So in the true, Swim/Bike/Run triathlon fashion, here goes...
Swim: Well no miracle has occurred, I am still a terrible swimmer. I did received some "lessons" from my friends Kristin and Sara while we were all on vacation. I think they were surprised by my lack of buoyancy.
A little more valuable was a book that Kristin loaned me. It is a book on Total Immersion swimming. It is this movement on becoming a more efficient swimmer. So far I got a couple of good tips from it, but I thought I needed a few more pointers, so I decided to take swim lessons.
More on how not to sign up for a swim lesson tomorrow (if I don't drown in my first lesson tomorrow morning).
Bike: First things first, I bought a bike. Its a 2006 Lemond Reno. I got it at Village Cycle in Old Town. I went with a little cheaper bike than most I tried, but thus far I have been very pleased. The specs are as listed on the website, with the exception of Bontrager SSR wheels from the factory, and I put Look pedals and areobars on it. I also picked up some shoes and shorts. Yeah, it was a big $ night for me, but so far the "King of Buyer's Remorse" has been pleased with everything.
Although, my clips didn't work at spin class. I guess they are the "new" Look pedals.
I don't have a ton to say about Village Cycle. They are cheep, fast, with a huge inventory. Next time I will probably buy from a better shop with more support. I just found that most of the other shops didn't have good options for level entry. I just thought with this purchase I didn't know enough to spend a lot. Plus I wanted to get started training.
Which I have. I went out for a 38 mile ride on Sunday, going from my place north on Sheridan. Some of my biking friends said that was popular route among serious roadsters. What I learned on my ride Sunday is that they start in the suburbs. Lesson learned.
Moral of the story is the roads are better in the suburbs, and I was a little sore after riding the day after a big running race.
Run: Since the last update, I ran the 1/2 in Nashville, a 3.5 m JPMorgan Chase Corp Challange, and Soldier Field 10 Mile. In each of them I did pretty well. In the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville I set a PR at that distance by 10 minutes (although my previous 2 attempts were pretty lame). I met a guy from the University of Mississippi med school near the start and we ran the whole thing together. Finished in 1 hour 46 minutes (8:13 mile pace).
Last Saturday I ran the Soldier Field 10 Mile. It is one of my favorite races in Chicago. You run along Lake Michigan, South of downtown. It really has great views, and it is a well run race. Despite not really getting much sleep the week before due to work, I ran pretty well. I ran it in 1:19:14 (7:56 mile pace).
Other notes: Despite dropping their last four, the Cubs are only 6 games out of
first. I put that in because someone noted that I have their magic number posted here and thought it was pretty funny.
He should see me swim.
first. I put that in because someone noted that I have their magic number posted here and thought it was pretty funny.
He should see me swim.
This Week:
22 Lengths of the Pool
38 Miles Biking
13 Miles Running
Cubs 2-8 in last 10 games
3 comments:
I'm not sure how I feel about the implication that our "lessons" fell short of valuable. Regardless, I will confirm that we were shocked by your lack of buoyancy. In fact, Sara and I often find ourselves discussing the fact that you sunk straight to the bottom of the pool. We bring it up with all of our triathlon friends and so far no one has any good tips. We'll keep trying though:)
I was reading in your swim book that a lot of runners who are in the initial stages of training for a try run into this. That and I might have a weak kick. More on that later.
Where is your race report from last weekend's epic Oly tri? Your fans are waiting with bated breath.....
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