Two out of Three Aint Bad ~ BTC Duathlon & more

Are you there Blog? It's me, Marty.  (Anyone catch the obscure Judy Blume reference there? )
It's been ummm over a month since my last submission.... (Anyone catch the confessional reference there?)

Last month I wrote about "Where am I?"  My 1st quarter report on training and life.  Since that time I have been riding this roller coaster.  Filled with quite a few highs and lows.  

Let's touch on them a  bit here.  A triathlon has three physical components to it.  Swimming, Biking and then Running.  I am happy with 2 out of those three components.  Swimming and Biking.  Oddly enough running is what got me here to the world of tris and the one component I am currently nervous/afraid of.  I need to find my mojo with running again.  

I just am not happy with it.  I feel slow and sluggish.  I participated in a 5K the other day and my legs felt like bricks.  I did a Duathlon yesterday and was passed by an 80 year old man with 2 knee braces while pushing a double stroller and using a walker for himself.  Ok, maybe I am exaggerating here and we'll get into the Duo race report shortly, but this is how I feel.  So I am trying to work my way through and figure out what is up.  

Biking and swimming has been a joy.  Believe me not that I am excelling in either area to the degree I would like nor to say, I feel very proficient in them but I know I am better in both sports in relationship to IM Boulder compared to being this far away from IM Cozumel.  So I know I am ahead of the ballgame there.  Swimming....I plow through the water, not very efficient but my time per 100 yards keeps getting faster.  Riding.....I don't have the speed and a lower power threshold that I would like but I can sit on Bella for 5 to 6 hours and not even think twice about it.  And actually, I even enjoy it.  The enjoyment comes from meeting and riding with some great people with the Boulder Tri Club and training partners with EK Endurance and of course heeding the advise of Coach E.

Following my Demon Cortisol Blog last month the stress levels in my life have not decreased.  Actually probably only increased, particularly at work.  The increase work loads have caused my training consistency to suffer which rolls down to me spending less time with my boy.

With these stressors, I am trying not to allow them to affect me too much.  Meaning, I know this is a very real reason why I may be holding onto unwanted baby fat and not achieving the body composition I desire and have written about in earlier blogs.  I am holding strong to better eating habits and really working the life, training, work balance better than I have the past year.  This past week I have also been selected to be an ambassador for the Boulder Triathlon Club.  Basically, I will represent the club to the best of my abilities and be an ambassador of good will while wearing their uniform to the races I participate in.  

I am a little humbled by this.  People will see Boulder and Triathlon and have expectations for anyone wearing those colors.  I know I am not a fair representation of a boulder triathlete in the fashion that boulder triathletes are known for.  But as a man, as an entity, I will do the Boulder Tri Club proud.

And there you have it, my roller coaster.  Some good stuff, some not ideal stuff but always trying to live my life to the fullest and in the present and enjoying and taking it in as best as I can one moment at a time.

BTC Duathlon Race Report.

"Marty ~ you are 1 minute late" and that is how my day began.  Twenty minutes and a race briefing later about 30 of us toed the starting line and we took off.  I felt pretty good on the run and did this section at an 8:31 pace.  Actually a hair or two faster than I had wanted.  I was thinking 8:45 but I had watch troubles and was unable to set my Garmin properly for the race so I could not keep track of my pace while running and did this run section slightly ran faster than wanted.  Off to the bike, I was in about 24th place at this point.  While riding Bella, I was trying to reprogram my watch so I could see my power.  To no avail.  I would ride blind with no site of my time or power output.  I wasn't to thrilled with this. Then about 3 miles into the 15 mile bike section BAM, I busted something with my front derailleur and popped my chain.  Put the chain back on and couldn't figure out the derailleur so on the bike I went again.  Unfortunately, I could only ride the rest of the race in the lower ring and the Granny Gears.  Needless to say, the section I hoped to make up some ground, I actually lost a spot to someone while greasing up my hands and fixing my chain.  I was now about 25th and it stayed that way till the end.  Finally unsaddling Bella, I tried once again to set my watch while running.  About 1/2 mile into the dreaded off the bike run, I was able to finally get my watch straight.  I was running close to 10 min pace and about 1 mile into the run finally got my off the bike legs back into the running legs and clipped my time between 7:32 and 8:00 pace finishing strong with about a 9:22 pace for the second run.  I definitely need to work my off the bike run but was very happy with descending pace of my run.  

After the race, I was lucky to find someone to help fix my derailleur and I was off for a nice afternoon ride.  All in all, there were quite a few items that I could work on but at the end of the day, it was nice to get out there and shake some of the cobwebs off.  Next week will be the 1st Training Race Sprint Triathlon of the season.  With today's snow, I could only imagine how cold that water will be.

As I finish these words I am now 83 days 2 hours 1 minute and 45 seconds away from IM Boulder.  My second IronMan in 8 months in my first year of doing triathlons.  I can't wait!  What a wonderful wacky journey this will be.