A Little Tri Training...

Yesterday morning, I went with my friend Diane and a group of gals down to American Fork to do a preview of the Women of Steel Triathlon course.  This triathlon takes place next Saturday.  Since my favorite Chalk Creek Bike ride got cancelled due to flash flood conditions and high winds, I thought I would tag along with them.  All of them are doing this Tri next Saturday.  I was the odd man out and just wanted to get out and do something.  We met at the American Fork Rec Center where the Tri will start and finish.

The pool was closed and all of us took a gander at it through the fence.  But the main focus was to check out the bike and run course.  The bike route was comprised of two 6 mile loops, and the run was one lap of about 3 miles. 

We all got on our bikes first and started out on the course.  I quickly took to the lead, partially because I was familiar with the area and partially because I'm such a strong rider; my sport of choice.  The course was done in a clockwise loop.  The first part there was the wind at your bike as your climbing a bit of a hill; not too bad.  I will admit it was pretty with a little cemetery and fields with horses grazing. 

As you turned the corner to come back, BOOM the wind hit you full on!  It was blowing pretty hard and cut down the speed we were riding.  The wind was a definite issue.  I did my usual making myself small and focus on the pedaling.  I built up a distance from the gals that had been keeping up with me.  It was almost with a sigh that I took the turn back to the start for a second loop.  We waited for all and then started the second loop.

This will be Alex's (in blue here) first Tri!

Next was the run, which was basically the same route as the bike but with an earlier turn.  I had changed into my running shoes and stripped down to a sports tank under my bike jersey.  It was getting a bit warm out but still pretty windy.  All of us waited and started out at the same time.  Quickly most of the gals passed me on the run; not my sport of choice especially when going up hill.  I've never been good running up hill even with the wind at my back.  I will admit that I managed to keep the gals within sight until the last turn when they still had the energy to sprint to the finish.  Not me!  I discovered after about 2 miles in that my darn butt cramp from last week came back.  There must be something about running that's making it come out.  Because I had managed to bike almost 60 miles this last week and had no problem with it.    

Ancient Chinese Secret....?

An old man looks solemnly onto his new recruit,
" Apprentice Grasshoppa, you have much to learn but let me tell you this ancient Chinese secret. The key to a quick recovery is plenty of stretching, water, and a good soak in a bath tub, preferably with Epsom salts.”

“Yes, Master Kemoswabi!”

Well, I survived another “Mini” Triathlon with my friend Diane. These have been fun to do at a slower and relaxed pace. We started our slow little triathlon at 7AM in the parking lot of Steiner Pool. We started with the bike ride, and we started to do a little climbing up towards the zoo. But soon we needed to turn around because Diane’s legs were not up to climbing after doing a 9 mile run the day before. Go figure! And here I thought I was the only Nuts-zoid! Well, we turned around and I lead the way for a flatter route. After about 11 miles, Diane was ready to head back but I was on fire to push myself some more. I had just come off of a day of rest; so I went on a little further and ended up getting 27 miles in. Diane was wonderful that she was willingly to wait until I got back from my little bit further bike ride.
(Photo: Myself and Diane before the bike ride.)

Well, the pool was not opened up yet. So we decided to go ahead and do the run after the biking. Even though, I was a little bit leery of having the swim at the end again. (I drank too much chlorinated water the last time.) But off on the run we went. Diane was the smart one. She turned around and did 2.6 miles. But me?!? Well, I was still “on fire” and I had to push it! I did 5 miles, and that was surpassing my longest run by a ½ mile. Not too shabby, but I did discover that it’s easier to run on a slight downhill than to run back up that same hill. (I wonder what Master Kemoswabi would have to say about this, hm?) I ended up walking about 4 blocks of the way back up the hill.

Diane was already enjoying the refreshing pool by the time I finished the run. In fact, she mentioned that she was about ready to come out and check on me. But oh, my brain was not operating at any kind of optimum, and my legs were a bit like noodles by this time. I stretched really well after the run. Finally after the third trip back and forth between the car and the pool, I had everything I needed. You know, I think there maybe a good correlation between hard exercise and dumbness!

The swim went relatively well which surprised me. It was easier this time; a good sign. Also, I didn’t drink as much pool water and I didn’t feel like I had 20 lb weights on my arms. Diane managed to do ¾ mile swim while I splashed my way through ½ mile. I need some more practice on my strokes. They are a bit sloppy to say the least. I might have to see about a class.

On the way home, I called Mom to let her know, again, that I didn’t die of a heart attack from the “mini” triathlon. Then, I calorie splurged on a Whopper with cheese and onion rings at Burger King drive thru. After snarfing down the fast food, I stretched some more. Then there was some more stretching, drinking of water, and a nice hot bath. In one triathlon book, it was mentioned to soak in a tub of hot water and Epsom salt. Well, I didn’t think table salt would fit the bill; so instead I added some lovely raspberry scented bubble bath. Then after the bubble bath, I did some more stretching.

Well, I’m feeling relatively good today. I think I might have discovered an “ancient Chinese secret”? At least I can hope that I've discovered a way to recover relatively quickly? But I’m taking it easy today, just in case. On another note, so far this month I've biked 364 miles, ran 16.25 miles, walked 6 miles, and swam 2 miles. Sheesh! That's a lot!

“Let me tell you something else, Grasshoppa.”
“Yes, Master Kemoswabi?”
“Woman on fire… you let her go and allow her to suffer the consequences. Do not get in the way. Otherwise, you risk life and limb.”
“A good thing to know, Master Kemoswabi!”

A BEAU-ti-ful Sunday Bike Ride!!

This last Sunday was a gorgeous day, and Chalk Creek is a beautiful area to ride a bike. I went out on a BCC (Bonneville Cycling Club) Ride. I rode with a couple of my Tri-buds and a new friend. Diane, Sofia, (the Tri-buds), Kim (new to cycling), and myself took it at a nice easy pace. Chalk Creek is a dead-end box canyon that has rolling hills. A couple of the hills are large and combined with the rollers can be a challenge to new cyclists but both Sofia, and Kim did very well. It took some doing but we even managed to get Kim to admit that she's "AWESOME!" towards the end of the ride. I was enjoying the easier pace--- in fact, we were bringing up the rear of the group of riders. But it gave me plenty of time to take plenty of pictures. But anyway, here's some pictures for you to enjoy....

(Photos: At top-Kim~alias~Ms.AWESOME,--Next-The Three-Sofia, Kim, & Diane,
Next 2 Below-A couple of scenery shots, More Shots- us with more scenery, Below that- At turn around point with Geo-Cache Box, Then- Another scenery with us.)