The Iron Geek

My personal journey of going from an overweight IT leader to an Ironman.

Search

Twitter feed

Find me on...

Posts I like

More liked posts

Tag Results

14 posts tagged swim

One Last Long Swim

4,000 meters in 1:36:15 - Not too shabby!

I am officially in taper mode, reducing my workouts in length and intensity over the course of three weeks leading up to Ironman Florida.  But thanks to an illness and then other family members being sick, I missed most of my swim workouts over the past three weeks. With 3 kids in daycare/school it seems like someone is ALWAYS sick.

I did not want to get to Florida without having done the 2.4 miles (3,862 meters) one more time.  With the race two weeks away, it was now or never.  It’s been a few moths since I did it last.  I can’t remember for sure, but I think the time was 1:43 or 1:48.

I started out slow and relaxed, much slower than my normal Masters Swim pace.  My goal was to finish with as much energy as possible.  (That didn’t really work out that well as my arms could barely lift my body out of the pool when I was done.)

Starting at about 1,800 meters I started to cramp in my legs/feet/toes.  Sometimes it was slight, some times it was gnarly.  But I pushed through it.  Standing up some times at the wall to stretch, other times just kicking like a harpooned seal hoping it would work itself out.  I should have brought more to drink, but I’m an idiot.

Tomorrow I am going to do my Soaring Wings Virtual Half Marathon.  I know it’s a week early, but it is the time I can do it that works into my taper.  I’ll wait to post my results until after the real race so y’all aren’t intimidated by my blazing PR.  =)

I picked up 2 copies of the 2012 Inside Triathlon Calendar.  

I like it better than the 2011 version.  I am going to recreate the same mural that I did for 2011.  We use it all the time in my office.  =)

Life Happens

I’m rushing off to the gym to get a run in tonight.  I’m in a rush so I can be home in time to get enough sleep before my 5:00 am swim.  Doh!

It should be a bike-run brick tonight, but I hate doing that from a exercise bike to a treadmill (and the sun is about to set, and no late night biking for me).  A sick kid shuffled our schedules a bit tonight, but not a big deal, I’ll do last night’s run instead. 

I missed my run last night because I felt wiped out.  I literally almost fell asleep on the ride home from work.  Not sure why (it was after a Monday rest day), but I was asleep by 6:30 pm and slept until 3:00 am.  

So I’m off schedule with my sleep.

At least I got that going for me.  Which is nice.

Busts

After a 400 yard warmup, the Masters Swim coach informed us that we were doing “10x100 Bust”

After hearing everyone else groan, I ask,

“What the heck is that?”

“You swim 100 yards as fast as you can.  You do that ten times.  With a 2 minute rest in between.”

“OK”

“The goal is to be consistent with the times.”

“OK”

“Whatever you get on your 7th rep, will be your new benchmark time.”

“Well alllllllllrighty then.”

My first one was 1:36.  Then 1:42, 1:45, 1:52, 1:55, 1:56, 1:58, 2:03, 1:57, 1:55 (or something like that)

Let’s just say that I was the only one who wasn’t consistent.  The others settled into a pace and stayed within a second or two.  I just kept getting slower and slower and slowwwwwwwer.

The good news is that all the times were well ahead of my 2:20 pace in my last 2,000m swim.

The bad news is that I had just asked my coach yesterday if he thought 1:45 was attainable for my Ironman in 12+ weeks.  That’s a LONG way to go.  

More time in the pool, coming up!

An Ironman starts by swimming 2.4 miles…

I did something this morning that I didn’t know was even possible until it happened.  I swam 2.4 miles.

I. Swam. Two-Point-Four. Miles.

Holy Friggin Crap!

It took me 1 hour, 34 minutes and 37 seconds to swim 3,850 meters in the pool.  In that roughly 95 minutes, I conquered my biggest fear when it comes to completing an Ironman.  The swim.  

I now know that I can do it, and I can do it well within the cut-off time (2:20).  I now have just under 14 weeks to make it smoother and to make it faster.

I’m still in shock that I did it.  Absolute disbelief.  My longest swim before this morning was 1,000 yards.    I told my swim coach that my goal was to come in under 2:00 and he told me that “I think you’ll be surprised at your time.”  He was right.  Boohyah!

It took me about 1,000m just to settle in to a consistent breathing pattern, where I didn’t feel like I needed more air.  After that it was just lap, after lap, after lap, after lap. (158 lengths of the pool to be exact).  All this while I am coming down with a cold.

My shoulders and neck are sore, but it was totally worth it.

=)

Link
 View high resolution
mcmironman: Looks intense! Yes, yes it does…

mcmironman:

Looks intense!

Yes, yes it does…

Source mcmironman

You know you’re a triathlete when…

…you’ve done two workouts before 7:30 am.

  • 5:00 a.m. 1-hour Masters Swim Class - Check!
  • 6:30 a.m. 1-hour Zone 2 Run - Check!

Although, I will admit that I almost fell asleep after sitting down to put on my work shoes this morning.  =)

Less than 23 weeks to go before Ironman Florida race!

4:15 a.m.

For most of my life I have reserved 4:15 am for flights headed to vacation or for Las Vegas.

It wasn’t until I decided to join the Masters Swim program at the athletic club that I just joined that I realized that is now my alarm time for at least Tuesday and Thursday mornings (class starts at 5:00 am)

I went this morning, and overall I felt good.  I am not able to keep up with the fast swimmers, but I also do not feel like I am going to drown (or even like I’m a poser who doesn’t belong there).

I did my first “benchmark swim test” yesterday.  This is something my triathlon coach asked me to do.  You basically swim 1,000 yards freestyle.  It is broken into 10x100 yard swims, with a 10 second break in between each 100.  You take your total time and subtract 1:30 (for the 9x10 second breaks) and then divide by 10.  This gives you your average time per 100 yards.

My average yesterday was 1:56/100.

Considering that when I started this journey, I couldn’t swim 100 yards, never mind 1,000 yards, I feel pretty good about that.

According to my coach, that should give me a target time of 31 minutes for an Olympic Distance Triathlon Swim (1,500 yards or .93 miles).  I would also be very happy with that result.

Less than 24 weeks to go until the big race….

Getting Back Into A Rhythm

So this week has been a pretty good week so far. 

I was able to get a 4 mile run in on Tuesday.  It felt good to get outside in the early morning and run.  Shook some of the cob webs out.

I missed my swim on Wednesday because I couldn’t find my swim goggles.  I guess that is what happens when you take a couple of months off from swimming.

I ran another 3 miles on Thursday.  I ran on an indoor track at the gym and I used my Vibram Five Finger shoes.  I did less mileage because I want to get my body used to those shoes before I do really long distances (they really work your achillies and calf muscles).

After purchasing a new pair of goggles, I went to Masters Swim class this morning at a new pool, Dynamo.  My friend Jason has been after me for months to join this pool because the coach and practices have really helped him get better.  From what I understand, some of the top swimmers in the country practice at this pool.  I’ll admit it, I had been intimidated.  I suck when it comes to swimming.  It didn’t help when you walk in and see the large “Pool Records” sign that shows the Michael Phelps owns 70% of the records set in that room.  Great.

But I decided “what the hell”.  My swim sucks and I need to fix it.  Might as well work with the best.  I hauled my sorry but to the pool for a 5:45 workout. (Thanks to Jason for the wake-up call!)  While it felt good, I am really out of shape.  The coach commented on my form not being too bad, but I needed more time in the water.  

My stroke looks better…

The good news is that there are 3-4 more people at the pool that also have signed up to compete in Ironman Florida next year.  I think it would be great to be able to workout/hangout with a group of people so you are not completely by yourself.

Another run tomorrow and then a bike ride on Sunday.  I’m looking forward to it.

My First Triathlon: Holy Crap That Was Hard!

My first triathlon kicked my ass, and hard!  That was 10x harder than I thought it was going to be.  I was feeling pretty good about the event, leading up to that morning.  I have trained hard and have come a long way, including huge fitness gains and losing close to 35 pounds.  But guess what?  I took an absolute beating on this course.

“I haven’t seen a beating like that since they shoved a banana down my pants and turned a monkey lose!”

This was a sprint triathlon: 400 yard swim, 15 mile bike and 5K (3.2 mile) run.  I completed the event in 2:05:17 - 287th place out of 291 people.  

Not quite dead-last, but pretty damn close.

Anyone who calls this a “mini triathlon” or a “baby triathlon” can kiss my ass.  There is nothing mini or baby about this distance when you are 225 pounds of Nick Tahou’s fed, Labatt cooled, mass of couch potato like myself.  To me, this was the hardest physical thing that I can remember ever doing.  Period.

The Swim

As I took my warmup in the water, I felt pretty good about the swim.  Sure it was dark and muddy, couldn’t really see in front of you, but the water was warm and my stroke felt good.  We had a wave start, with 4 different groups of people starting every 3 minutes.  As luck would have it, I was in the first wave.

After the horn went off, I let everyone else start swimming before I started.  I wasn’t going to join the mele of swimming in close quarters.  After everyone had gotten a few feet out, I joined in.

For the first 50 yards or so, everything was going fine.  I was swimming well, breathing well, and just focusing on my form.  And then, just before the first turn buoy, it all started to go to hell.

I got slapped across the back from a random arm heading in the absolute wrong direction.  A bit freaked out, I lifted my head only to be hit from another arm, heading in almost exactly the opposite direction.  I am heading straight at the buoy and one arm is heading towards 9:00 and one is heading towards 3:00.  Then someone grabs my ankle.

What the hell is going on?

From that point on, I was never ever really able to gain my composure in the swim.  I was forced to back-stroke or doggy-paddle often to just keep my head above water.  At one point, I was floating on my back, trying to catch my breath, when from behind me I see a CHURN of water.  Turns out the next wave was about to run me over!  I rolled onto my stomach just in time to have a girl swim right over the top of me and just keep going.

After about 300 yards, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make it.  My shoulders hurt and I was having a hard time keeping my breath.  They support crew kept asking me if I was okay, and I told them yes.  I was going to make it out of the lake under my own power.

I got out of the water a little over 18 minutes later.  I was staggering like a drunken sailor and didn’t even have the strength to waive to my kids.  I was like a walking zombie.  

The Bike

The bike went the best out of everything.  It took a little over 3 miles to calm down from the swim and finally catch my breath.  But once I did, it was pretty uneventful.  I managed to pass about 12 folks or so while on the bike, and probably myself got pass 6 or so times.  

There was one downhill where I was really flying.  I was pedaling hard in my top gear, down on my aero bars, puttin’ the boots to her. I’m not sure how fast I was going, but it was awesome.  I got off the bike 55 minutes after I got on it.  I was happy with that time.

The Run

Oh the run.  Maybe I should call it the walk.  My previous best for a 5K was 31 minutes.  That was not going to happen today.  As I started to run out of the transition area, it felt like my chest was going to explode!  My heart was racing and I couldn’t catch my breath.  I was absolutely exhausted.  Between the swim and the bike, my body had told me that this wasn’t going to work.

I started walking about 100 yards from the transition area, and then for more than 1/2 of the entire 5K.  My body was really struggling.  Every time that I would run for 100 yards or so, my heart would be racing again.  I just had to keep walking.

As I’m walking, I am getting passed by the few people that I had managed to beat out of the water.  I am watching people go by with age markings that say “60” or “54” or “59”.  These people were running.  Damn.  I managed to run the last 300 yards across the finish line, with no energy to “sprint” across the finish.  Time on the “walk” was 48 minutes. 

Moving Forward

So it’s obvious that I have a lot of work to do.  My next sprint triathlon is in 5 weeks in Peachtree City.  I have already talked with my coach and we are going to focus on improving my swim (Job #1) and improving my fitness, including losing at least 10 lbs before the race (Job #2).  

I feel that if I had a better swim, I wouldn’t have been in such bad shape for the rest of the race.  And if I can lose weight, that will turn more of my energy into propulsion versus carrying weight.  Besides, if I look that fat (the pictures above), I can’t imaging what I looked like before!  It’s time to start dropping LBs again!

I am very glad that I did it.  Overall, I enjoyed the day (everything but the swim).  I am confident that by keeping at it, I will get much, much better at things as time goes on.  

I have completely re-dedicated myself to achieving my Ironman goal.

Bring it!

Swimming is just like golf, hard…

Swimming very much reminds me of golf.  It is a complex set of movements that all have to happen in harmony with each other, or the result is aweful.  Even though I took a two-day stroke clinic, I am still struggling with putting it all together.  It’s just like taking a private golf lesson and then still slicing it into the woods.

  • Make sure your hand enters softly just in front of your head
  • Keep your head down
  • Reach/stretch to a point shoulder-width, slightly below
  • Do no pull with your hand until your other is in the water
  • Keep a stiff wrist (no slipping)
  • Make sure that your pull leverages your entire arm
  • Bring your return all the way back to your hip
  • Rotate your body
  • Kick on on rotation (2 beat kick)
  • Breath every other stroke, keeping one goggle lens in the water
  • Etc, etc, etc.

I was at the pool last night struggling to bring it all together in a way that felt comfortable, natural, and will allow me to swim long distances.  It wasn’t working.  After 50 yards, my stroke would devolve and I would feel beat.  I tried drills, I tried swimming, nothing seemed to work.  I would have one great stroke for every 10 I took.

To make matters worse, the girl in the lane next to me had underwater headphones on and was banging out laps like she was reading the paper.  She did close to 2,000 yards without even stopping!

I don’t want to be that guy.  The guy in the middle of the lake, gasping for air, choking on water, wondering where the hell land is.  I need to get this figured out and fast. 

I can’t seem to find anything in the rulebook that says I can’t use floaties on my arms.  My 4 year old wouldn’t miss them for one day.  Maybe there is a way yet…

Is that Wilfred Brimley???

Weight: 229.4 (Awwwww Yeah)

Do you remember the scene from Cocoon with all the old people in the pool?  I’m pretty sure that they filmed that at my YMCA.

I managed to over-sleep my Masters Swim class last Thursday (yes Childers, I blame you).  So I was forced to do a make-up swim at the YMCA at lunch time.  As I peered through the glass at the pool coming down the stairs, I knew I was in for a time.  There were about 15-17 senior citizens floating around the pool, taking up all but one lane (which was filled with about 10 little kids).  

As I got into the pool, I discovered that they were mostly heavy-set Russian women with shower caps on, with a few skinny white men, who were barely moving (that didn’t talk much).  

I’ll spare you the long version of the story, but I’ll give you the high-level summary:

  • I was asked by the Russian woman that I was splitting the lane with “Why you stop and rest so much?  You sick?”
  • Every time I stopped I half expected to be tapped on the shoulder and have someone talk to me about die-ah-beat-tis.
  • I got out of the pool after seeing my 3rd band-aid on the bottom of the pool.  Have I mentioned that I swim with my mouth open?
  • Gotta love those YMCA prison showers.  I’m pretty sure the producer from Borat was taking a shower.  I’ve never seen a hairier, fatter and more wrinkly body than the guy singing to himself in the shower that day.  I walked into the shower and he was bent over, covered in suds, washing himself.  I threw up a little in my mouth.

I have to say that that might be my last trip to that Y.  I’m trying to figure out if I bail on all the local Y’s and switch to a different gym, or what.  The Y is convenient to the office, to my house and to our Austin office.  They also have big pools.  That was the draw in the first place.  All I can say that was disgusting.  I ended up skipping lunch.

Some other (much better) highlights of the week:

  • On Thursday night I ran a full 5K without walking or resting.  That is the first time that I have ran longer than 1.88 miles in a single stint.  Running 3.2 felt awesome.  I did it just by running.  I didnt look at my watch, my heart monitor or anything else.  I just concentrated on my breathing and taking rhythmic steps.  In the end it worked.  I was very happy about that.
  • On Sunday morning I had a 21 mile bike ride.  That is also my longest ride to date.  I could have easily gone farther, but got a late start and just ran out of time.  I needed to get back to the house to get my work done for the weekend.
  • I took the advice of a friend and have purchased some additional workout clothes (to keep the frequency of laundry down) and I stopped weighing myself everyday (the watch pot never boils).  I had gotten pretty frustrated with no real weight loss in about 2 weeks.
  • I have put my shorts sized 40 (and 42) in storage.  They just fall off me now.  I am back in my 38s.  I will be doing the same with my dress pants later this week.
  • I have been looking for several weeks for a good bike jersey. I found a perfect jersey today, and it was on sale.  (Boooh-yah!)

Oh well, the Celtics just took a 3-2 lead in the NBA Championships, I guess it’s time to head to bed.  Good night!

“I’m not insane. My mother had me tested!”

Test

Weight: 230.4 (yeah baby!)

3 mile run in 33:20 - Heart Rate: 160@1 mile; 165@2 miles; 168@3 miles

Benchmark Test (BMT) - Today was my first benchmark test, for running.  I have a bike BMT on Saturday and we have made the decision to hold off on my swim test (since I suck so bad, but more on that later).

The goal of today’s test is for Don to better understand my fitness levels and more importantly my heart rate (HR) while training.  Don’s training methodology is based upon working out in different HR zones.  Based upon years of training experience, he finds that using a certain mix of HR zones creates the best performance improvement.  (If you are bored and want to know more, look up lactate threshold). This is counter to the older “low and slow” approach that many coaches used in the past.  With Don, many workouts intermix periods of high heart rate within a workout (Example: 60 minute run w/HR Zone 1 - Zone 2, with 10 minutes of run w/HR in Zone 4 at the 45 minute mark)

We made some estimates about what my heart rate zones were in the first month, with this test, Don will be able to further refine those zones, making my training more efficient.

Back to swimming.  Man do I suck at swimming.  I just can’t seem to figure it out.  I have a coach giving me private swimming lessons and great feedback, but to date, it has not translated to longer swim sessions.  My stroke feels better, but at the end of the day, a 30 minute workout is only yielding 350 yards.  At this stage it would not be beyond reason that I could do 4x that amount.

I will continue to take private swimming lessons and possible increase both my frequency and duration of my swim workouts in attempt to make up for the deficiency.  I’m hopeful that with hard work I can overcome this obstacle.

Fitness is Up, Weight is Steady

Weight: 240.8

I can definitely feel my fitness improving.  My last few bike rides and runs, I have noticed a distinct difference in my stamina.  I’m able to run much farther between my walks and I am feeling better doing it.  With the bike, I was able to make the same trip in less time and with less need to rest.  This morning runs included Pick Ups (1 minute sessions of faster running with higher heart rate, followed by 1 minute of slower run/walking).  I would not have been able to do those even 2 weeks ago.  So things are looking up. (“So I got that going for me….which is nice.”)

My weight seems to be just holding steady.  I’m not worried about it, but it is a little disheartening to be putting in such hard training and not see immediate results.  I recently read in a triathlon book that studies show that it takes 1-2 weeks to see the results of a workout (which is why you need to peak your training 1-2 weeks before the race).  So maybe I’ll start to see the fruits of my labor in June.  =(

I had my first swim instruction last night.  The good news is that according to my instructor, I was thinking about things properly.  The two big things that I need to work on is how my arm goes from recovery to a swim stroke, and my breathing.  I think that if I can figure this breathing thing out, I will be doing a lot more with the swim.

I’m headed out to my 2nd swimming lesson tonight (3 this week).  Wish me luck!

Sports Nutritionist and Swimming Lessons

Weight: 240.0

After doing a little research, I was able to locate a sports nutritionist locally that specializes in nutrition for endurance athletes and triathletes.  It’s funny because she is basically around the corner from my office.  Her name is Iliana Katz and I have decided to sign up for her initial consultation.  From her introductory email, here is what I can expect:

I am a registered dietitian, and I specialize in body composition, weight management/loss/gain, and am a certified, specialized Sports Dietitian. I have my Master’s degree in Nutrition, and did my specialty with athletes, metabolism and body composition. (I love working with committed people and helping people get committed too)!

 

My services and fee structure is as follows:

 

The initial consult  includes an analysis of your current lifestyle, body fat testing (if applicable), goal setting, meal planning and sports specific nutrition.  I do some initial prep work and meal planning based on your profile (I will ask you a few questions when I set up the consult appointment) , however in the session, I spend most of our time together getting to know you and individualizing meal plans based on your goals, needs, and  lifestyle in conjunction with my own philosophies. (You will walk away from this session with recipes, individualized meal plans and hopefully a lot of motivation and inspiration ;-). It is extensive, comprehensive and motivating, I get some really great comments, particularly something like “its the best money I have spent on my goals,”  This session is approximately 90 minutes long. It is $185- and I also recommend paying for the first follow up in this session too (add $45, to make that $230). Including the first follow up enforces your commitment to yourself, knowing you will at least have a session after this where I make sure you have grasped the concepts.  

Iliana is recommending a follow-up visit either every other week or each week.  So it’s not cheap to say the least.  I am going to attend the initial consulting visit and one follow-up to see if it is worth additional time with her. 

 

The good news is that she says that the her costs can be used with FSA spending cards, so at least it is tax deductable. 

 

Tonight is my first night of swimming lessons at the YMCA.  My swimming form is horrible.  I look like a drowning horse gasping for water as I work my way across the pool.  I will be doing swimming lessons each night Mon-Thur of this week. 

I have a feeling that if I can just figure out my breathing, I will be much better off.  That seems to be the big limiting factor.  I find myself gasping for air instead of breathing naturally, which just wears me out very, very quickly.  I’m hoping that if I can address my form/technique that the breathing will become better and hence the simming will get better.  I will let you know how it goes. 

Loading posts...