Today was back in DC and a hot day. The link is here. With a time of 23:45 and a distance of 2.52 miles, the mile time was 9:25, which is not so bad given the number of stoplights at intersections (29). If the average pause at each light was only 2 seconds, then we're down to a time of 9:07. Not bad given how I just started running again last week.
18 July 2011
Today's run Monday July 18
14 July 2011
Today's run
I'm in Fort Lauderdale tonight, and ran from my hotel to the beach and then up A1A a ways. The route is here.
The total run time was 19:15, for a distance of 2.11 miles. This is a pace of 9:07 per mile, which is not so bad given I haven't run in a few weeks.
A lot has happened since I last wrote. I broke up with my Australian boyfriend. I'm pretty depressed right at the moment but these things are often transient.
03 May 2011
St. Anthony's Triathlon
Just two days ago I finished the St. Anthony's Triathlon, down in St. Petersburg FL. It's one of the biggest triathlons in the United States, with over 3,000 finishing this year. It's my first triathlon since I did the Hagerstown Triathlon back in the late 1980s: at least 23 years ago.
My time was 2:57:33, with the results broken down below ...
It was a great day for a race. We needed to be there by around 6 AM and it was very blustery then, so blustery that they shortened the course length for the swim, and moved the start and finish points for it as well. There was very low humidity, and it did not get too hot that day. There was a nice breeze, which really helped keep me cool during the run.
The entrants were broken out into about 30 categories, based on age, gender, pro, elite amateur, novice, etc. I was in the novice men's group, which was the very last group to start. While the first group started around 7:00 AM, we started at 9:20 AM.
By that point, the water was not so choppy and the wind had calmed down a bit. I am a very strong swimmer but not fast at all and do not have a good technique for freestyle, which is the fastest stroke. So instead I did breaststroke and sidestroke, and still finished faster than my training times in the pool. That's still not saying much as I came in like the bottom 10 percentile in the swim.
With the change in course for the swim, the finish point was about a half mile away from the transition area, where all the bikes are. The pathway to the transition area was a cement sidewalk, and unless you brought an extra pair of shoes or flip flops, you had to run it barefoot. I have problems running in shoes without prescription orthotics, so it was pretty painful for me and I injured my left heel. (Not too seriously - it healed a few days later.)
Extreme workouts make me a little stupid. When I mentioned this to a scientist friend, he said that the drop in glucose and electrolytes causes it. He said that the brain uses a lot of glucose, and that my muscles had taken it all. That explains my train of thought when I found my bike, with two pairs of shoes, socks, all laid out on top of a towel, and the helmet and gloves on the handlebars:
"Okay, there are two pairs of shoes. I'm going to bike now. Those closest ones are the biking shoes. They go on my feet. But first I have to put socks on. But before that, I need to clean off my feet. That's what the towel is for. But to do that I need to sit down. So I better sit down. Where do I sit down without getting dirt on my behind? ... etc." I literally had to think through putting on a pair of shoes with velcro fasteners.
The biking is easily my best sport and where I had my best time relative to the other male athletes my age. I passed dozens of people, maybe a hundred or more, and not one person passed me. That in itself is exhilarating, especially when I had a burst of energy and was going 23, 25 miles per hour.
The course for the ride and the run was mostly very beautiful. I had forgotten how nice St. Pete is in so many neighborhoods. It was certainly flat. The only hills were bridges over drainage canals. The race officials and police were pretty good about keeping vehicles off the road, with only one stretch where you had to share the road with cars (although the racers had their own lane).
Transition to the run went a little better, but by this point I was no longer fresh and my running pace slowed down pretty considerably from my normal training times. In hindsight, it was also obvious to me that I did not drink enough water or take in enough glucose drinks during the ride. I had two bottles with me, one with water and the other with energy drink. I probably would have done better if they were both energy drink.
For the run, there were water and gatorade stations every mile, and I took one or both at every mile. Maybe it was the placebo effect, but I swear I immediately felt better when I had the energy drink. By mile 4 or so, I actually got a bit of a second wind, and was able to run the last half mile or so, rather than the jog I had done most of the race. Three times during the run, I slowed to a walk for 30 seconds.
Throughout the race, but particularly with the run, the vibe was very up, very positive. Lots of families cheered us on, and lots of the charity teams also cheered everyone on. By the finish, it was quite warm, and it is always pretty emotional to finish. Here are my times broken out by event:
Swim (1,000 meters): 24:52
Transition: 9:29
Ride (40 km): 1:17:30
Transition: 3:28
Run (10 km): 1:02:14
You can look for yourself here and just enter my name.
Lots of lessons learned. Some that come to mind:
1. Bring an extra pair of shoes or slippers or something to run in. With triathlons on the open water, the swim course is often changed or shortened. With my feet the way they are, foot protection is pretty much essential.
2. As mentioned earlier, have electrolyte replacement in both water bottles. I don't think you can drink too much of that in this type of event, lasting two hours plus, especially in the heat and sun like last Sunday.
3. Train more. Training for each event only twice a week means training 6 days a week. I was lucky to do four trainings in a week. For four weekends before the race, I did no training.
4. Take swimming lessons. The swim was easily my worst time, and the one where I can make the best improvement. Getting the mechanics of the freestyle stroke right will go a long way.
5. Get more bike equipment, especially the handlebars for a more horizontal position like shown here.
Even though it wasn't too windy, I could feel it often during the ride, especially when I sat more upright while drinking.
6. Next on the equipment list would be a device to allow me to drink while in that more tucked position. I'm thinking of something like this.
7. Ride more. I could probably build my speed up considerably.
I'm not sure if the bug has bitten me hard yet for triathlons, but it sure has for biking again. Race bikes? Hmmm.
08 April 2011
First run in Burkina Faso: Fada N'Gourma
The map is here ... it was a distance of 3.282 miles or 5.282 km in a little less than a half hour. The run was last week and I started about 7 in the morning. Lots of people looking at the white guy running. All kinds of people out at that time - probably half were kids going to school.
I started and ended at the Hotel Panache, and ran as far as the air strip south of town. Here's a map:
I did another run from the safari - I'll try to map that one out as well.
23 March 2011
Burkina Faso
This Friday I am taking a trip to West Africa, to Burkina Faso. My niece is in the Peace Corps there and I will be staying with her.
I'm pretty excited about it. I haven't been there before, and it looks like we're doing a side trip to Mali.A good friend of mine lives in Bamako and we're hoping to meet up while I'm there ...
NIH
Today was my annual appointment with NIH. I've been involved with them for 25 years now, starting in the autumn of 1986. For many years now, it's just been an annual visit. I have been involved in many protocols there over the years, and of course I've gone through a lot over all these years. Going there is a bit emotional ...
Then of course there is the fasting blood draw. Just so you know, I typically have a BIG breakfast first thing in the morning. We're talking orange juice, coffee, egg whites, toast, yogurt, and maybe some cereal. So for NIH, I'm not able to eat, and then I also need to get up early in order to be there by 8:00 AM. (By contrast, I typically make it into work around 9:00 to 9:30 AM.)
Swim
This evening I made it to Wilson Aquatic Center: first time I went during the week, in the evening. It was more crowded than on the weekend. The first lane I chose was simply too crowded. There were six or seven people in the lane. I chose another, which still had five or six in it, but was able to have enough space to swim.
My time for the 1500 was 41:57, doing mostly the breaststroke with some sidestroke.
20 March 2011
Pre-cherry blossom run
Another wonderful day - sunny but cooler than yesterday. It was 46F when I ran, but with a light breeze. The course I ran is here and the distance was 6.1536 miles or 9.9033 km - just under a 10 k. The time was 51:05, which comes out to a pace of 8:18 for the mile and 5:09 for the km. Not bad at all.
Full disclosure: I stopped the clock two or three times while waiting at stop lights. The wait time was not more than a minute, so if you want to count that, then if 8:28 for the mile and 5:15 for the km.
19 March 2011
Country bike ride
Today I went to my brother's place and had a great ride. It was sunny and fairly warm - about 56, but also very windy. The route was fun and it's here. It's almost 23 miles, 37 km.
It's also shown below.
16 March 2011
Mid-week run
13 March 2011
Sunday run at WDW, short bike earlier in the week
I went to Florida this weekend to visit with family, and on Sunday 3/13 went on a run on the Disney campus, starting at the Shades of Green resort. The route is here.
It was warmish, about 78F, and I started around 4:30 PM. The sun was bright but getting a little lower in the sky. It was not an ugly run at all. The distance was 4.5788 miles or 7.3688 km., done in a time of 42:03. That's a pace of 9:24 for the mile and 5:51 for the km. Not that great, but I was feeling pretty full, and stopped twice to burp (of all things). The full feeling definitely slowed me down. So did the relative heat. Excuses excuses.
No bike or swim ... it's a family visit.
Last Wednesday March 9 I did about 8 miles on the bike at lunchtime. Just two laps around Hains Point.
07 March 2011
Today's mid-day run
06 March 2011
Swim time, comparisons
It's been a pretty rainy day all day today, so no biking this weekend. I did get up to Wilson Aquatic Center and did the 1500 meters in a time of 43:05. I'm not pushing off, and I took few breaks. Almost all of it was breast stroke, with a bit of sidestroke and backstroke to break up the monotony a little.
Looking at what folks last year did at the St. Anthony's triathlon, this is pretty slow. Like really slow. The median time for the swim for men my age group was around 33 minutes. However, I do much faster than the median for both the biking and the running. The average pace for my age group for the ride was about 19 mph, and the run was over a 9 minute mile. Given how I have not done them all contiguously, I am sure my race time will be lower than the standalone time.
I don't have a precise time for the biking yet because I have not yet been on an open course for the entire length. That will be a goal for the ride two weeks from now.
05 March 2011
Front Runners Short Run
This morning (Saturday), I had a very small breakfast and was able to get to the DC Front Runners Saturday morning run, which starts around 10:15 right near the Taras Shevchenko statue. There were maybe 40 or 50 people there; most run more than the 3 mile distance I did. Apparently I got a good start, and was able to keep up a fairly good pace. The distance turned out to be 3.0646 miles / 4.9321 km. Time was 24:47, which works out to a speed of 8:05 mile and 5:01 km. Not bad at all, but I was pushing it a bit. I have a slight bit of exercise-induced asthma (poorly controlled cough, a bit of tightness below the throat) from the run which should be gone in a few hours - it's almost gone now. The weather is cloudy and coolish, about 50F or 10C, and all I was wearing was shorts and a t-shirt. I think the faster time and the cool weather caused it.
Map for the distance is below; link is here.
02 March 2011
Short run during the week
This evening I did a fairly short run; you can see the route here. Distance was 3.1325 miles or 5.0412 km. The time was 27:07, so my speed tonight was an 8:39 mile or 5:23 km. The weather was not bad - maybe in the 50s, with a fair wind, maybe 10 mph, mostly out of the northwest.
I just checked the time that I did last Sunday, and the speed was exactly the same as tonight's, to the second! Isn't that funny!
27 February 2011
Mission Accomplished Part II
I did the ride in the posting mentioned below - the link is here and the map (with distance in km) is shown above. The idea was to do 40 km., the distance for the triathlon, and I got close enough. I didn't track the time, but when I was on the open road on Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park, I was averaging near 20 mph or higher.
Riding in the city and along the bike trail is pretty slow: lots of debris on the trail, as well as lots of traffic: walkers, runners, other bicyclists.
Once you get a fair bit above the National Zoo, you can go faster. On the weekends, much of Beach Drive is closed to automobile traffic. There are lots of walkers, runners, and bicyclists. Many of the bikers are families with very young children: I think it's great for families to do that kind of thing together.
Still the road is a quite-wide two lanes, so it's easy to get up some speed along the way. There was a bit of a breeze from the South. The road surface on Beach Drive is pretty good for the most part, so I was able to get some real speed: up to 23 mph on flats, and close to 27 mph on the few smallish downhills.
I got a latish start, after 4PM, but made it back before 6PM.
Mission Accomplished Part I
Just finished doing the run I laid out yesterday - you can see it here. I didn't get to do it with the Front Runners - they run on Sundays at 9 AM - as I took too long making breakfast. I rode my bike there around 11 AM. The time for the run was 54:17, and with the actual distance at 10.097 km or 6.274 miles, my speed was 5:23 per km or 8:39 per mile. I'm really happy with those times.
Several weeks ago, I bought a watch that works with a heart monitor that is strapped around the chest. For most of the run, my heart rate was right under the 85% range, at around 140 beats per minute. Going up some hills, it would spike a little, as high as 150 and 155.
I'm taking a break right at the moment, getting some fluids and food in me, and then plan to ride. It has turned into a spectacular day.
26 February 2011
Front Runners Sunday?
Here's the run I want to do on Sunday: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4314229 . DC Front Runners does long distance runs every Sunday morning at 9 AM and the course is along the Rock Creek Park trail. I've laid out a course that's a 10 km distance. I'll let you know if I get the run in.
Yesterday the route I ran with Betsy is here and the distance is 4.6393 miles or 7.4663 km. The time was 48:57 (?) which means times of 10:33 per mile and 6:33 per km. On Friday it was extremely windy - I'm talking solid winds over 30 mph out of the west and northwest - as well as a sudden downpour and a few stoplights, so it's not that bad of a time.
20 February 2011
30 Mile Ride
Today the weather was typical, I guess, for February in DC. The temperature this afternoon when I rode was about 45, and it was a hazy sun when I started, and clouded over completely as I rode.
Laps at Hains Point, the whole distance was a nice 30 miles. I broke the 100 mile mark on the odometer, so I can take the bike in for free servicing. I need a longer stem for the handlebars, and the seat maybe raised a little.
The ride itself was good. I probably averaged around 18 or 19 mph. There was little wind, maybe slightly from the north and west. I had a water bottle with me for the first time, and drank almost the whole thing. I was faster than everyone else riding today, except one guy passed me as I left the course to head back home. He was fast, probably going 20 or more.
18 February 2011
Another great run, with a good time too
DC is having a real warm spell today, with the high over 75. Pretty amazing for February. It was sunny with a light breeze.
The run today - http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/
The distance is 5.3792 miles or 8.6571 km, and I did it in a time of 48:30. That's a pace of 5:36 per km or 9:01 per mile. That's pretty much the same pace I had 4 years ago, so that's encouraging. And the temperature was 75!
This weekend is forecast to be much cooler, and for Saturday, extremely windy, with gusts to over 50 mph.
14 February 2011
Today's run
The weather today was spectacular - we ran at lunch and it was 63. Very windy, though, but that didn't really hurt us at all. It was a total of 4.911 miles done in 50:30, or a 10:17 mile. The route is here: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4291085
13 February 2011
Slow progress
Last Wednesday I rode with the running partner; we did 4 miles. Didn't get a serious bike ride in this weekend, but did the ride on the left and swam 1,500 meters at Wilson Aquatic Center. (The route is here: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4289724 )
Last Sunday went to the new Arena Stage and saw The Arabian Nights. Great production.
07 February 2011
Progress on all fronts
Yesterday I got in two events: swam 1500 (or 1600) meters at Wilson Aquatic Center in Tenleytown. (I lose count of the laps.) I was slow as I did not have goggles and didn't want to lose my contacts, so I only did the breast stroke and side stroke. It took about 45 minutes, and I was pretty tired (and famished) when I was finished. I had some chores to take care of, so I couldn't ride the bike right away. About two hours later, I got on my bike and rode (only) 15 miles. I didn't have the time to do 20 but at least I got the ride in.
This morning when I woke up my right knee was sore. I'm sure it was from doing the frog kick with the breast stroke. Took two Aleve and that really helped. By later in the day it was feeling even better, so I'm sure it's nothing more than overwork.
This afternoon I rode with my running partner and we did almost 4 miles. Here is the course, thanks to gmap-pedometer.com . Wednesday we hope to do a lunchtime bike ride ...
30 January 2011
Another twenty one miles
I got out and did another 5 laps around Hains Point and the odometer says I did 21 miles. It was a nicer day but worse road conditions as there was still a lot of ice on the road around East Potomac Park, and the roads were wet in a lot of places as well.
But it was sunny, warmer, and winds were calm. Maybe 40 degrees. My average speed was much higher as I could get over 20 and 22 quite often, and the speed never dropped below 15. Most of the time I was probably riding 17 18 19 mph.
Last week there were few bicyclists out: just one group of five that blasted past me on one lap. I then caught up with them as we approached Hains Point, and then past the Point, the just shot ahead of me again. Drafting helps a lot.
Today, too, there were few bicyclists, but lots more runners than last Sunday. There were a total of five bicyclists, and I easily passed every one of them today.
Still getting used to the clipless pedals. I need to take the bike into the shop and get the shoes adjusted. I need to buy a water bottle bracket as well, and a rear light.
If anyone rides or is training and sees this, please comment or send an email. I would LOVE to have a training partner, for any of the three sports.
29 January 2011
Triathlon training: beginning
Two weeks ago today, I bought a 2010 Scott Speedster S30, my first road bike in years. Last Sunday was the first time I went on a real ride, with shoes for the pedals and everything. I have never worn shoes for clipless pedals, so I spent some time leaning against a wall, just putting them in and pulling them off the pedals. After maybe ten minutes of practicing, I set off and within one block fell over. There are lots of stop lights in Washington, and I found out I have to pull a foot out well before when I need to stop.
I rode 20 miles on it, mostly laps at Hains Point. It was well below freezing with winds from the NW at 20-30 mph. Going with the wind was fun, almost scary. I was able to go over 25 mph. Going against the wind was another story. Then, it was hard to go 15.
Still I did it and am proud of it. Because of work and chores, I haven't been back on since. I hope to get some time on the bike tomorrow.
01 January 2011
Happy New Year!
The best to all in the newest of the year 2011! I started it out by running - here's the route -
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4210781
Just over 6 km, almost 4 miles, in really nice weather for January. One of my resolutions this year is to get more fit. This means to keep up the gym and do another "big" thing like a marathon or triathlon. Right at this moment, I'm leaning toward the triathlon.