It’s been a few days since these workouts, so I don’t remember specifics. The swim was the usual 3.4 mile swim, with breaks at each quarter mile. The new stroke is coming along – not as hard as the fist time. The bike was better – I have a helmet & tri shorts now, so I feel safer and the shorts really feel … great. I just hope too many people don’t look my direction! If you do, here’s your apology. Maybe the sight will look better next year. :) The biking went better – I went 5 miles without a break. 5 – 6 minute mile for the first 4 miles, then I pushed it for the last mile and did that one in 4 minutes. I figured out how to pace myself on the bike! Haha. Never thought that that would be something that I had a hard time with.
Author Archives: jmccabe
8/9/06 Workout – Run
Just a quick workout note – it’s late! I ran (well, jogged) this morning, again for approximately 2 miles. It’s about the best I can do right now. That’s okay – at least I can do that! I seemed to do fine – I tried to pick up the pace at the end of the 2 miles. It was tough, but I did it.
Quick note – I got some tri shorts and a helmet today – So I can be safe on the bike, and my legs can be protected a bit when I ride.
8/8/06 Workout – Bike
Biking went … well … today. Definitely better than the first time. Jason told me that my pace of roughly 5 minutes per mile on a mountain bike isn’t bad at all, so I’m not as disappointed with my first bike outing. This time I went 4 miles, with 1 rest in the middle. I did roughly 5 minute miles again. My heartrate at the beginning of the rest was around 160, and I headed back out when I calmed down to about 130.
It was a nice ride, and I figured something out. My distance is limited, it seems, because I have a hard time regulating my speed. I always want to go faster, and that takes more energy than picking a speed and staying with it. Maybe I’ll get better at regulating myself and I’ll be able to go further next time.
8/7/06 Workout – Swim
The pool’s open again, so I went for a swim this morning. Again, 3 quarter-miles at a time. The first quarter mile took me 9:38 to finish – heartrate was at 164 after that. I let it settle down to the 120s and went again. The second one took me 10:59, with the same heartrate. The third took me 11:31. Not bad overall. An improvement, I believe. It was hard, though.
I changed my stroke technique, which shaved 8 strokes off each lap. I had read the swimming technique chapter of Eric Harr’s Triathlon Training in 6 weeks book, and was trying to follow what I could remember. Front quadrant swimming, using the hand and forearm as the “paddle”, keeping a right-angle at my elbow, and pulling with an “S” shape. It was harder than not doing any of that, and my arm muscles are sore. But it seems that it works. I also changed to wearing contacts while I swim. I’ll need to do that when swimming in open water for sightings, and thought I should just start getting used to it.
My first bike-out
Thoughts after my first bike ride. I’m not able to go anywhere near as far as I thought I would be able to, and … it hurts! The seat hurts, my legs burn, and the posture just isn’t any fun. I think I’ll take more care to stretch before my next bike. I didn’t do any today. I’ve read that I’ll get used to the seat – that I’ll create callouses. Boy, I can’t wait for that! I’m also pretty slow. 3 miles in just over 15 minutes? People RUN faster than that! Ha.
I did get passed by another biker. I was encouraged – his bike had aero bars on it, so assumed that he is a triathlete. It was a mountain bike, so I could be wrong. But it was nice thinking someone else was out for the same reason as me.
I was able to adapt to the toe clips pretty easily. I thought that it would be more awkward, but they were okay. Trying to remember to pull up with my legs was interesting. I think I was doing it.
Well. Now I’ve begun training in all three sports. My weight is … approximately the same, up a little. I’m not too worried about that. I had a bad week. Having a hurt ankle prevented me from exercising, and moving has prevented us from eating home cooked meals until last night – which meant we were eating out every night. Not healthy.
This next week is looking pretty good. I’m going to start rotating my exercises – Swim, Bike, Run, repeat. Yay!
8/4/06 Workout – Bike
Today was my first bike workout. Overall, it was hard. I rode approximately 3 miles in around 15 minutes. I stopped between miles for a quick drink and a check of my pulse. It hovered around 150. Probably where I need to be.
It’s tough, and I’m not too pleased with my performance this morning, but if I just keep it up I’ll build a base. That’s all I’m trying to do now anyway.
Ankle’s away!
Well, the injury seems to be getting better, at least. I thought about working out this morning, but I figured I’d give it one more day’s rest. I have acquired a few new items, though. The most exciting is that I have been loaned a bike by my good friend Jason. He showed me how to work it (I thought I knew how bikes worked, but apparently things have changed since my … erm … BMX days 
), and I got it home last night. I was excited to go this morning, but my wife convinced me to give my ankle one more day. I’m not limping any more, but it does start to hurt if I stand on it for too long. The other acquisition is a pair of triathlon shorts. I bought them online, so I’m not sure of the fit, but the price was right, the product seems to be good quality, and according to the sizing charts, they SAY they’ll fit!
Well, either way, I am planning on going for a ride tomorrow morning. It will be my first, and I’m excited.
No Workouts?
I haven’t worked out since Friday, July 28th. Why? We’ve been moving. We moved this weekend, and that was enough exercise for me! Yesterday we were finishing cleaning the old house and as I was walking down my driveway I rolled my ankle … nothing more than that, just a roll. It seemed to be fine for most of the rest of the day, but after we picked up some stuff out of storage and brought it back o the new place, I could barely walk on it. I iced it for the rest of the night, and am wearing an ankle brace today. It seems like it’s a slight sprain. It shouldn’t do much more than keep me from running for the next couple of days. The pool is closed, so there’s no swimming, either. Well, I’ll get back to it as soon as possible.
Weight … that doesn’t make sense!
I weighed in today, and I’ve gone up 1.5 pounds, and according to my fat analyzer, have gained a half pound of fat. So, with exercising every day this week, I’ve gained weight. It hasn’t been strength training, either. I should be losing. I did eat like crap this week. Well, that’s the next to change! Eat healthier, keep exercising. I look forward to running next week. Perhaps I’ll get in my first bike ride, too.
7/28/06 Workout – Swim
I swam again today because the pool is closed next week.
My swim this morning consisted of three quarter-mile segments. I swam 18 laps, then rested for two to three minutes, then went again. Each time I finished a quarter mile my heartrate was at about 160. By the time I started the next quarter mile it was down to 124. Good swim, with each quarter mile taking me approximately 11 minutes to complete.