GYGO New Year's Day Tri Course Set
The GYGO virtual triathlon, scheduled for Jan. 1 with world-wide participation is going to happen. I've registered and found my course. It looks like it'll be
Barton Springs for the swim. The springs are 1000 feet long, so doing some math, 750 meters of the sprint swim portion I committed to equals 2460 feet or 2.5 the length of the springs. Cool! It will be cool as the springs stay around 68 degrees all year round.
I'll make the parking lot at the springs my first transition area. The bike route will be a 10-mile hilly course going south on the Mopac feeder and then going west on Loop 360 (more hills) for a couple of miles before returning to Zilker Park. The ten miles are less than the 20K slotted for this sprint but there are some tough hills there so it evens out. Here's another course map using Map-My-Run with elevations, although the elevation feature wasn't working this morning.
Upon the return to Zilker Park, I'll go to the second transition area under the Mopac Bridge, next to the hike and bike trail. I'll run 3.47 miles on the trail, from the Mopac Bridge to the Pfluger Bridge and back. This is a little longer than a 5K but it has to be as there's no way to cross the river sooner.
The last thing to do is to get Da Fish to sign up and we'll be set.
GYGO list of worldwide participants and the triathlon lengths they'll be running Jan. 1.
Labels: GYGO, New Year's, triathlon
GYGO Virtual Tri
I just added the GYGO Virtual Tri to the schedule. I signed up last week. It's Iron Wil and Iron Kahuna's mix-your-own triathlon. Check back here for a race report Jan. 1.
Labels: Iron Wil, Kahuna, New Year's, triathlon
A Triathlon Christmas
Santa must've picked up the
USAT rosters and found my name because I got lots of triathlon booty for Christmas. A new
Giro Atmos helmet, a
Speedo skin suit, weights and a
healthstation. What's a healthstation you ask? It's a fancy way of saying a weight scale that can also calculate your body fat, body water, and muscle mass.
I wasn't prepared for the numbers the healthstation flashed at me the first time I stepped aboard. I was still close to the 10 percent body fat which was good. But I also was close to the weight when I started this whole program, 184. The difference, my body's atoms have shifted from fat to muscle. In the last week, more fat atoms have been added but they should come off in the next week or so with more cardio. I guess what is hard to get used to is having a different body for triathlon than the one I had for the marathon. For the marathon, I got down to 154 and there wasn't a whole lot of muscle there. Now it's 184 with some definition here and there and definitely some more muscle.
Yesterday, I switched over to the P90X yoga routine. It was more intense than my normal routine. My glutes were screaming for rest by the end of it. But it really got my heart rate up and I could feel it stretching areas that needed some work. So now I'm including two P90X routines weekly; back and chest and the yoga routine.
Labels: Giro Atmos, healthstation, P90X, triathlon
The Off Season
I was supposed to be smack in the middle of the running season, but the last four weeks of long runs didn't go as planned so it was time for an adjustment. My heart wasn't into the training necessary to complete the February Austin Marathon and do it well. It was also questionable that if I did do it, would it have had an impact on my triathlon season. I've been having fun with the weight training and giving my knees a rest so it's a done deal now. No marathon in February. Half marathons in January and February will feel good with no pressure.
So what's my training plan now? It's the off season for triathlon but I've been active. It's called the I'm-doing-whatever-I-feel-like-doing plan. It's only requirement is that I do something every day of the week. Some days it's one workout, some days it's two. Lots of weight training. Lots of cardio, except for running and trying to improve my weakspot...cycling. I'm not collecting exercise data, writing it down and rarely wearing the HRM. Just having fun and trying to give my knees a break.
Update on b.O.b. He's doing pretty good but he kept throwing the chain two miles short of home last week. I reworked the hub on the axle and reworked the spacers to try and get the chain a little straighter. That helped, but it was actually the master chain link that caused the problem. I put in a new link and it seemed fine. I rode it into work this morning and it threw the chain once on a climb. I think if I redish the wheel the alignment will be much better and b.O.b. won't have any more issues while commuting. The single speed b.O.b. will hopefully get my legs in better shape for next season.
Who Knew?
Who knew Da Fish was as fast on land as he was in the water?
Da Fish: Want to go for a run?
Me: Sure. TLT? 8-mile loop? Maybe easy 45 (minutes) for the first 5 (miles) and then an easier 3?
Da Fish:Wuss.
See Da Fish ran 36 (minutes) and some change the other day which was 7:xx something miles. I never ran 7:xx miles for more than 5K or 3.2 miles.
Me: So you're looking for 35 (minutes) this outing? Crazy! This is going to hurt a little.
Da Fish:Yep.
Great weather. Time: 34:37.10 or 7:11 per mile average for the 4.92 miles. No puking but I was close. We ran 9:13 per mile for the remaining three miles.
