Results of the 2009 SDRC Splash N' Sprint Triathlon - 1:11:35

This morning I got there and found out that they had put me as the first swimmer in the water in this Interval start triathlon. I told them 4:30 was my seed time which was a little aggressive cause I ended up doing it in 5:00.

I made three errors in this tri and the first one was pretty minor, but cost me a couple seconds is all: When I jumped in feet first (per the direction given me), I went to the bottom which was only about 7 feet deep. I tried pushing off the wall, but I was at the bottom and the walkway barrier thing didn't go all the way to the bottom, so when I pushed off the wall, there was no wall to push off, so needless to say the guy behind me was right on my tail from the start. After 300 yards he touched my toes and I let him pass me. Then at 350 I thought he was getting out and I didn't really think it through, so I ran into him. Not bad at all, but he stopped for a sec and looked at me. I said sorry at transition and told him I thought we were getting out right there next to the door. Instead we got out on the far end of the pool and had to walk over to the exit door.

At transition I simply put on my jersey, shades and helmet and took off. I passed the guy in transition and immediately made my way on the bike course. I was going at a very good pace and every 10 minutes or so I looked back and didn't see a soul, so my biking was good. At the very last turn, I wasn't absolutely sure it was the right turn. There were some race volunteers there at the corner helping people just starting to make the right turn. I wasn't sure if I needed to go one more block or turn here so I yelled out: Do I turn here to go back? They said "we don't know they didn't tell us". I didn't see any arrows painted so I kept going. After a block I still didn't see any arrows so I cut in and made my way back to the route. I wasted probably 1 minute or so off my time trying to figure out how to get back. So that was my second error. It was annoying.

I looked back and there was a fairly good pack behind me about 200 yards. My GPS shows my stats as:

Distance: 13.4 miles
Time: 36:30
Average Speed: 22.03 mph

When I transitioned to the run I hurried to get my socks and shoes on and then my race belt and took off. I ran south to 400 S when the guy behind me yelled out: "Dude! We're going the wrong way". Just then I realized that the run course went around behind the building instead of straight to the road. I must have passed nearly a dozen volunteers right there at transition who saw me and didn't say a thing. I wasted about 1 minute on that one too. I was tired at the start of the run and my calves felt a little tight, but not too bad. My pace to start wasn't good at all, but slowly it picked up. We had to head North to Pages lane, then east to 400 E and then south to 400 S. There was a slight uphill grade for the second half and it was tough. Coming down 4th south at the end was nice as it was downhill. I was passed only twice by runners (besides the 5 that didn't screw up the run transition and were already ahead to begin with). My run time was about 26 minutes.

My overall time was 1:11:35. I wanted less than 1:15 so I at least did that. But was hoping for close to a little over an hour. I took 8th place out of about 100 or so people. If I didn't make those errors I would have got down to around low 1:10. And probably placed in the top 3. Before my second error I was ahead by probably a couple minutes. Triathlons are a great deal about mental focus at transition times especially and I goofed up big time on this race.

I'm a little bugged that the race volunteers didn't know the course to help doofus' like me. I also thought the 2nd watering station was very badly placed (only about 300 yards from the finish line). Why not put it 300 yards into the run! Not just before finish when people are sprinting and not going to stop/slow down for a drink!

I'll probably skip this race next year. Sprints are too short. Especially when the swim is half of what it should be. Sprints are typically half of an olympic distance and an olympic distance is 1500 M which should be about an 800 yard swim for sprint distance, not 400. That takes a little away from my advantage. Oh well. I got a good workout today anyway, and plan to go for a 50 mile bike ride later this afternoon, as well as taking Jacob on a 3 mile run at sundown.

Next up... Utah Summer Games. Time to get in the pool!

Fully Recovered

This morning I discovered that my ankle and knee strains have fully recovered and I'm at 100%. No more limping/tenderness or pain! Feels good. I was getting a little nervous about this weekend's sprint tri. But I should be fine. This morning's ride was fast. No drafting today, but no wind either, so that was good:

Distance: 30.6
Time: 1:28
Average Speed: 20.9 mph
Max Speed: 30.2 mph

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The ride home was a little windy, but not too bad.

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:31
Average Speed: 20.1
Max Speed: 29.8 mph

Drafting

This morning as I started my ride and neared the end of Bluff Road, I saw three bikers merge onto Gentile about 200 yards ahead of me. I thought to myself, I'm going to catch them and draft for a bit. So I caught them at 3200 W and Gentile and they turned on 2200 W where I normally go. They followed the same path I normally take clear until 350 E and Shepherd Lane in Farmington. I drafted off them for about 6 miles.

I didn't feel so bad cause the guy in the lead had thighs almost the size of my waist. I was surprised though that these serious guys were only going about 21.5-22.0 mph. Their cadence was really high. Personally, I don't understand why such a high cadence. I like going into a lower gear and get a slower rhythm going with more power rather than spin like mad.

Anyhow I enjoyed the break and the rest of the way I was on my own. There was little to no wind to deal with the entire ride and was able to get to work in a really good time:

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:25
Average Speed: 21.6 mph
Max Speed: 30.6 mph

Very good ride. My left ankle and my right knee are much better after that ride! They don't hurt at all while riding, but once I get off they're still a little tender. I'm probably at 65% right now. Hoping that taking a break from running this week will get them healed up for this weekend's SDRC Sprint Tri. I'm probably not going to swim at all this week either given that I need to ride in to work tomorrow as well.

The first two weeks in June I will NOT be riding in to work at all since I need to really step the swimming up for the Utah Summer Games the third week in June. My goal is to put in at least 25K yards per week for the first two weeks in June and then taper for the games on June 18-19th. That should be a fun trip. Three days off work and spending time with the kids down in Cedar City. Should be lots of fun.
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The ride home also involved a little drafting. I caught up to a guy just getting on the Legacy trail from Redwood Road. He drafted off me for about 1 mile then he took the lead. I drafted for a couple miles and he motioned for me to take the lead. I did so, but after a couple minutes didn't see him in my wake. So I just kept the same pace. About 5 minutes later I saw his shadow next to mine so I picked it up just a bit so he could push it right behind me. After leading for about 10 minutes I slowed up and he went next to me and asked, "Where's the motor?". I asked him where he was going and he said Layton. I told him I was heading to Syracuse. He then took the lead for about 10 minutes at a pace of about 20mph. I was feeling like 22 was a more comfortable pace so I took the lead again. I slowly worked up to that pace so I could keep him close. But he dropped off and I never saw him after that.

I was able to fight the headwind and maintain a pretty good speed at the same time. Felt very good.

Distance:30.6
Time: 1:28
Avg Speed:20.8 mph

Neighborhood ride

This afternoon I made a few calls and left messages and didn't expect quite a good turnout on a holiday. Matt Yeates, Chad Frew, Jason Bremer, Ron Snow and myself went out to the end of the causeway and back. It was nice having a large group. This is a new personal record of going with a group of 5. Got some decent speed going even with a pretty good wind from the West.

Distance: 24.6 miles
Time: 1:11
Average Speed: 20.8 mph
Max Speed: 29.8 mph

Very nice ride. Lots of bugs. Thank goodness for the bug shield I have around my neck which I very easily move up over my mouth and nose. Had a concern about passing since I've never had anyone really explain to me cycling etiquette. I found that I was passing on the right to take the lead, but didn't feel that was correct after I had made the maneuver. I did tell Matt "Passing on the right" and then took the lead. After that though I passed on the left when taking the lead. That felt more safe so I'll be doing that from now on. Here's a pretty good page with some basic etiquette which is good to follow.

Results of the 2009 Syracuse Memorial Day Half Marathon - 1:45:59

So a new milestone has been reached. My first official Half Marathon race. I could hardly sleep last night I was excited for it. I wasn't nervous just anxious to start. Last night Jacob said he wanted to do it so we woke him and took him with us to register for it last minute.

When we got there we saw Dan and Liz Yardley from our Fruit Heights ward. It was nice to see them again.

At 6:45 they started the half marathon runners. I started my stop watch as soon as I crossed the starting line (only about 25 feet from the front of the pack).

Here's the map of the course:


I stayed right behind Tiffany Gallup and Cathi for the first 2 miles and afterwards either they slowed up a bit, or I felt more energy so I went ahead for just a bit. About 4 miles into it Cathi comes up and passes me and increases my pace. We stayed together from 4 - 8. My MP3 player quit working after 3 miles and the new battery wouldn't work either so I only got 2 songs before I was without it. I then used my breathing to help pace myself. I wasn't too disappointed not having tunes.

When I turned around at the top of the trail and started heading back I was still feeling good. When I got down to mile 10 I was a little worried. I was feeling pain in my ankles and a little in my right knee. I put up a mental block of the pain and kept the pace. The last mile was tough. I picked up the pace and started to get stabbing sharp pain in my right knee, but I again put up a mental block and within a couple minutes I brought it back down as the pain was gone. I sprinted the last stretch heading north on the path. I had a very strong finish.


I stopped my watch at the finish to get my actual time: 1:45:59. I wanted to get under 2:00 and I definitely did that. My overall pace was 8:01/mile which is way faster than what I did at the Stansbury Triathlon last Saturday. So I feel great that I didn't absolutely kill myself and leave nothing for this race. I had a great race and very happy with that time.

Cathi was a few minutes behind me and she ended with 1:49:37. She took first place for her age group (30- 39) and got a medal. Jacob got 2:17:01 and took first place for his age group (10 and Under). He was getting high fives and lots of encouragement for many runners. Only a couple kids his age were entered and he ran nearly the whole thing. He was so tough. Tiffany did good. She seemed a little disappointed with her time though. Liz Yardley ran it too. It was nice to see her and Dan and their kids. It was her first half too.

Overall a very good race. Next up: SDRC Sprint Triathlon this Saturday

My results at the 2009 Stansbury Triathlon

Our family slept over at Diana and Brendon's in a tent in their backyard. It was fun. We watched "Lil Rascals" projected on to the side of their house last night. The kids loved it and ate popcorn. I slept great last night in a sleeping bag in our tent. Got up naturally just before my alarm went off at 6:30.

Went in got ready, had some quick breakfast and headed over and got my timing chip and setup my transition area. Met up with Duane and Brian and Teri. Brian, Duane and I all started at the same time. I positioned myself right at the front by the buoy and when they said "Go", I started my stopwatch.

I was planning on bilateral breathing, but I ended up just breathing on the right side. I was disappointed with that cause I like to think that I'm now a fully converted bilateral breather, but this just goes to show that I'm still naturally a right side breather. Anyhow there were about a 9 people ahead of me that stayed ahead. My goggles were very foggy that I couldn't see the red buoy's very well off in the distance but as I got closer, realigned. Felt great on the swim and when I got out I looked at my watch and it just turned over to 20 minutes. That's great!
I was aiming for anything less than 30 minutes.

On my way back to the bike I stripped off the wetsuit fully and threw it over to Cathi who had my bag. The transition to the bike was very fast, just as I practiced at the SDRC clinic a few weeks ago. The bike course was flat and was just a four turn per lap course. I turned on my GPS just as I left the transition area and I fully got satellite connection after probably a half mile into it. According to my GPS:

Distance: 26.1 miles(not accounting for satellite acquiring time)
Time: 1:07
Average Speed: 23.2 mph
Max Speed: 29.8 mph

I was a little over zealous hoping for less than an hour on the bike. I was passed by about 15 bikers (All of them with the goofy beak helmets). And I passed about 30 people during the second lap who were all from the Sprint race.

When I transitioned to my run I looked at my watch and it said 1:31. When I got to the start of the run my watch said 1:33. During the run it was still a little cloudy, but I could tell the cloud cover was minimal and felt the heat of the sun coming through. My mouth was dry and at every aid station I took advantage of it. During the run I also thought about the half marathon I'm running on Monday (in two days) and kept telling myself to save something for that race. I didn't want to push it and be crippled for Monday. So I held back just a little.

I saw Duane, Brian and Teri during the run and they all seemed to be going strong and we shouted encouragement to each other each time. I saw Cathi and the kids all shouting for me about 50 yards from the finish line and I immediately jumped into sprint mode and ran for my life across the finish. I stopped my watch at the finish line and it came up with 2:24:52. That meant my 10K run was done in about 52 minutes. I was aiming for less than an hour. So I was pleased with that.

I was impressed with this race. It was flat. The turns were well laid out and the path from swim to bike transition was fully paved so I didn't need to worry about wearing shoes or flip flops for that portion. The aid stations were well manned and supplied. The only thing that concerned me is that some people after the race were exiting the transition area out of the bike-in gate where there weren't any race staff checking numbers. Most people went out of the bike out section where there were two or three number checkers. I'd be more concerned if my bike weren't on the low end of the value scale for those road bikes I saw. If someone wanted to risk a felony stealing a bike, they'd pick something that cost a few thousand more than mine.

Anyhow. Teri took second place in her age group for the Sprint distance. She was so happy and it was cool to see her get that. I took 9th in my age group out of 17. With this being my first one, I'm just glad that I was able to meet my run and swim goal. My bike goal was a little lofty, but now I know and can set a more reasonable goal for next time. Still, 23.2 mph average is dang good for me, so I'm not beating myself up over it. And if I ever get one of those goofy beak helmets, feel free to give me a good punch in the arm.

Here are the official results.

Cathi used Teri's camera for pictures, so I'm at her mercy on getting those pictures emailed to me which I will then add to this post.

Christmas all over again AND my first tumble

So on the way home on my bike I stopped to see Dale at his Bikewagon warehouse. He gave me 5 bibs and 2 jerseys for free. They were slightly used, but still in excellent condition. I was so excited. These were quality items. He said he got them at a swap meet for $20 and already gave away half of them. I was very pleased.

Then in Woods Cross on the Legacy Parkway bike trail I was coming up to a bicyclist who was going the same direction. He was on the right side and was slowing down. He was looking a little to the right so I thought he was going to stop and take a moment to rest or something. It was an older guy on a mountain bike. He reminded me of my dad. So he didn't come to a complete stop. As I was about to pass him he immediately turned left and blocked the entire path. It had just rained a few minutes before so the path was still a little wet. I yelled "Excuse me!", but it was too late, I couldn't go in front of him, or behind him. He didn't even look before doing the U-turn. I was able to slow down a bit, but not completely and I hit his rear tire. I was more concerned for my bike than me at the moment.

I don't remember how I landed, or if/how my feet got out of the clips, but I remember going over the top of my handle bars and my bike went with me. I remember landing in a tucked position and rolled without much impact. My shoes were unclipped at the end and I was a little muddy. I hit my shin on the handle bars, but not bad. No blood, no damage to either bike and he was still standing there kind of in shock. "Are you OK?". He felt dumb (as well he should have). I asked him a couple of times if he was OK and looked at his back tire to see if any spokes were bent or anything. I spun my front tire to see if there was any damage to my bike. Nothing. I said, "That could have been alot worse". Well then, See you later, and took off.

I was angry, but he got off easy. I didn't give him any retaliatory words except the tone in my voice when I said "Excuse me" when I was just about to hit him. Hopefully more people realize that the bike path has a line in the middle for a reason. The path should be considered a road. They need to stay on the right side of the road, when not passing, and should do a u-turn after looking behind them.

Distance: 30.6
Time: 1:30
Average Speed:20.4 mph

Trying to smear the farmer's tan line

I definitely have a line on my upper arms where the end of my jersey comes to. When I take off my shirt, I have a "farmer's tan". It looks really dumb. Well - my singlet equmen shirt came yesterday so I'm going to start wearing that (especially when it's been getting so warm now outside) to hopefully move that line up to my shoulders where the singlet is. I guess it doesn't matter cause the only time I take my shirt off in public is when I'm swimming, and nobody cares anyway, except me.

This morning's ride went well. Had a slight headwind most of the time, but not too bad:

Distance 30.6 miles
Time: 1:34
Average Speed:19.5 mph

Bike ride after 8 mile run

My legs were so stiff! I was feeling low on energy and only had about 2 hours to do anything so I went on a ride out to the end of the causeway and back on Antelope Island. Stats:

Distance: 25.0 miles
Time: 1:18
Average Speed: 19.1 mph

The wind was coming pretty strong from the West so the first half was kind of slow, but I was able to really get some good speed coming back. I'm going to be so sore tomorrow. I'm glad it's Sunday!

Next week I need to swim at SDRC cause they're taking the bubble down at Layton.

2009 Ogden Marathon

This morning Cathi got up real early to go catch the bus for the Ogden Marathon. I got up at 5:30 and started my walk from the finish line at 6:30 am. I got to Pineview dam (mile 18.5) at 9:00. I was expecting Cathi around 9:45. But she was there at 9:30! She was at a faster than normal pace.

We started the downhill portion of the marathon. Cathi was not having fun. The last couple marathons she felt energized the whole time, but on this one she was whining. She stopped to walk a few times between miles 20 and 26, but not for very long. I was trying to get her to keep running, but she wasn't going to put up with my orders. She still got a very good time. Had she kept running she probably would have got a Boston Qualifying time, but who knows. She got a time of 3:51:38. Here are the timing results.

I was sore from yesterday's fast 5K, and from walking uphill for 6 miles, but was able to stay ahead of Cathi and keep her going. This was not her favorite Marathon this time cause she was just so beat and tired. Next race.... Syracuse Half Marathon. This time we get to run together!

Results of the Bluffridge 5K

Austin, Jacob, Lucy, Jonas and myself were there at the starting line at 5pm. Cathi went on an errand and was late to the start. I packed her number with me so when I saw her at the end I could just give it to her. I was about 10 feet behind the first row of people at the start. I started my stopwatch just as I crossed the starting line so I could get an accurate timing just for me. I was able to get a comfortable pace after about 250 yards of passing little kids.

By the time I got to mile 1 my mouth was dry and parched. I passed up the first watering station (so did everyone else in front of me which were about 20 people at this point). The route weaved in and out of residential roads North of the school. We made our way to Antelope which was the turn around point. At that point I grabbed a cup of water quickly downed a few swallows and threw the cup away. All I needed was something to relieve the pain of my dry throat. I was able to pass a few people in front of me.

When I got to mile 2, I felt like walking but Hayden Buchi was only 30-40 yards ahead of me. When I got to around 2.5 mile. Hayden was walking and I caught him. He saw me coming up from behind and kept walking. I was expecting him to start running again. When I got up to him I said, "C'mon Buddy, let's go", so we ran the rest of the way together until we got to about 50 yards from the finish where we turned the last corner. We both sprinted. Man that boy has some long legs! He ended up beating me by about 15 yards.

I checked my watch at the 1 mile, 2 mile and I was very pleased to see my mile splits coming in at low 7 minute. I knew I would slow during the third mile. But I ended up keeping that pace thanks to Hayden. So I ended up with a shocking time of 21:14. I wanted to simply get 22:30 with a high visionary goal of low 22. I killed my ultimate goal by a minute! I couldn't believe that time! So here I am and I just entered the route into mapmyrun.com, and sure enough, it wasn't a full 5K. It came up as a 3.04 mile run. If that were a full 5K, my time resulted in a 6:50/mile pace. That's unbelievable for me! So here's the map.
Still 21:14 for 3.04 miles is a 6:59 pace which would have got me around 21:41 had it been the full 5K.

I'm struggling with counting 21:14 as a new 5K PR, but I ran my butt off! So I'm going to take that pace and calculate 21:41 as my new PR. I don't want to throw out the entire results of that race, just cause it wasn't exact!

At any rate, I took first place for the 18-39 category. I wouldn't have counted on that in a million years. I'm very pleased with my results.

After the race I laid down on the grass for a minute to catch my breath, then saw Austin cross the line a couple minutes later. I stopped my stopwatch so I didn't get his time, but I think it was less than 25 minutes. Jacob came in about a minute after that.

Then Cathi came, she started about 15 minutes after the start, but she kept her own time on the watch so that was good. Her time was 23:45 (7:49 pace). But given the distance that would have been around 24:17 or so. Lucy came after that. Jacob and I started walking back trying to find Jonas. We ran/walked all the way back to mile 2, no sign. So we ran back. Apparently he came just ahead of Cathi and Lucy and we missed him. That little kid is a real live version of Dash, the superfast superkid!

I sure hate downtown intersections

My average speed was built up to 21.7 until I got to Redwood Road and I-215. Then I noticed a slight headwind and then starting hitting every stoplight. When I got to North Temple and 900 West my average speed was down to 21.5. I hit every stoplight from there on. When I pulled in to Tomax parking lot, my average was at 21.0 mph. Man I hate slowing down and stopping for traffic. They're ripping up 200 S so I have to take the sidewalk for a block.

Distance: 30.8 Miles
Time: 1:28
Average Speed: 21 mph

I shouldn't complain, 21 isn't that bad. Why is it though that I get a headwind both ways? Wind goes North in the morning and south in the afternoon.

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The ride home was even better! There was no wind at all until I got to Farmington and then it was actually going North for a change! My speed was much faster than I wanted. I have a 5K tomorrow and wanted my legs to not have any strain at all on this ride so I was planning on going slow, which wasn't the case:

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:25
Average Speed: 21.6 mph

5K trial run - 22:09

So I have the Bluffridge 5K this Friday afternoon. I didn't run at all last week, and this is the first time this week, so I'm a little nervous that my training isn't going as well as planned. So today I did as close to a 5K as my normal route to Pioneer park and back would allow:

2.7 miles - 6 x .45 pioneer park lap
.6 miles - Tomax to Pioneer Park and back.

3.3 miles in 23:30. That's a pace of 7:08 per mile. That's fantastic. A 5K is 3.11 miles so at that pace I would have done around 22:09! That kills my last PR of 22:59. So I'm confident that I can beat my PR. It will be hotter on Friday and a slight grade at the end, but with the adrenaline and desire to beat Hayden Buchi will hopefully get my time down to low 22 minutes. That would be awesome.

Equmen review - and new PR to work

Last night I noticed that I had a package on my desk, and my Equmen extra high compression long sleeve shirt had come! Wow, what fast delivery. It only took three days to get here. That's dang fast! I thought being an Australian company it might take a couple weeks. Not the case, it shipped from the US.

I immediately tried it on and boy was it nice. I felt like a fat snake trying to eat a rat. It was tight, but it stretched out nicely. Reminded me a little of memory foam with its support, conforming to my body. The quality of the shirt is fantastic. Cathi even tried it on and oh, did she look hot!

It also reminds me of a Bench shirt without the goofy look or uncomfortable feeling in the shoulders. This shirt would be great for lifting in, providing support on the joints when lifting heavy. This shirt is great for cycling and that's what I mainly plan to use it for. It provides a great deal of support and helps keep my core tight. I also plan on taking it on winter camp as it also provided a great deal of wind resistance. I just bought a sleeveless one today for when I race in triathlons. I'll wear it under my wetsuit so I have something already on when I transition to the bike and run.

This morning I got up at 6, eagerly put on my new longsleeve compression shirt under my jersey and started my ride to work. I had a bit of a tail wind until I got to Centerville, and then had a slight headwind from Bountiful the rest of the way in to Salt Lake, so it kind of canceled out wind as a factor. I focused on high cadence and putting constant pressure on my legs to keep up a strong speed rather than just spinning without much effort.

Today's ride is a new record:

Distance: 30.6
Time: 1:26
Average Speed: 21.35

The new compression shirt certainly was a factor in the PR. I'm very pleased with that purchase.
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The ride home however was probably close to being the worst ever. The wind was pretty strong coming from the North the whole way. My average speed was terrible:

Distance: 30.6
Time: 1:48
Avg Speed: 16.9 mph

At least I'm getting used to having a strong headwind. Consistently from the North every afternoon.

Morning Gridley Half Century

Rode with Duane Ralphs and Chad Frew out to Garr Ranch and back:

Distance: 51.1 miles
Time: 2:45
Avg Speed: 18.6 mph

Duane was really booking it on the causeway and we were going about 26 mph. The wind was in our favor a little. Very nice ride. Duane had to go to Salt Lake so he did the causeway while Chad did the whole thing with me. We stayed together the way back until the end of the causeway. I had to get back by 10 so that we wouldn't be late for a family lunch in Salt Lake.

What a nice morning it was and the wind wasn't too bad.

Even better ride in to work

No wind at all and felt great:

Distance: 30.6 miles
Time: 1:31
Avg Speed: 20.1 mph
Max Speed: 27.3 mph

I made another bonehead move. When I got to the train intersection at 900 W and about 100 S I saw the train that was going about 10mph had its last car go across the track as I was approaching. The traffic beam was still down and I saw pedestrians going under it on the left side. I moved ahead of all the cars, bent over real low and going about 5 mph or so went under it.

I ended up clipping my right shoulder with the beam and man did it hurt. I don't know how I managed to stay on cause my front wheel veered left sharply, but I stayed on. I mumbled, "Oops, not low enough" and felt like a real idiot in front of all the cars and pedestrians who saw. If I was going faster I could have crashed or broke something. It was dumb. Next time, just wait!

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The ride home was again very breezy from the North. So I was punished again. It eased up just a bit the further north I got.

Distance: 30.7 miles
Time: 1:45
Avg Speed: 17.5 mph

Felt good though.

Another excellent ride

Today was a great ride in. No wind at all, and the temperature was perfect. I didn't have to wear any under armor for warmth. I had to deal with some slight cramping in my stomach, but nothing major.

Distance: 31.6 miles
Time: 1:38
Avg Speed: 19.3 mph
Max Speed: 27.9 mph

I also mounted and demounted with the shoes in the clips for practice, which I will always do from now on.

The ride home wasn't nearly as windy as last time so it went well except when I got to the end of Gordon, instead of taking the corner around onto Bluff (which has no shoulder) I tried finding a new route back up through the subdivision up to 2700 S, but ended up in a maze. I finally found it after feeling like a rat. Here are the stats going back home:

Distance: 32.7 miles
Time: 1:44
Avg Speed:18.9 mph

Total for the day: 64.3 miles

Where to buy Powerbar stuff

This looks like a pretty good place to get deals on powerbar stuff:

http://www.allstarhealth.com/li_b/POWERBAR.htm

Shipping is 5.95 per order no matter how much you get. Sweet.

Long run - 10 miles around Pioneer Park

Today noon came and I was dreading to go on my planned run. I was even considering bagging it with the excuse that I just biked over 60 miles yesterday. But I decided that I couldn't give in to making excuses so I left my desk at 12:20 to go get ready to run. Here's what I did:

.3 - Run to pioneer park from Tomax
9.45 - 21 laps around pioneer park (.45m each)
.3 - Run back to Tomax

10 Miles

I walked for 1 minute at lap 6, and 14. So only about .25m of the whole run was walking. For each time I walked I took a moment to unwrap a buzz bite and eat it. Haven't been heaping on a whole lot of calories lately in my quest to get down under 180. Plus it gave me something to look forward to that was a short term reward for keeping with the plan. Felt numb after I had been into the run about 3 miles. That is a good thing cause you quite feeling the pain so much and feel like a machine just turning over and over without strain.

What a great run!