STEPH SPRINT FULL Let's do this thing! StephSprint group FULL! (Page 34)

At the pool yesterday evening a Mom (from somewhere in Euro, the birthplace of all elite athletes) said I had very nice swim form and asked if I could show her two sons. I started to say, while admitting I was only a novice, that the most important thing is keep your head down to keep your butt up. Right away they were not interested. I kept giving tips like turn your hips like you are standing on a chair to change a light bulb, blah blah blah, and they just kind of kept diving under the water. She had me demonstrate a few times (starting to encroach on my lap time) and they didn't care about it until I said "And the worst part is how geeky you will look in your swim cap" they laughed and started to listen. At that point all I could say was that you will look extra geeky with goggle lines pressed under your eyes too.

Then a 4 mile run.

Today is severe weather, and I already took my maximum of two rest days this week. Maybe an ill advised bike ride later or a rainy swim if no zap and boom. 

skibummer - 2012-07-25 5:30 PM Awesome photos Marcus. Great job on the finish. Hope it was as much fun as you thought it would be. So when/where is your next one?

Yes, it was a lot of fun. The next one is the end of August and right down the street.  

I guess I'll just use SBR as cross training for the few running races this Fall. Had the pool all to myself yesterday during the rainy afternoon, at the expense of having to leave work early. Was nice. 

This morning I did 500/1000/500 sets in the pool. Biked the HM course. Ran two miles in the rain. I'm WAY over the weekly run mileage, so decided to go easy and not finish a 5K. Started to thunder as I reached the car. Experimented with Peppermint GU. Yummy. The coolest part was the box that I bought had a skiing snowman on it. 

That sucks...I'm so sorry. I hope you can find something else. If not, you'll be SO ready for next season!

stephsprint - 2012-07-30 8:13 PM Happy Monday night. That's all I've got.

4 mile tempo run>6 mile speedy bike>relaxing yoga.

Tuesday (today) I need to swim, bike, do some IT Band and core exercises. I dislike all the preparation needed for a swim: googles, jammers, flip flops, towel, transportation, finding a swim lane or OWS. Like how I can just go running/biking out of the door. I sometimes choose my workouts based on the hassle involved in doing the others. But sometimes I know I HAVE to do one and not the other.

Read in the local police blotter that people are getting reported for swimming in one of my OWS swim spots. I guess 'NO SWIMMING' might really mean 'NO SWIMMING!!!'

Good luck at the dentist Steph. I prefer tri pain over tooth pain any day of the year.

stephsprint - 2012-07-31 7:25 AM Off to the dentist this morning. Have not worked out yet this week. Going to the dentist, however, may just put the workout pain in perspective.

Having a bit of an off week myself.  I didn't run on Sunday, which was kinda planned.  Didn't swim yesterday because I was just too tire or too lazy.  I did get out on the bike today, but didn't make the gym to get my strength regiment in.  

I hope your dentist visit is just a visit and no drilling is required. 

Beautiful swim/run yesterday evening. I went to the pond I first 'learned' to swim and killed a .5 mile lap. The moon was rising over the mountains when I got out of the water, which made for a very nice 5K run. Had the whole place to myself, except for the last two laps when a family showed up and built a fire and shot some fireworks. Made for a memorable finish.

Starting to use my HR monitor for pacing. Tried to keep it low at the run start, but by the end I was trying to peg it.

YAY!! Go Steph!!! Now go run.

Easy day Weds. They closed the pool five minutes into my swim because they 'heard' thunder but I think the teenage lifeguards wanted to leave early. Who am I to argue with thunder though? I had left my bike at work, so I ran the 1.5 miles to get it, rode 2 miles back then ran another mile around the path.

SO...why am I so tired? Well that's because my dog barks all night and keeps me awake. 

Today is a rest day, but I still have a whole day of lawn mowing to do at work. Heat wave here through this weekend.

Can I getta WOOT WOOT!

Hi all,

Just returned yesterday from my trip out to Montana. What an absolutely gorgeous place.  We stayed at beautiful home in the mountains 2 1/2 hours south of Bozeman. It's actually only 40 miles to Yellowstone, which we visited on Monday.  Now that's a cool place! Hope to go back again someday.  Was able to get in 3 good bike rides while there and they were the most challenging rides I've ever done due to the hills and the altitude. Altitude made me really sucking for air.

 On Sunday I competed in the Bozeman Tritons Triathlon, long course.  We had two teams.  I swam for one and biked for the other.  The swim wasn't pretty.  Had my usual swim panic exacerbated by the altitude. Finally did get it together and finished in 44 minutes. Ug.  The bike......Even if I had been in top biking fitness it would have been tough.  This was the hardest 56 miles I've ever done.  There was an over 2000 foot gain.  Was at 6400 feet at the top.  What a view! The course was looooong climbs embedded with steep climbs.  The down hills were treacherous.  Winding, no shoulder (roads were open) Had to brake on many to avoid going too fast around the corners.  Top speed I reached was 39 mph.  Thankfully since this was a relay I didn't have to run after.

There were 6 relay teams participating in the long course.  The team I swam for came in 2nd.  The team I biked for came in 3rd. Our teams were made up of women in their 40's and 50's.  The team that beat us was guys in their 40's.  One team we beat was team women in their 20's.   Not too shabby., but most importantly, we all had a blast.

And Steph....congrats on the 70.3.  You can do it!!!!!  Ten months to train...easy peasy.

Two teams in one race? That sounds awesome. The OWS panic is something I deal with occasionally. And I swim solo. I bet if you threw me in the wash with people trying to drown me I'd freak right out. I usually get panicky about sea monsters, even though it turns out to be a submerged tree or rock. I stop swimming and get all weird. Sometimes I like to see the fish, but other times I get nervous. ANYWAY...Glad you had a nice trip.

I think I'm going to run a 5k race today. My run mileage is way over the 10% recommended increase from last month, (42 vs 63) so I am treading into the hurt zone. My neighbor is signed up for the HM I am doing, he said he has done it the past 2 years and it's a fun time. He is training for 26.2, and I'd like to finish ahead of him, but that doesn't look likely. Besides that, I am out just to finish.