold it was. Anyway, I put the wetsuit on, which by itself was an experience. By the time I was done with that I was already sweating and I was not as scared as before to be cold. I figured that this wetsuit was pretty warm since I had it on me for 5 minutes and I was really hot.
And off I go, my wife is sitting on the beach and watching me go into that cold water probably thinking that I really am nuts. My feet tell me that it's cold but I try not to listen to them. Then my hands tell me the same, but I tell them to HTFU and I just keep going. At one point I am in 3/4 feet of water so I just start swimming. OMG! My face is pissed at me because it is so damn cold. I just try to swim but HTFU about the cold but it's not that easy. Every here and then I can feel some cold water getting into the wetsuit, and when I say I can feel it believe me I was feeling it.
I just kept swimming, freestyle mostly, and when my face was too cold I would turn and do some backstrokes just to get some sun, and then back to freestyle. I swam 15 minutes maybe, then came back to the shore to unfreeze my face, hands and feet. Then I went back into the water for another 10-15 minutes maybe and swam a little more. The water was not as cold when I got into it the second time, I guess I was slowly getting used to it.
I am really happy that everything went well. I didn't have any pain or problem with my wetsuit. I could swim with it really easily and not feel any problem with my shoulders. At some point during the swim I stopped focusing on the swim and more on what was underneath me, and at that time my mind could see all kind of stuff that was not really there. I don't know why I am that way though, instead of just enjoying the moment I try to freak myself out. I was happy not to swim in the sea, I am sure I would have imagine at least 20 great white ;)
The only thing that was different from when I swim in a pool was that I felt out of breath a lot, I am not too sure if it was because I was swimming faster than usual. Or if it was because I was nervous, or because the water temperature was colder than usual. But it was weird to feel out of breath like that, even if I was trying to slow my pace a little bit.
I remember when I was young, we had a summer house by the sea and I used to swim in the sea a lot. Never really swam that far from the beach and I could always see the bottom, but the water was crystal clear and it was nice to always see everything. When I got into the lake yesterday that feeling of seeing everything was not there at all. The water was not that clear, I could barely see the bottom of the lake with 7-8 feet of water.
When I got back home I checked the temperature on my pool to have an idea and it was 55, so I figured that the lake was at best 55, maybe colder ;) But whatever the temperature I had fun and I am happy that I finally did my first OWS. Now I am getting more and more ready for my first triathlon in two weeks.
It was also the first time that I would try my new wetsuit, well not that new since I bought it second hand but new to me. I was a bit nervous, I had no idea how it would be, what the lake water temperature would be. I was wondering if I would be able to see the bottom of the lake or if I would swim without seeing anything. A lot of new stuff and I was a little bit nervous about all this. But since I have my first triathlon ever in two weeks I needed to get out there and swim in open water at least once before, to make sure I won't freak out on race day.
We got there and I touched the water to see how warm cold it was. Anyway, I put the wetsuit on, which by itself was an experience. By the time I was done with that I was already sweating and I was not as scared as before to be cold. I figured that this wetsuit was pretty warm since I had it on me for 5 minutes and I was really hot.
And off I go, my wife is sitting on the beach and watching me go into that cold water probably thinking that I really am nuts. My feet tell me that it's cold but I try not to listen to them. Then my hands tell me the same, but I tell them to HTFU and I just keep going. At one point I am in 3/4 feet of water so I just start swimming. OMG! My face is pissed at me because it is so damn cold. I just try to swim but HTFU about the cold but it's not that easy. Every here and then I can feel some cold water getting into the wetsuit, and when I say I can feel it believe me I was feeling it.
I just kept swimming, freestyle mostly, and when my face was too cold I would turn and do some backstrokes just to get some sun, and then back to freestyle. I swam 15 minutes maybe, then came back to the shore to unfreeze my face, hands and feet. Then I went back into the water for another 10-15 minutes maybe and swam a little more. The water was not as cold when I got into it the second time, I guess I was slowly getting used to it.
I am really happy that everything went well. I didn't have any pain or problem with my wetsuit. I could swim with it really easily and not feel any problem with my shoulders. At some point during the swim I stopped focusing on the swim and more on what was underneath me, and at that time my mind could see all kind of stuff that was not really there. I don't know why I am that way though, instead of just enjoying the moment I try to freak myself out. I was happy not to swim in the sea, I am sure I would have imagine at least 20 great white ;)
The only thing that was different from when I swim in a pool was that I felt out of breath a lot, I am not too sure if it was because I was swimming faster than usual. Or if it was because I was nervous, or because the water temperature was colder than usual. But it was weird to feel out of breath like that, even if I was trying to slow my pace a little bit.
I remember when I was young, we had a summer house by the sea and I used to swim in the sea a lot. Never really swam that far from the beach and I could always see the bottom, but the water was crystal clear and it was nice to always see everything. When I got into the lake yesterday that feeling of seeing everything was not there at all. The water was not that clear, I could barely see the bottom of the lake with 7-8 feet of water.
When I got back home I checked the temperature on my pool to have an idea and it was 55, so I figured that the lake was at best 55, maybe colder ;) But whatever the temperature I had fun and I am happy that I finally did my first OWS. Now I am getting more and more ready for my first triathlon in two weeks.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Some people are born with it ... I am not
I have been working really hard for a year now trying to get faster and better. Trying to learn how to swim in a way that I don't want to die. Trying to ride my bike at a speed where I can compete in my AG. And trying to get better at running to be, lets say somewhere in the middle of the pack on the run. But lets face it, I am not there yet, I think I do put a lot of work, that I am training really hard. But nothing to do, I am still far behind.
In two weeks I will have my first Triathlon ever, I am sure I will get out of the water in the back of the pack. After that I will try as hard as I can to gain some place during the bike and the run legs. But I should still finish at best in the middle of the pack.
This morning I was reading about a guy who was 100lb overweight in 2006 and who decided to lose weight and get his life back on track. I really liked the story, it is always nice to see people taking control over their life.
But I then read that the guy did 18 Duathlon in 2007 and 2008 and that he placed on the podium 11 times out of those 18. Dammit, why does I got no natural abilities at all unless this guy. I mean he did train hard I am pretty sure but he had to have some natural abilities. Especially to place on the podium more then 50% of the time on his 18 first races.
Am I the only one who feels like that, like I have to work really hard to even dream about eventually being in the top 25%. And I am not even talking about a podium here.
It's either that I didn't have the chance to get some natural abilities, or I am really training in the wrong way ...
In two weeks I will have my first Triathlon ever, I am sure I will get out of the water in the back of the pack. After that I will try as hard as I can to gain some place during the bike and the run legs. But I should still finish at best in the middle of the pack.
This morning I was reading about a guy who was 100lb overweight in 2006 and who decided to lose weight and get his life back on track. I really liked the story, it is always nice to see people taking control over their life.
But I then read that the guy did 18 Duathlon in 2007 and 2008 and that he placed on the podium 11 times out of those 18. Dammit, why does I got no natural abilities at all unless this guy. I mean he did train hard I am pretty sure but he had to have some natural abilities. Especially to place on the podium more then 50% of the time on his 18 first races.
Am I the only one who feels like that, like I have to work really hard to even dream about eventually being in the top 25%. And I am not even talking about a podium here.
It's either that I didn't have the chance to get some natural abilities, or I am really training in the wrong way ...
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Marie-Christine
As most of you know this year will be my first year as a Triathlete, I am really thrilled about this. Every time I go out for a run, a ride of a swim I am always greatfull that I can do this, that I have the chance to get out and enjoy this wonderful sport that we all love so much.
For the second year in a row I decided to raise money for Leucan, a charity that helps the kids who have cancer. They help them and their familly to go through the sickness with different activities, they give money to the research and a lot of other things.
Today a guy with who I am working came to my office and gave me a cheque, with a really good amount of money. He then told me "Please remember Marie-Christine East when you will be out there training and racing, she died a couple years ago from Leucemia" She was his niece and she died 3 years ago, I have been really touched by this and she will be on my mind when I will be out there racing and training.
I have been raising money for Leucan for two years now, and I know that what I do helps others and I am proud of it. But it was the first time that someone that I know told me that a kid close to him had had the cancer, and that sadly she died.
Marie-Christine East, you'll be on my mind and you will be remembered.
For the second year in a row I decided to raise money for Leucan, a charity that helps the kids who have cancer. They help them and their familly to go through the sickness with different activities, they give money to the research and a lot of other things.
Today a guy with who I am working came to my office and gave me a cheque, with a really good amount of money. He then told me "Please remember Marie-Christine East when you will be out there training and racing, she died a couple years ago from Leucemia" She was his niece and she died 3 years ago, I have been really touched by this and she will be on my mind when I will be out there racing and training.
I have been raising money for Leucan for two years now, and I know that what I do helps others and I am proud of it. But it was the first time that someone that I know told me that a kid close to him had had the cancer, and that sadly she died.
Marie-Christine East, you'll be on my mind and you will be remembered.
A ride to test the legs
Yesterday night I went for a 50km ride to see how my legs, and especially my left knee, would react. There was some strong winds and I knew it would be a good test. I was hapilly pleased that my legs were feeling really strong, I was scared that after Sunday's half marathon they would be tired for at least a couple fo days.
My left knee bothered me a little bit after the ride though, nothing bad but I could still feel some pain in it when I stayed in the same position for too long. It's feeling way better today, and I hope it was nothing to worry about. I'll go for my first run tomorrow morning and see how it will feel after that.
With a Duathlon in 10 days I just hope that I won't start having knee pain like last summer. It seems that whenever I push hard in race situation my knee dislike that. But I can push hard during training and it usually doesn't bother them.
Last winter I went to see a sport doctor to make sure my knees were correct and that I didn't have anything that would cause me problems during this season and he told me that I had nothing to worry about. I still ope he was right, so far during my entire training for my half I never had any knee pain, left or right, so I was 100% positive that those problems were behind me. But now I am getting nervous about it once again.
Lets just hope everything will get back like normal and that I will be able to run and ride without any knee problem fast. I would be really pissed to have to take some time off with the season that is starting around here, especially since it's not that long.
Tonight I will go for a swim, at least I shouldn't have any knee problem there ;)
My left knee bothered me a little bit after the ride though, nothing bad but I could still feel some pain in it when I stayed in the same position for too long. It's feeling way better today, and I hope it was nothing to worry about. I'll go for my first run tomorrow morning and see how it will feel after that.
With a Duathlon in 10 days I just hope that I won't start having knee pain like last summer. It seems that whenever I push hard in race situation my knee dislike that. But I can push hard during training and it usually doesn't bother them.
Last winter I went to see a sport doctor to make sure my knees were correct and that I didn't have anything that would cause me problems during this season and he told me that I had nothing to worry about. I still ope he was right, so far during my entire training for my half I never had any knee pain, left or right, so I was 100% positive that those problems were behind me. But now I am getting nervous about it once again.
Lets just hope everything will get back like normal and that I will be able to run and ride without any knee problem fast. I would be really pissed to have to take some time off with the season that is starting around here, especially since it's not that long.
Tonight I will go for a swim, at least I shouldn't have any knee problem there ;)
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Half marathon - Done :)
I woke up around 5h30 after a really good night of sleep. Had some oatmeals, a yogurt, orange juice and a coffee for breakfast.
We left to the race around 6h45 since we had to be at the start before 7h30. When we arrived me and my wife splited, she was running the 10k and the start lines were in two different places. I had to take a bus to go to the start line so as soon as I arrived at the finish line I jumped into one of the bus and we headed to the start line.
We arrived there 1 hour prior to the start, so we just walked and relax for a while. I took a gel at some point with some water. I went for a warm up around 7h50 or so, during my warm up I heard the start of the 30k race. While warming up I found a gel on the ground, someone would have a bad surprise at some point today, but with over 500 people there no way I would find who lost it ;) I ran 2-3 km at a pace around 5:00/km (8:02/mile) or so trying to get my HR higher a little bit and warming up my legs.
After my warm up I tried to find the friend with whom I was supposed to run today, her goal was to run it under 1:50:00 so she could qualify for New-York next year. I didn't tell her yet that I would run it with her, when we talked about it earlier this week I told her that a 5:00/km (8:02/mile) split half mary was probably a bit fast for me. I finally changed my mind yesterday and when I told her that she would have someone to run with today she was really excited. We met around 10 minutes before the start and got ready for the start.
We had a plan to head out at a 5:00/km (8:02/mile) pace and do whatever it would take to stick with it. We knew that this would give us a 5 minutes to play with if needed, since Nicole needed 1:50:00 or less to qualify to New-York and that was the plan to run it in those time.
The start was a little bit crowded so we knew it would be a pain to get up to our speed right at the beginning. We tried to pass as many people as we possibly can, while I was looking at my Garmin all the time to make sure we were not going out too fast.
The course was nice, from the start line we had around 4k to run to the finish line, then we had a loop of around 17k to run to come back to the finish line. I was happy to see that when we got by the finish line I didn't want to stop and cross it already, that means I was not too tired yet ;)
According to the weather we were supposed to have a head wind to start with. But finally the wind was not too fast and it didn't really bothered us for the first 4k, which was good. After that we passed the finish line and started the loop we had a downwind and I was starting to regret those long sleeves. But it was a bit too late to change my mind on clothing, so I just HTFU and kept going.
When we reach the 10k point I realized that I just PRed for a 10k and it made me really happy. I then wondered if I PRed the 5k too. Now that I looked at the splits I know I did :)
My initial plan was to stick with Nicole at a 5:00/km (8:02/mile) pace as long as I would be able to and then let her go. I didn't want her to miss her qualification because she would have wait on me.
But the more we were going the more I knew that I would be able to finish in 1:45:00 or so. I knew I had it in me. My HR was good, I was around 90-95% LT for the entire race and I figured I could keep that pace for under 2 hours without too much problems.
When we crossed the 10k starting line we knew that we were about to turn around and head to the finish line. We did with 9km to go or so, but at this point the wind was hmm, lets just say stronger than before.
It was not that bad of a wind, around 12 MPH maybe, but after 12 kilometers we could have done without it to be honest. So we started to run with that head wind, at some point I thought that it would show in our splits but it didn't changed them that much.
I was starting to be a little bit tired, but I kept telling to myself that I wanted to be there to see her face when she would finally qualify for New-York. So far she has done Boston, London, Moscow and Berlin and she always said that she needed New-York to finish her top five marathons.
So I told myself to HTFU and she keep that pace. My left knee was hurting and I knew it was probably not the brightest idea of all to keep pushing through it but I had to. We kept going at that 4:58/km-5:02/km (8:00/mile-8:06/mile) pace that we had since the beginning, When I saw the sign 8km I told to myself to just keep going, only 40 minutes to go it was not that bad. And I kept going, after a while I realized that we were at the 4km sign which made me really happy because I knew that we just did half of what we had to do when we saw that 8km sign. And honestly it seems like it went really fast from the 8 to the 4km sign.
4 kilometers to go, only 20 minutes. I am starting to be really tired. I never pushed that fast for that long. My best time for a 10k as 52:14 and I did it not that long ago during a training run to test my speed.
I wanted to slow down a little bit, but I knew I couldn't do that and miss Nicole's finish and my 1:45:00 time that was really reachable. I never even dreamed about doing 1:45 for that half before three or four days ago. But now it was there, I only had to keep going and I would reach it.
So I did, I kept running with her, she was pulling me at that point. I didn't want to let her take any advance on me or I knew I would let her go. When we finally reach the 2km sign she told me that if I wanted to slow down she didn't mind, she knew that even if we ran the last two kilometers at a 6:00/km (9:39/mile) pace we would finish in time for her to qualify anyway.
But deep in my mind I knew that I would be really pissed at me if I slowed down with 2km to go and miss that 1:45:00 mark because of that. So I told her I was ok, I knew it was not true and she knew too, but we kept going at the same pace.
When we finally reach the park where the finish line was she had taken maybe 25 feet on me, so I sprint a little bit to reach her. When she saw me arrived a little bit faster she told me she nothing left in the tank and there was no way she could sprint the last 200 meters. I was happy about it, first because I didn't want to sprint that much and secondly because I knew we had done a hell of a race and we both reached deep to find the energy to finish it in that time.
That was her best half marathon lifetime, and same for me. From 2:14:20 to 1:45:20, which means a PR by 29 minutes, I am really happy about this :) I also got my 5k time faster by 30 seconds or so and my 10k time by over 2 minutes. All that during the same race!
We left to the race around 6h45 since we had to be at the start before 7h30. When we arrived me and my wife splited, she was running the 10k and the start lines were in two different places. I had to take a bus to go to the start line so as soon as I arrived at the finish line I jumped into one of the bus and we headed to the start line.
We arrived there 1 hour prior to the start, so we just walked and relax for a while. I took a gel at some point with some water. I went for a warm up around 7h50 or so, during my warm up I heard the start of the 30k race. While warming up I found a gel on the ground, someone would have a bad surprise at some point today, but with over 500 people there no way I would find who lost it ;) I ran 2-3 km at a pace around 5:00/km (8:02/mile) or so trying to get my HR higher a little bit and warming up my legs.
After my warm up I tried to find the friend with whom I was supposed to run today, her goal was to run it under 1:50:00 so she could qualify for New-York next year. I didn't tell her yet that I would run it with her, when we talked about it earlier this week I told her that a 5:00/km (8:02/mile) split half mary was probably a bit fast for me. I finally changed my mind yesterday and when I told her that she would have someone to run with today she was really excited. We met around 10 minutes before the start and got ready for the start.
We had a plan to head out at a 5:00/km (8:02/mile) pace and do whatever it would take to stick with it. We knew that this would give us a 5 minutes to play with if needed, since Nicole needed 1:50:00 or less to qualify to New-York and that was the plan to run it in those time.
The start was a little bit crowded so we knew it would be a pain to get up to our speed right at the beginning. We tried to pass as many people as we possibly can, while I was looking at my Garmin all the time to make sure we were not going out too fast.
The course was nice, from the start line we had around 4k to run to the finish line, then we had a loop of around 17k to run to come back to the finish line. I was happy to see that when we got by the finish line I didn't want to stop and cross it already, that means I was not too tired yet ;)
According to the weather we were supposed to have a head wind to start with. But finally the wind was not too fast and it didn't really bothered us for the first 4k, which was good. After that we passed the finish line and started the loop we had a downwind and I was starting to regret those long sleeves. But it was a bit too late to change my mind on clothing, so I just HTFU and kept going.
When we reach the 10k point I realized that I just PRed for a 10k and it made me really happy. I then wondered if I PRed the 5k too. Now that I looked at the splits I know I did :)
My initial plan was to stick with Nicole at a 5:00/km (8:02/mile) pace as long as I would be able to and then let her go. I didn't want her to miss her qualification because she would have wait on me.
But the more we were going the more I knew that I would be able to finish in 1:45:00 or so. I knew I had it in me. My HR was good, I was around 90-95% LT for the entire race and I figured I could keep that pace for under 2 hours without too much problems.
When we crossed the 10k starting line we knew that we were about to turn around and head to the finish line. We did with 9km to go or so, but at this point the wind was hmm, lets just say stronger than before.
It was not that bad of a wind, around 12 MPH maybe, but after 12 kilometers we could have done without it to be honest. So we started to run with that head wind, at some point I thought that it would show in our splits but it didn't changed them that much.
I was starting to be a little bit tired, but I kept telling to myself that I wanted to be there to see her face when she would finally qualify for New-York. So far she has done Boston, London, Moscow and Berlin and she always said that she needed New-York to finish her top five marathons.
So I told myself to HTFU and she keep that pace. My left knee was hurting and I knew it was probably not the brightest idea of all to keep pushing through it but I had to. We kept going at that 4:58/km-5:02/km (8:00/mile-8:06/mile) pace that we had since the beginning, When I saw the sign 8km I told to myself to just keep going, only 40 minutes to go it was not that bad. And I kept going, after a while I realized that we were at the 4km sign which made me really happy because I knew that we just did half of what we had to do when we saw that 8km sign. And honestly it seems like it went really fast from the 8 to the 4km sign.
4 kilometers to go, only 20 minutes. I am starting to be really tired. I never pushed that fast for that long. My best time for a 10k as 52:14 and I did it not that long ago during a training run to test my speed.
I wanted to slow down a little bit, but I knew I couldn't do that and miss Nicole's finish and my 1:45:00 time that was really reachable. I never even dreamed about doing 1:45 for that half before three or four days ago. But now it was there, I only had to keep going and I would reach it.
So I did, I kept running with her, she was pulling me at that point. I didn't want to let her take any advance on me or I knew I would let her go. When we finally reach the 2km sign she told me that if I wanted to slow down she didn't mind, she knew that even if we ran the last two kilometers at a 6:00/km (9:39/mile) pace we would finish in time for her to qualify anyway.
But deep in my mind I knew that I would be really pissed at me if I slowed down with 2km to go and miss that 1:45:00 mark because of that. So I told her I was ok, I knew it was not true and she knew too, but we kept going at the same pace.
When we finally reach the park where the finish line was she had taken maybe 25 feet on me, so I sprint a little bit to reach her. When she saw me arrived a little bit faster she told me she nothing left in the tank and there was no way she could sprint the last 200 meters. I was happy about it, first because I didn't want to sprint that much and secondly because I knew we had done a hell of a race and we both reached deep to find the energy to finish it in that time.
That was her best half marathon lifetime, and same for me. From 2:14:20 to 1:45:20, which means a PR by 29 minutes, I am really happy about this :) I also got my 5k time faster by 30 seconds or so and my 10k time by over 2 minutes. All that during the same race!
Friday, May 1, 2009
April training
There we go, another month is done already.
Swimming : 13400 meters, yeah I should have push more on the swimming part
Biking : 550 km, not too bad since spring is not here yet
Running : 165 km, considering the taper last week of the month I am happy with that volume
Now off we go for May :)
Swimming : 13400 meters, yeah I should have push more on the swimming part
Biking : 550 km, not too bad since spring is not here yet
Running : 165 km, considering the taper last week of the month I am happy with that volume
Now off we go for May :)
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