General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Yes! I did it, I did it! Rss Feed  
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2009-07-13 1:22 PM

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Wakefield, England
Subject: Yes! I did it, I did it!

Well, I did it!  This is my second year in triathlons.  My last 6 months have been spent trying to improve my swim and get fitter so I could pull my Oly time from 2:46 to under 2:40. (I'm 51 so I'm no youngster).

It's been a long slog but I've enjoyed the hard work.  Sometimes I felt like I was a concrete slab in the water sometimes I thought I'd got the whole swimming thing....and then it just seemed to disappear! But it is coming, and it allowed me to shave about 2.5 mins off my swim time.  (I've got Terry Laughlin's book and video so that's my next treat for autumn - sorry "fall" for you guys in the US). 

Then there was the bike.  Oh how I love the bike leg (truly, no joke)! Everyone told me to consentrate on the swim and just buy a new bike!! Of course who was I to argue.  Here's the weird thing.  I spent 6 months trying to get my swim time down and succeeded in reducing it by 2.5 mins.  I bought a new Felt B16 and reduced my bike time (43.5k) from 1:22 to 1:14!!

Next the run.  What is it about the thing that we humans should find the most natural?  Afterall, we survived by running away from the dinosaurs but after 6 months of various run routines my 10k time was 1 second LONGER than last year!!

So, what I need is some really good run workout/training (or a Jurassic Park velociraptor behind me).

However, after taking into account t1 and t2 I did the whole thing in 2:36 so thanks to some hard work and you guys at BT.com keeping me going I smashed my target.  Thanks to a great web-site.....now, if I could just get the 10k time down.....

Graham



2009-07-13 1:34 PM
in reply to: #2281587

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Subject: RE: Yes! I did it, I did it!
Congrats. That's a great time. Being an old guy myself I can appreciate the accomplishment.

JC
2009-07-13 1:50 PM
in reply to: #2281587

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Subject: RE: Yes! I did it, I did it!

Thanks JC, much appreciated.

Graham

2009-07-13 2:02 PM
in reply to: #2281587

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Subject: RE: Yes! I did it, I did it!

Wow, great improvement!

Your slightly slower run could be the result of pushing harder on the bike this year compared to last year. Of course, if pedaling harder is going to save you 8 minutes and only cost you one second of running, I wouldn't worry too much about it

Nice job

2009-07-13 9:16 PM
in reply to: #2281587

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New Haven, CT
Subject: RE: Yes! I did it, I did it!
Hi graham
Congratulations! Awesome job. You should try to put in some road races when your tri season winds down. Don't have to go crazy on 10k's even, just some 5k's here and there. There are also tons of track workouts out there that you can do, if you want to work on your LT and your speed. I have totally drunk the Crossfit Kool-Aid, and there are some fantastic running drills on crossfitendurance.com that you can do to improve your efficiency and reduce injuries. Kick some butt!
2009-07-13 9:32 PM
in reply to: #2281587

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Seattle, WA
Subject: RE: Yes! I did it, I did it!
Awesome job bilham, congrats on the time.  Im sure it feels great to know what has spawned from your hard work!  Gabe great site.


2009-07-13 9:36 PM
in reply to: #2281587

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Subject: RE: Yes! I did it, I did it!
I'm 5 yrs younger and you beat me by three minutes; and I consider myself a pretty good biker/runner. GREAT JOB!
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General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Yes! I did it, I did it! Rss Feed