i feel handcuffed. bound by this cough that i can't explain and i can't make go away. i haven't been able to do anything physical over the past week and a half, and the cough isn't dissipating. so i've gone in a direction i'm not all that comfortable with - and tomorrow morning i'll see a doctor. because i fear some level of pneumonia now, and that can't be a good thing. and i am never the hypochondriac...
the updates, they haven't been happening...
the cold that i wrote about in the last post? it's lingered. lingered now for - oh - two weeks. a deep, from-the-recesses-of-the-lungs cough. allergy-related nasal issues. fatigue. the race set me back a good week in my recovery, i fear. and since the race there have been exactly zero work-outs, knowing full well that any heavy cardio activity is only going to extend this cold. i'm cranky and generally not-much-fun to be around. cold, cold - please go away!
on a much different note, however, ian is in the midst of a life-changing event. an event that, when completed, will result in fewer necessary hand-washings on my part, and (i fear) an increased amount of small-load laundry washing. yes - potty training has commenced...
frankly, i've been dreading the potty training thing. i don't mind changing dirty diapers, really. and i have no clear idea how to go about doing it. carrie swears by the m&m method of training - with the results to prove it - but i'm not yet ready to use bribery. i'm counting on the peer-pressure and day-care-teacher-as-motivator methods. passing the buck - i know. but hey - they're practiced, right? today was ian's first trip to school wearing underwear - and the first thing he did was show one of his little buddies his scooby-doos. pride as motivator can't be a bad method either, i suppose...
before i get into the race, thanks to all who sent good thoughts my way. and thanks especially to carrie, who not only sent most of the well-wishers in my direction, but also brought her beautiful kids (with encouraging signs in hand) to the race and made it a morning all the more memorable for me...
so today was my first triathlon. well, sprint triathlon. but c'mon - seven months ago, i hadn't really considered doing a race like this. i mean, greenfish and i had talked about it last summer, but i never really expected to do one. then my sister convinced me to give it a go. and i'm thrilled that she did...
i hadn't been feeling well for several days leading up to the race. allergies and a sinus cold conspired against me at the same time mid-week, and i've been a ball of phlegm ever since. i woke up this morning (at 5:00!) feeling better than i had in days, though, which was a welcome sign. and feeling rested, i headed to boulder. to the same reservoir i'd been on hundreds of times when i rowed crew in college - but had never been in, ready for a challenge that i was about to undertake...
the day was perfect. no wind, not too hot. i headed out with the fifth wave, swimming directly into the sun. i'm not sure the swim portion is something a first-time triathlete can adequately prepare for. the bodies, the flailing arms and legs, the opacity of the water. add to all that the invisiblity of the buoys due to the blinding sun, and the out leg of the swim was daunting. stroke, stroke, breath - crap another leg. stroke, stroke, breath - who's climbing up my ass? stroke, stroke, breath - where's the frickin' buoy?!
i managed to finish the swim (exhausted - was there really more?!) and ran to the transition to get on the bike. after taking my time in t1 (3:30ish), i mounted the bike and headed out for what i knew was a steady climb for the first 5 or 6 miles (thankfully, i had driven the course the day before). the good news, though, was that the rest of the bike course was some great declines with only a few small inclines along the way. and while i felt strong on the bike, due to the fact that the race was in boulder (and boulderites are, well, bikers by nature) i was getting passed left and right. thankfully, i didn't care. i felt good and that was what mattered...
t2 was another slow transition, and i could have used more time... because the run was tough. maybe it was because i couldn't manage my pace very well, but i had to stop and walk several times during the course of the run. still, i managed an 8:30 pace, and a sprint to the finish. overall, my time of 1 hour, 45 minutes was exactly where i thought i'd be. and i made it through. i am now a triathlete...
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my next race is in august, a race i'm doing with stronger. i learned today what i need to work on for that race. more open water swims (i had none under my belt before today) and more distance swim training. transitioning from bike to run in real conditions - not indoors. and hopefully staying cold- and phlegm-free the week of the race. but i also learned today that i can do it, that i don't have to fear the triathlon, and that taking your body to the next level is worth all the effort...
this morning was my first official 5k race in something like 7 years. i didn't know what to expect results-wise going in - only hoped that i'd run a decent pace and see what it was like to actually run with other people. no high expectations - just a chance to run around the neighborhood and guage my improvement since i began running in february...
of course, 30 minutes before the race began, k called and let me know that she was running as well. i knew that she was going to be all about kicking my butt. she's a running veteran, an exercise junkie. i figured i may have a chance to beat her. but i knew that she very well might take me. i wasn't going to let her race dictate mine - don't need to be ultra-competitive with the ex-wife...
the first quarter mile or so was spent getting past much of the throng on the narrow path, and i felt like i had a good stride going - if not a little too fast. i had the garmin on, but only used it to let me know my pace at the end of each mile. about a half-mile in, k pulled up beside me with a "what's your pace" comment and ran on past - definitely happy to be overtaking me, i'm sure. not a big deal, i thought. let her go...
the garmin rang at the one mile mark and read 7:17. good pace for a first mile for me - certainly race-pace. the course was pretty hilly (well, hilly for an old airport in denver) and i tried my best to power up the hills. definitely a good idea to run the 5k today before next week's triathlon...
at about a mile and a half, i managed to move by k - she didn't really fall back as much as i had picked up the pace. when the garmin alerted me that the second mile was complete, i looked down to see that i had managed a 7:04 split. good time for me, yes, but it took a lot of juice out of me. the final mile was going to be a rough one...
i spent the last mile just trying to hold pace with the people in front of me. the garmin rang at mile three (7:27) - i was relieved to have kept it under 7:30. the last tenth (actually two-tenths) was a slightly higher pace finish. i was out of energy, but pleased with the race. my actual 5k time of 22:40 was better than i had hoped for. and my official race time of 23:13 was good for 18th place overall (out of 140 total) and 5th in my old-man age group (out of 25). i didn't imagine i could finish that high, so am very pleased with the run...
and k finished 10 seconds behind me. but first in her age group. must have been bittersweet...
tonite was my last big workout before next sunday's sprint triathlon in boulder. i kind of feel like an amateur (oh wait - i am an amateur!) for tapering for a sprint triathlon, but i hear that's what i need to do. so taper it is...
because the weather was crummy tonite, i went the indoor route - 17.2 miles on the bike (50:50) followed by a 5k on the treadmill (23:40). and i made it. with energy to spare. will i be able to do the triathlon? unless i drown - yes. and i won't drown. i've been swimming since i was eleven...
the tapering begins tonite. i'll go for a swim tomorrow (1500 meters = 2x the tri). i've got a 5k race in the 'hood on saturday - followed by a 1k fun run for the kids that ian and i will do with my sister and her girls. sunday is going to be all about fixing up my brother's house to sell (he's selling long distance from nyc and has enlisted the help of his brothers - keep that futon available, bubba!). and then there's pre-race week. a couple 5k jogs, a trip to omaha (which will include zero high-humidity work-outs, i promise), and a short swim. then sunday...
the best part of sunday? it won't be finishing the race - i'm confident that i'll do fine, and i'm certainly not going out there to win. if stronger comes to watch, that'll be a very close second. but the best part will be coming back home to spent a well-deserved father's day afternoon with the best kid a dad could hope to have. and maybe a sister to stick around and share it with us? (hint, hint)
