My Swimming Continues...

I swam this morning and I'm making progress.  I remember going back in April (2012) for the first time and only being able to swim 1-1/2 laps in the 25 yard pool.  This was definitely going to be a killer for me in the triathlon world.  Today, 5 months later, I swam 40 laps continual in 28 minutes.  I normally try to swim an average of 2 times a week.  I've been keeping my head down more and bringing my hands to my waist/hip in the hand 'rotation'.  I seem to swim better in the 85 degree pool then the 78 degree pool.  I'm not sure if it's cold/heat on the muscles or just a mental thing.  It was a good morning workout.

Sandia Crest Bike Ride

This morning I left the house at 5:15am and arrived at the Tijeras, NM Post Office parking lot at 6:00am.  This is where I began my journey to ride to the top of the Sandia Crest (10,500+ Feet Elevation).  It was a pretty easy 2.5 mile ride to the bottom of Sandia Crest Road.  I began my trek...it was very difficult all the way up.  I was right at 15 miles all the up the hill.   Not many cars past me so it was a very safe ride up the hill.  It took my about 2.5 hours to make it to the top.  On the way, I saw plenty of wild turkey and many mule deer.  Of course the view was amazing!  I tried to hydrate myself all the way up.  At the top, I took a minute break to have a power bar and gel pak.  I started my way back down when I hit a small pot hole and my back tire pretty much blew out.  Fortunately I didn't wreck and I had a spare tube.  This was my first experience of changing a tire.  I sat on the side of the road and changed it pretty quickly.  Going down I rode the breaks because I scared of my spare tube.  I think it took me 25-30 minutes to make it all the way back down.  This was a goal I wanted to accomplish and I did...I'm a little sore, but it was a great great morning.

Almost there...10,400 feet

Mule Deer

My First Mini Triathlon

Today was my first Mini Triathlon.  It took place in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  I had to leave the house this morning at 5:00am.  I ate a Clif Bar and a Banana on the way.  I arrived at 6:15am where I picked up my race packet, grab bag, number, got "marked up", etc.  After that I placed my bike close to the exit of the transition area and put my racing shoes, running shoes, towel, helmet, etc. into place.  I then rode the stationary bike for about 5 minutes, and took a nice little jog around the parking lot.  The race began at 8am.

THE SWIM (4:30)
They lined us up in the order of our swim time we put on the application.  I think I might have guessed wrong because I was #9 out of 130 racers.  The #1 person was a guy that actually made the time trial for the 2004 Olympics (I think he swam his 200 yards in 1:56).  The swimming was definitely the hardest section for me.  I started out way too fast thinking I might get "swam" over if I didn't as we did a traditional serpentine swim down the lanes.  When I finished the 2nd lap I found out real quick that I was in a salt water pool because I took in about a gallon of water.  I was only half way finished when I was totally spent.  I haven't seen the video my coach recorded yet, but I know it wasn't pretty.  I felt like I was doggy paddling the last 2 laps.  I was just wanting to get out of the pool.  I did make it through the 'swim' and then made my way to the transition area where I put my socks, shoes, and helmet on.

THE BIKE (41:20)

I wasn't sure if I should wear gloves, but I did.  Mounted the bike and off I went on the 11.22 mile bike ride.  I was totally out of breath (trying to recover from the swim) but I kept on pushing.  The ride was up and down and had to shift gears often.  The last couple of miles was down hill which was very nice.  The one thing I noticed on the bike ride was the change of altitude (we were at 6700 feet).  As I came in to the transition area I had a problem trying to get my right foot out of my pedal but after that I walked into the area to put my bike away and put my running shoes on.

The Bike Elevation

THE RUN (26:53)
I was nervous about this transition but it actually felt pretty good.  I ran the 5k in about 28 minutes which wasn't too bad.  The run was pretty easy, it was up hill and then turned around and ran back down the hill for the second half of the race.

The 5k Run

 














I ended up finishing 2nd in my age and took home some hardware from my first triathlon. 
My total time was 1:16:14 minutes (200 yard swim, 11.4 Mile bike, 5k Run).  I felt great after the race and ready to do more!