First Post Race Report

Well that was the first Tri.  And after I showered when we got back home - this is where I spend a little time.   Contemplating the days achievements.

Contemplating

 

So what did I learn?

Training:

Well if I want to get any better I have to train harder.  That is fairly obvious.  I really wasn't prepared to exercise for two and a half hours.  All my training is 40 minutes to just over an hour, with about one and a half hour maximum,  I do the odd ride over 2 hours, but not very frequently.  However I also have to weigh this up with time and inclination.  I don't have a lot more time, I am already exercising over an hour a day most days of the week and while I would like to get better, how badly do I want to get better?  In the short term I think I will just try to better tailor my workouts to match what I need to do.

Note:  I downloaded all the results into an Excel and ranked everyone who had a finish time on; the swim, T1, the ride, T2 and the run.  This gave me a good idea of where I stand within this group on each of the legs.  The results include everyone (Men, Women, Relays) for all 212 that finished.

My standing were:

• Swim (26:59), 69th
• T1 (2:04), 82nd
• Ride (1:08:00), 48th
• T2 (1:45), 133rd
• Run (49:18), 103rd
• Overall (2:28:06), 62nd

Swimming - 26:59

I definitely need to practices open water swimming more, because "never" isn't exactly creating more experience and it will lead to more time in the wetsuit.  I really thought that swimming was going to be my weakest leg and it wasn't, plus I know I can go faster.  I probably spent 30 seconds on the beach and starting slow.  I pulled up into breaststroke 10 to 12 times just to stop swimming, to get my bearings or defog my goggles.  Probably wasting 5 or so seconds each time.  So I think there is a bit of improvement to be had in the swim without getting any better at swimming, just getting better at swimming in the specific conditions.  I am really glad it wasn't in choppy water like the bay, or the ocean as that would have really messed me up.  I think that an open water swim once a week in the wetsuit would make me a fair bit quicker than I was.

Transition #1 - 2:04

This wasn't too bad.  I think just being a bit more familiar with what to do, and having your kit in a good location would help enormously.  I certainly didn't sprint in and out and I took a bit of time getting out of the wetsuit.  I wasted some time putting sock on that I probably didn't need.   It seems like all the fastest people were around a minute.  I think I might be able to get back some of that, but not all of it.  Colleen told me about one of the leaders somehow getting his wetsuit off while running.  I am pretty sure if I had tried that I would now have a dental appointment to fix some teeth.

Riding - 1:08:00

There really wasn't any issue here.  One hour and eight minutes over 40km (24.9 miles) was fine with me.  I generally do my rides at 21mph for 20miles (~34km/h over 32miles).  This was flatter and I did it a bit faster, averaging 22mph over the distance (35km/h).  I need to figure out what was going on at the start after the swim as staying low on the aerobars made my hips uncomfortable.  Later in the ride it all seemed to be OK.  I am not sure if I need to just practice on the areobars, or it is just after swimming that it is uncomfortable.  I probably need to work on some core strength because going from the swim, basically stretched out flat, to almost folded in half using the areobars requires some strength in the mid-section, and while i have a mid-section it unfortunately has no strength.

Transition #2 - 1:45

Here is one I can definetly get faster at.  I pretty much walked in and slowly did everything because I was dreading the run.  Also having lace up shoes didn't help, not only because of the time to do them up, but also because they came undone.  Most people going fast were doing this in a minute - I think I could get closer to that than I am without too much trouble.

Running - 49:18

This was really odd for me.  I have always thought of myself as a pretty good runner, but apparently not in the Triathlon world.  Before the race I really would have thought that would have been closer to the ride as my "stronger" skill, but apparently not.   The average time for the run (doing my maths on the results) was 51:38, I was just over a minute under the average and middle of the field as well (103 of 212).  So I gather I need to work on that.  Before the race, making an assumption about how tired I would be I though 9 minute miles would be pretty good (5.6 min/km).  In the race I did a pretty good job of keeping it under 8 minute miles (5 min/km) so I thought I was doing great.  It was about the 4th person who passed me that let me know that wasn't the case.  There is nothing to do to fix this other than run more and run faster.  I will give myself a bit of a pass being just 7 months removed from ACL surgery (this pass expires at 12 months)

Tri Two?

The Silicon Valley International (link) in pretty much on the same venue on June 12th.  The swim is in the same lake, the ride is exactly the same and the run is different, going round the lake and not away and back.  But this malkes both want to and not want to do it.  I want to do it because it will be easy to measure improvement, but then again, it is just the same, no new challenge. Also in between now and then, on Sunday the 5th I am probably riding 100 miles at Tahoe which is going to be a significant challenge in itself and mess up the week before the Tri for training

Lets see how many people read this blog, in the comments I want a vote for one of the following.

1. Do the Silicon Valley International, but do the Sprint distance and do it with Colleen,
2. Do the Silicon Valley International, Olympic distance again to compare and see it there is any substance to the talk of being able to go faster,
3. I don't read the blog, or
4. None of the Above

You vote means something ...

First Tri

So, you have to get up pretty early in the morning to do a tri.  Not only that you spend the night before fretting over making sure you have everything you need.  Which make sleeping difficult and then waking up harder.

So.  Saturday night I am on about 30 websites reading about Tri checklists, going over the rules, printing out the course maps and watching videos of professional people doing their transitions, going from the swim to the bike and the bike to the run.  None of it is making me feel more relaxed.

By about 9pm I have all my gear stowed and I am ready to at least stop thinking about it.

For the Tri overall I have:

• tri suit,
• timing chip,
• number for bike
• number for ride and run
• number on helmet

For the swim I have:

• wetsuit,
• lubricant (for around the ankles helps get the wetsuit off faster),
• anti-chafe (back of the neck and around the shoulders),
• swim cap, and
• goggles

For the ride I have:

• bike,
• bike shoes (attached to bike),
• helmet,
• sunglasses,
• socks,
• water bottle on bike,
• goo (taped to the bike cross bar), and
• bike pouch with tube, CO2 bottle, bike tool

For run I have:

• running shoes
• hat

 I debated taking the bike pouch, but then decide that firstly it didn't actually weigh very much, and secondly I wanted to finish and not having it in the event I got a puncture would pretty much rule out finishing.

So when I finally get to sleep Saturday night I seem to wake up immediately - it is 5:30am and apparently it is Tri Time.  I get up and get everything in the car.  Then make Colleen's coffee and have a bowl of Coco Crispies (Coco Pops for the Australian), purrfect tri food.  Just before 6am we are out on the road.

On the road

Get to the Tri at just after 6:20am and start figuring out what we need to do.  I take my stuff in and find somewhere to set it up.  I do this mainly through looking how other people have done it and then copying it.  Put the bike in the bike rack, lay a towel down beside the bike and on it put my riding/running number my running shoes and my hat.

Setting up the transition area

Put my helmet on the bike in it my socks and my sunglasses.  The goo is already taped to the crossbar and the water bottle is in its holder.  I take the wetsuit and the timing chip with me and go to get my number on.  I stand in a queue until a guy with a marker pen writes "179" down each of my arms and "40" on the back of my right calf.  I feel a bit like a cheat.  The USA Triathlon rules are you compete in the age group that you will be that year.  Since I will turn 40 this year I am in this age group even though my birthday isn't until December, so I am likely to be one of the youngest people in the age group.

I wanted to get there early enough so I wouldn't be rushed and I did that, probably bit to well.  Colleen and I stand around for a bit.  Her waiting for me to do something, me waiting for others to do it first so I would know what to do and when to do it.

Playing with my watch while waiting to be shown the way to Tri

Finally some people started putting on their wetsuits and testing the waters ... so sun screened myself.  Then I lubed up my ankles and anti-chafed my neck and shoulders and put on the wetsuit and went for a swim.  This probably wasn't the first time I should have been doing this.  I am pretty for optimal results I should have tried this at least once or twice before the tri, not just right before the tri.  But you know what they say "half-assed is blissfully ignorant".  At least thats what I was hoping.

Unfortunately I wasn't blissfully ignorant.  I got into the water fully aware that I didn't know what I was doing, how I was going to do it and fearing both the cold and drowning ... in that order, as I was pretty sure I wouldn't drown ... I don't think you can drown from embarrassment.  That initial swim wasn't too bad.  But I didn't exactly fill myself with confidence either.  I tried not to think about anything other than swimming and then actually tried to do it.  It half worked  I felt cold and probably looked like I was trying to swim.  Mercifully the announcer told everyone to get out and get ready.  I got out and hoped to eventually to have a semblance of readiness.

Hopefully resembling ready

The first wave went and they looked fast - they got the second wave to line up, my wave.  I moved to the back and tried to not think about not being able to swim.  I thought it would be important to at least pretend I felt like I knew what I was doing.

Oozing Confidence ...

The announcer counted down from 10.  "10 ... 9 ... 8"  I adjusted my cap and took my googles off, trying to appear nonchalant, but really wondering if I could get out of this by loosing my goggles.  "5 ... 4 ... 3".  I put my goggles on resigned to my fate.  The gun went off and I walked into the water like I was walking towards my executioner.  Others ran and jumped, while I strolled rather sadly into the lake.

Fate sealed, I walk towards it ... slowly

I start swimming and then start to panic.  I feel my heart rate skyrocketing and start gasping.  The water is cold and I don't like it.  There are people all around me splashing and I don't like that either.  I tell myself to get a grip of ... myself and to relax.  I start to get a bit more comfortable and start to just swim and gradually found a rhythm.  I started to pass some of the people that had run past me at the start and by the first buoy I was starting to at least not be scared.  I still stopped and did breaststroke every now and again, or stopping to wash out my goggles that were fogging regularly or just to take a bit of a break.

The swim course was two 750m (just under 1/2 mile) loops with you having to exit the water and run around a marker on the beach.  I have no idea why they did it this way, but they did.  As I finished the first lap and started the second I was starting to feel the wetsuit weight on my shoulder and I started to play with my swim stoke.  Shortening my reach a little seem to make it easier so I kept that up for a while.  This guy was swimming right on my toes.  Hitting my feet every couple of meters so I put in a big kick to move him, which seemed to work.  Coming in towards the shore for the final time I started to really be confident, the fact that I was going to survive was now obvious to me so I swam pretty hard to the beach.

Clever watch showing my swim course

As I got to the beach Colleen was cheering for me ... right up until the point I obviously wasn't going fast enough.  "You better run faster babis!!!" came her cry, followed by the peels of laughter from the rest of the crowd.  I bowed my head and tried to pickup my pace.  It was at this point I realized I wasn't finished.  My little moment of euphoria as I finished the swim disappeared quickly as I realized that I had to keep going.  I jogged up the beach, and into the transition area.  It is amazing how such a simple set of tasks becomes so complicated when you are physically drained.  I stumbled out of the wetsuit.  Put my number on, then helmet, sunglasses and socks ... then ran my bike out of the transition to start the bike course.

I choose this photo, not just for my flattering position,

but because 170 there is down in the results as a female called "Mising Name"

193 over there beats me by two minutes pretty much all in the run section.

I surprise myself and get my bike shoes on relatively easily while riding, and then I start trying to find a tempo.  While playing with clever watch trying to get the normal riding screen up (operation is a little different while in MultiSport mode) I hit the wrong button and the watch thinks I am in T2 (the second transition between bike and run) and refuses to show me any of my normal riding information, cadence, heart rate, speed, etc.  I sigh, put my head down and start riding.  No fancy electronic update for me for the next hour plus.  I feel pretty good on the bike, but have trouble getting all the way down on the areobars.  Whatever muscles near my hip I use (or don't use) for swimming I am annoying terribly when on the areobars, which is a pretty serious disadvantage since I am riding into a block headwind.

I feel like I am riding pretty well when this guy just blows past me on a very flash bike.  I don't even consider trying to go with him.   I pass two people riding with those flash disk wheels, which incidentally cost more than my whole bike which makes me happy.  There are a lot of people here with very flash bikes and I feel a great deal of satisfaction in passing them, right up until the guy on the old squeaky old bike passes me.  The first half of the ride is flat and into the wind.  just after half way the loop starts coming back and hits a steep little uphill.  I to my personal satisfaction pass about 7 people going up the hill that is a little over a mile (1.6km) and then another couple at the top and a half-dozen or so on the way down.  I start to pick up the pace on the downhill section on the way back in.  The wind isn't right behind but definitely helping.  I keep passing people on the way back and back into the transition area.

Coming into the second transition

I jump off the bike and wheel it to my stand.  Put on and lace up the shoes and turn my number around to face front and run off forgetting my hat.  A guy there just before me runs off with the crowd shouting at him to stop he is going the wrong way.  He (with fuzzy headed exhaustion I am sure) completely ignores them and runs out the swim in area.  I do up my shoe laces and start my run, going out the correct exit to start the run.

Starting the run

It is at this point I really wonder what I am doing.  Why exactly am I running away from all my stuff now to go out 3 miles and then back 3 miles to pickup all my stuff?  I run out with this guy who has 28 on the back of his right calf.  I pass him during the first half mile and then watch him pass me.  The a guy with 52 on his calf passes me, then a 48, then a 42, another 48, then a 41 and a 50.  I am feeling pretty shattered by this stage, as I think I am running pretty well.

I also come to the conclusion I am old at this point.  It is amazing how quickly becoming physically exhausted can mess with you mental state.  Perhaps instead of "enhanced interrogation" they should just get these suspects into Triathlons.  I have only been exercising for 2 hours and I have conceded my youth.  Every time someone older than me passes me I attempt to stay with them.  When it is someone younger I think to myself "off you go kid, no reason for me to keep up with you."

I reach the turn and start to head back.  Three miles doesn't really seem that far now.  One of those old guys going past me lets me know my shoelaces are undone.  I mumble something incoherent at him.  The 4 mile marker passes me then the 5.  I check behind me and I am in a vacuum, I can't see anyone behind me or in front.  I go past the 6 mile marker and the volunteers are all cheering and telling me not long to go.  I keep running hoping to see the finish.  I finally round the last corner and see it.  I try to sprint but don't have the will power and perhaps not the energy to.  The clock says 2:33:?? and I am finished.

 Crossing the finish line

I managed to get clever watch sorted out after messing it up for the ride.  Here is how the run looked.

Clever watch reporting on the Run

So you can go to the website here and find my results - or you can trust me and read them here.

Swim (1500m or .935 miles)	26:59
Transition #1	2:04
Ride (40km or 24.9 miles)	1:08:00
Transition #2	1:45
Run (10km or 6.2 miles)	49:18
Total	2:28:06

So that was that - through the week I will do a follow up of what I think I have learnt from the first tri and how I can get better.

Credit where credit is due - thanks to Colleen for all the great photos.  Thanks gorgeous!

Pre Tri Week

So I am actually signed up for a Tri, so this week preparing for it.  I decide to work hard the first half of the week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then Thursday, Friday and Saturday just easy sessions.

Monday:
Colleen needs to go to her storage shed to pick up some gear.  So I map out a 4 mile run to the shed to meet her there.  I decide to go out pretty fast.  I run 4.1 miles (about 6.6km) in 30 mins.  I was pretty happy with that, it was a fairly tough run.  Different sections of the run were straight into a stiff breeze, and I feel it affected me more mentally then actually slowing me down physically.

Tuesday:
Into the pool.  Do two quick laps in in under 40 seconds.  Then push out for the 100 laps, complete them in 38:35.  Which is pretty decent.  Then I finished up the rest of the mile and a half with a 4 lap IM.  I do breaststroke down, and backstroke back.  I then bust out perhaps the worst 25 yards of butterfly the pool has seen for a while and then cruise back with the freestyle.

Wednesday:
Out for a ride on the normal loop.  I do it at about 85% because I lack the desire to harder.  The ride is OK, my moving average is just under 20mph (32km/h).  The ride looks better than it might have otherwise as I get lucky at a lot of lights.  I am a bit disappointed about how quick it was without going as hard as possible, I sort of felt like maybe I should have tried harder and done a really good ride.

Thursday:
Start the second half of the week and into the "taper".  Out for a run with Colleen, just a quick 3 miles.  I do it at Colleen pace and we wrap it up right on 30 minutes, for 10 minute miles.  A nice little loosener to just keep active.

Friday:
Out for a ride with Colleen, and we really don't push any pace, about a third of the way through Colleen realizes we need to be somewhere soon.  So we turned around an got back with a little hustle.  It turns out to be only 14 miles and only with a 15mph moving average.  Not much of a ride compared to most of those I usually do - but enough.

Saturday:
I go to the lake where the tri will be held to firstly get used to swimming in the wetsuit, and secondly to get some experience swimming "open water".  The last (and only) time I did an open water swim I didn't do particularly well and I am starting to think about that poor attempt.  I get to the lake and it is all closed off, because of the tri tomorrow.  I think seriously about going in anyway but decide I don't want to get thrown out.

Go home and ride to the pool and do a quick half mile (800m), about half the length of the swim - not out of any specific planning, but because I got the pool hours wrong and they were closing and that was as much as I could do comfortably.  I finish up and ride home.  I think the week went pretty well, next up the first tri.

No Tri yet, but soon ... Tri!

So I didn't get to the Tri this weekend.  There we some ... complications.  I will get into those as they occur in the timeline of the blog.

Monday
Off to Soccer at EA.  Nothing particularly special just a nice run.  3.74miles under an hour.  Not too bad not to good.  Soccer is getting better though and it is helping  my overall fitness.

Tuesday
The reverse alpine loop on the bike with Colleen, she is in form and does a really good job.  Her moving average is 17.7mph which is really tidy.  She spends a lot of time in my draft, but she is still getting better at the hills, not necessarily enjoying them, but definitely getting better.

Wednesday
Soccer at EA again, another 3.7 miles in just over an hour this time.  Nothing else to talk about there.

Late in the evening out to the pool.  The normal 1.5 miles (1.4 miles timed 4 laps warm-up and 2 laps cool down 100 laps timed).  Do the timed laps in 39:10 which I am fairly happy with - still need to get quicker.

Thursday
Out for a ride.  Do the Alpine loop as I haven't done it in quite some time.  Manage to get a lot of love from the traffic lights and from my quads and bust around the lopp really quite quickly (for me anyway).  Complete the loop in under an hour with a moving average of 21.5 mph.  Riding is something else I need to try to pick my speed up at.  I think I need to get to the gym to get my quads stronger as I am sort of stuck at ~21mph at the moment.

The Ride of Chafe

Click for a bigger version, back to return here

It is during this ride that my plans for the triathlon come unstuck.  I am not sure what was going on with my bike pants, but I get some chafing in a very unfortunate location.

Friday
Soccer again, only 3.5 miles this time, in just under an hour.  Going to have to do some more running and some less soccer.  While soccer is good and I like it - it probably isn't the best running training.

Sunday
No tri, I made the decision Saturday afternoon not to, because my chafing was still giving me grief.  Which i really annoying as I haven't had that particular issue before.  Perhaps those bike pants are done.
So I go for a swim.  Manage to do the whole 1.5 miles (106 laps) in 40:01 which I am pretty happy with, which means I have done the 100 (which I usually time) in well under 38 minutes.

I am registered for the San Jose Metro Triathlon next Sunday (the 22nd), the race website is here.  It is a full Olympic length triathlon.  1500m Swim, 40k Ride, 10km Run (or 0.94 mile Swim, 24.9 mile Ride, 6.2 mile Run).  So next Sunday is the big day.  I will try to do daily updates through the week as the big day approaches.

The Week before the Tri?

I still haven't registered, but Sundays Tri might be the go (link).  It is a bit longer (especially in the run department) than I wanted to start with, but them's the breaks.

Getting back to the week that was, this is how it all happened.

Monday
In the pool for a swim, do the normal 1.5 miles.  Still working on the 10 laps/4 mins pacing and with some suspected miscounting, but righting by watching the clock.  I bring it in in 39:15, or 45 seconds under the schedule for the 100 laps.  I am feeling fairly comfortable doing it.  Need to ensure that I am doing all the laps, and hitting the time properly.  I was going to get one of these clever little watch/lap counters (link), but there were out.  I need to order one on the interwebs.

Tuesday
Lunchtime soccer at EA for a 3.5 mile run.  The field is smallish and gets relatively full, so it makes it difficult to go much further.  I am going to actually have to go back to running at some stage, especially for the longer runs.  I have a very positive opinion of how running in soccer prepares you for distance running (harking back to helping Colleen train for her 1/2 marathon), when I ran 11 miles without much difficulty, without any previous distance running but a lot of soccer.  However I was playing a lot more soccer then.

Wednesday
Out for a ride and around the normal loop.  pretty decent ride.  21mph moving average, and it was windy!  Nothing particularly noteworthy happens on the ride.  Fairly weary when I return though.  Looking back at the stats I am a little disappointed with my cadence.  I try to keep it over 90, but for the ride I averaged 86.  Need to work on that.

Thursday
In the pool again and I take the garmin.  The plan is to hit the lap button every 10 laps to get a really good idea of the splits.  Once again trying to make each of those 4 minutes or better.  I was pretty nervous about leaving my $400 super sports watch on then edge of the pool, but I did it anyway, and I was lucky enough to still have it at the end.  So here are the splits:

Count	Time
1-10	3:50
11-20	4:01
21-30	3:58
31-40	3:59
41-50	3:53
51-60	3:58
61-70	3:54
71-80	4:19
81-90	3:51
91-100	3:42

Somewhere between lap 71 and 80, I think it was 78, this woman stopped me to ask me to move.  I have no idea why she felt the need to do this - or why she couldn't swim somewhere else.  I didn't hit pause straight away, so some of this is extra time.  it also took me about 30 second to let her know I was busy swimming and she could go somewhere else and swim.  So it gave me a bit of a rest but I am pretty happy with that.  I am not sure if doing it with the $400 watch sitting on the edge of the pool is the best was to accomplish this - but the results are great.

Friday
Out to EA for soccer again, 3.58 miles in an hour.  Not too bad not that good.  But it is a very enjoyable way to burn 600 calories.

Saturday
Out on a ride with Colleen, we do the normal loop with some of Canada tacked on, to up the mileage a little.  It ends up being about 27 miles.  We take it fairly easy, and it isn't a bad ride except for the howling wind.  Colleen keeps trying to tuck in behind me while I am trying to talk to her.

I get back from the ride and turn around and off to soccer.  My legs are a little weary, but the game is on a much bigger field than a EA and it goes for longer - as a consequence I run a lot further.  A lot further.  I manage to run 6.4 miles (~10km) in 90 minutes playing soccer, which is much further than I have gone before while playing.

Saturday Soccer Track

 

Click to enlarge, back button to return here

I am thinking of making a new goal for soccer, much like the swimming goal.  Each mile for playing soccer should be no slower than a 13 minute/mile, as that is about walking pace.  Slower than that I am obviously standing around too much.  Of the mile splits during this Saturday game only one of the miles was under 13 minutes.  So I should be doing even more running that this.  Actually looking back last time Colleen and I walked, (walking at the dish) we averaged about 14:30 minutes/mile - so that will be the new standard.  By that my average pace over the saturday soccer game was right on course (14:13 min/mile), with the EA soccer games being way slow at 17:07 min/mile

Don't do anything Sunday.  LAZY.  Am I tapering for the Tri on Sunday, you guess is as good as mine!

A Full Weeks Work

So finally I exercise every day.  First some anecdotes and news.

So when I bought some new wheels for the Trek, somehow I bent them up pretty good only after a couple of rides.  So I tried to "true" them myself.  "Truing" is the process (art?) of tightening and/or loosening the spokes to bring the wheel back into straight and round, or "true".  So I played at this for hours, with no real joy - I thought it was a bit better, but not much.  Finally I decide to cough up the $15 to get the guys at Sports Basement to do it.  When I go to pick them up there is a note on the receipt.

"Don't let whoever tried to true this wheel ever touch another wheel again.  It was so messed up it took three hours to fix.  This should be a $30 charge rather than $15.  Don't ever try to true a wheel again"

The guy that was returning me the wheel wasn't the author of the memo on the receipt and started to apologize for it, when I stopped him saying "No that is probably a fair cop, I did mess with it a lot without having any idea what i was doing".

Secondly I put the 11-28 on the back wheel (finally, I have had it for about a month).  I was going to buy a new back wheel specifically for it and swap them in and out.  But as the guy at Sports Basement pointed out while talking me out of buying a wheel, "is there really that much difference you want a $600 back wheel?".  After a small amount of research, it seems there is not.

11-25:  11,12,13,14,15,17,19,21,23,25
11-28:  11,12,13,14,15,17,19,21,24,28

Probably should of thought of that myself.  So I just swapped them and put the 11-25 away for when i am a better (stronger) rider.

Monday

Finally I do some exercise on Monday, and I am into the pool.  I was all keen to do a fast swim and was watching the clock trying to do 10 laps in 4 minutes.  I felt like i was keep that up, from lap 10-100, every 10 laps i was pretty close to doing 4 mins.  I definitely wasn't losing time.  The clocks are not always the easiest to see and when I finished up, once again I has somehow missed pushing the button on my watch.  So I put down 43 minutes - which is kind of my default time for the 1.4 miles (2.2km).

Tuesday

 I was going to swim and ride but got home late.  Colleen wanted to do a quick ride so she could get to the gym, and once we hit the road she didn't really feel like she was up to it.  She was still feeling the effect of the weekend ride.  So we just did a little out and back for 11 miles (18km).  I was tempted to go out again, but never mustered the drive to do so.

Wednesday

Soccer at EA.  Running is feeling more fluid and I am starting to get to the point where my whole lower body isn't aching after playing soccer.  Enough or my stabilization muscles are starting to get stronger and used to the shocks of stopping, starting and lateral movements after a four weeks of soccer at least twice a week.  Did 4 miles (6.4km) of running in the hour of soccer.

Colleen was keen for a run when we got home, and so we went out on a little 3.2 mile (5km) loop.  She did pretty well, we averaged 10 minute miles (6:15 min/km).  When she hit 3 miles I told her to walk the rest of the way and i tried to sprint the rest of the way home.  I got half way.  I still don't have the endurance or strength in my quads yet.

Thursday

Out for a solo ride, with the new gearing on there is only one place to go. Old La Honda.  I ride out trying to go slow and fail dismally.  I get there a little tired, it is ~9miles (14km) from home.  I check my time at the bridge at the bottom, 31:13 and start up.  I put the clever watch to showing me just distance and time.  I know it is 3.3 odd miles (5km) and I know i want it to take me less than 26 minutes.  So I just look at them and ride.  I get to the top at 54:05.  New Record!   22:52.  Pretty happy with that and when I get back I am talking myself up to Colleen.  But then when I check the last ride I did, it wasn't so special.

I was much faster up the hill, once of the mile splits I was 71 seconds faster over just that mile.  But over the whole ride I was only 3 mins and 23 seconds faster.  I checked every split verses the last ride and over the first 17 miles i was 3 mins 30 seconds faster - over the last 9 miles I was actually 10 seconds slower.  To busy being chuffed with my performance up the hill.

Friday

Lunchtime soccer again.  It was a slow game I had to run two laps around the field to hit my minimum distance requirements for Colleen (3.5 miles).  The lack of distance was probably due to playing sweeper for a fair duration of that game.

Out for a swim in the evening.  I pay close attention to ensuring I hit the start button on the watch and pay close attention to the clock as I o each 10 lap segment.  I am always on target, and somehow over the last 30 laps I get 3 minutes to the good.  I hit the watch at the end and I am done in 37:15.  I think that is too fast, but I know over the last 30 laps I was on count - and earlier on my base wasn't showing me to be that fast, so I am a bit confused.  It is much faster than I usually do the 100 laps (generally around 43 mins) but it is the first (second really) time I have been on it with both the pool clock when I am in progress and the stop watch at the end.  Just have to compare it to next time and see how it looks.

Saturday

Out for a ride with Colleen and Todd, same ride as last weekend.  We do it in about the same time and speeds.  The ride is fairly flat and without the wind would be a fun, fast ride.  With the wind it is less fun and a bit more of a struggle across the rolling hills than you might otherwise expect.

Sunday

I decide after my first ride up Old La Honda with the new rear cassette I plot a somewhat crazy ride.  First up OLH and then up Kings Mountain Road, or Twin Peaks, is my catchy name for it.  Sunday I do it.

Out to OLH takes just over 29 minutes it should have taken longer, but this guy tries to race me at the bottom Sand Hill, after 280 he goes past me and I just ride his wheel to the top.  At the top he accelerates and starts down, I just tuck and roll.  He is about 30 yards (~25m) ahead at the bottom, but he rolls into the short sharp uphill and I wind up still on the big cog and blow past him and keep the momentum up the hill.   The smart thing to do would have been to ignore him and keep my strength for the hills ahead.

Up OLH I keep good pace, one guy goes up past me flying, I catch him while he is talking to a guy riding up.  Then he passes me again, and I don't see him again.  Another guy passes me about 100 yards (90m) from the top and says as he goes past, "I finally got you".  I just grab his wheel, and follow him up I push him a bit and tap him on the shoulder as he stops at the top while I ride off to the next hill. The ascent takes 24:28.  Going down down Skyline is the best part of the ride.  I need to borrow Kris's GoPro and attach it to my bike to get some video of my decent.

Over to KM (Kings Mountain) and up again.  No-one passes me on the way up KM and I pass a few people on the way up.  It takes about ~32 mins it is a less steep and less windy climb but the extra length is a killer.  The annoying think about it is the top isn't the "top", you keep going up hill after the climb and then, there is a lot of down hill, which almost makes it all worth it.  But not quite.

Details of the ride are here. 

Profile: Twin Peaks