Thursday, May 13, 2010

Impulsive HIM is Almost Here ...

I just finished up an easy 6 miles on the dreaded treadmill at the gym.  This is the first time I have been on the treadmill in a long time and I can honestly say I did not miss it at all.  I chose the treadmill today because with the HIM Sunday morning I figured the soft surface would be better for a quick recovery. Well, that and it was getting ready to thunderstorm and I didn't want to get caught up in a SE Texas summer downpour!

I am doing a mini-taper this week, sort of:   Monday was an easy 1500M swim to just get the feel of the water and recover from the long Sunday run.  Tuesday was a track day which ended up being 5.8 miles and then a 27 mile bike ride at an easy 18 mph average.  Yesterday Annie and I went for a ride in the rural rodes in Huffman.  I wanted to do 25 miles but after we got out there we were hit with 30mph winds and ended up only doing 13 miles.  It was the first time Annie has been out on the "open" roads and she had a good time despite the hard winds.  She really liked the last 5 miles back to the car when the wind was at out backs!

Tomorrow is going to be an easy AM swim and then it will be an early bedtime on Friday night.  On Saturday I am going to get up early and drive up to Dallas to pick up my packet and then head over to the hotel.

The race on Sunday begins at 7am.  The good news is that the water temp at the lake is between 68-72 degrees right now, so it looks like the wetsuit will be legal ... yeah!  The bad news is that a majority of the bike course has recently been chipped and sealed.  Now my first Tri I ever did had a section of the bike course that was literally chipped and sealed a couple of days before the race and it was awful.  Tires were blowing out all over the place and the constant vibration from the road made the ride not to fun.  Hopefully the RD will have a road sweeper in there taking care of the road, but if not it might be a real slow bike split on Sunday (And a bunch of spare tubes being used).

Being that I wasn't even aware of this race 3 weeks ago AND was planning to be taking some time off from training before I signed up.  My expectations for this are not what I would call grandiose.  I figure if I can do the swim in 1 hr, bike in 3-3:15 hrs, and the run in 2 hrs I will be able to come in around 6-6:15 hrs.  My strategy is going to be to go about 80-85% on the bike (chipped road should make that easy to do) and then save something for the run where I have a chance to make up some time if my body is feeling good!

My one concern is that it might be hot on the course.  We have had a very cool winter/spring by Houston standards up until the last 2 weeks.  It has been in the upper 80's and low 90's with high humidity recently and it has been hard to acclimate.   By July I will be used to it again but right now it has been hard (KC and IronBob living in FL probably can relate) and my performance is feeling the heat!

Couple other things:

  • My weight was down to 152 lbs this morning!  3 lbs loss in 3 days - should be at 150 by Saturday!
  • LOST was frustrating.  The episode was cool seeing how Jacob and the MiB came to be on the island but as usual with LOST every answer created a bunch more questions. This felt more like an episode we should have seen like 2 years ago.  I have no idea how they are going to wrap this sucker up in 3.5 hours!
  • Treadmills are the creation of the devil himself.
  • If you are a neutral runner when Brooks releases the 2011 Defyance 4 Trainers go out and buy them immediately.  By far the best shoe I have ever used.  And unlike the Defyance 3 they are super cool looking.
  • About 9 total people in my gym today at 5pm.  Guess the resolutionists and the "fit in swimsuit" crowd has bowed out.... not bad they made it to the 5th month of the year!
  • I am staying at the hotel on Sunday night after the race so check back then for a what is sure to be an  epic (and probably alcohol influenced) race report.
Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

23 comments:

  1. PG-13?! Has that always been there? weird.

    **3 lbs loss in 3 days **?! I'm hoping you weighed yourself after a big turd. men. seriously. you THINK weight loss and poof! It happens.

    And seriously "dreaded treadmill"? Show Ed some love.

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  2. Congrats on the quick weight loss. Wish I could do it that quickly! Sounds like some nasty winds. I do terrible in the heat, I hope it is Texas cool for you on race day (not like Maine cool, which is 20 degrees) :)

    LOST made me mad too.

    Good luck this weekend, you are going to do awesome!

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  3. You'll do great. Remember to stay as far to the outside as possible on the swim. If it is a good distance to the first turn, you won't swim but an extra 50 feet or so and avoid a lot of the washing machine.

    We finally got our bikes back (10 days) from TriBike, so we will be out there hammering 85 or so thinking about you on Sunday...


    good luck and remember to have FUN!!

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  4. Jeff, buenas suerte este domingo en la carrera! We're expecting that rain next week so the w/e is looking good Here but freakin' HOT! Should be interesting come run time. You know i'll be sending lots of positive race vibes your way. Like our buddy Bob said, have fun and the rest will fall in place.

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  5. Enjoy the race. Don't think you need to drop any more lbs beforehand as it may weaken you. BTW: you will swim much faster than one hour.

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  6. Ugh...sorry about the bike course. Hopefully the roads will be good by the race!

    I think your goals are totally doable! You are going to do great!

    LOST...I liked the episode, but I agree, I have no idea how they are going to end it.

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  7. Noticed that the swim lanes were open today :) The resolutioners left our gym too already!!! haha, and we just joined, sheesh do we have this backwards?!

    Good luck, hope you are getting pumped, this is a great experience for you! You will kill it!

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  8. Hi Jeff,
    Way to get it done on the mill! Also nice job on the windy bike ride!! Annie....way to tough it up:)

    How come guys can drop the pounds so easy? Seriously, what is with that?

    Good luck this weekend:)

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  9. Em ... coffee, dump, scale ... always a positive result.

    Mandy - Maine cool would end me!!

    Bob - will stay out of the washing machine. I will use your strategy. Glad you finally got your bikes back ... quite the wait?

    KC - Thanks for the well wishes! I'm sending those good vibes right back at you!

    RST - 50 mins is probably more realistic but I am a slow swimmer!

    Aimee - Lost is so frustrating but I CANNOT wait for next week...I just want some answers already ....arrghhh!

    Matt - the gym is a funny place. So much blog material is there for the taking. I am going to start bringing my blackberry in so I can take photos of people! I am looking forward to the race. Not so much the 5+ hour drive though!

    Julie - I was proud of Annie. The wind always sucks but it is even worse when you are new to cycling and still learning the bike she did great! My body is a fat burning machine right now! I actually need to put some weight back on after the race. Starting Sunday night my new goal is to gain 10 pounds in 2 weeks while still eating clean!

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  10. Hi Jeff,

    Have a good race, man. I'm sure it will go well. Look forward to the race report.

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  11. By the way, being able to entitle your post "Impulsive HIM" without revealing a shed of irony is quite impressive. You've come a long way - nicely played.

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  12. I am excited about your upcoming HIM! This will be a significant milestone for you.

    Btw, I totally agree with you about LOST.

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  13. Good luck and enjoy! You'll do great!

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  14. Hope you have a great race, and that the roads won't be too bad for cycling! Looking forward to the race report!

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  15. I know I'm new to your blog, especially your comments section, and I know I should be commenting on your impulsive HIM, but I just can't. The reason I cannot do this is because I just HAVE to comment on LOST!

    That episode WAS frustrating! It doesn't answer where Jacob and MiB came from! I mean, it does (their mother), but I could've told you that! How did anyone get to the island?! Man oh man, they have a monumental job of wrapping this whole thing up.

    All that being said, I have to say, making those call backs to the first season (Adam and Eve and the Smoke Monster coming from "the light") was pretty cool.

    Anyhow, good luck this weekend!

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  16. Patrick - that was planned...lol. Glad you enjoyed it!

    Mike - I know what you are talking about. If someone is willing to listen to me talk about LOST I will go on and on. It is so frustrating but also so cool at the same time. I told one of my buddies that this episode was really nothing more than filler. We didn't learn anything of significance at all. Hopefully, something from this ep will make more sense in the upcoming two weeks?

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  17. What, no rant about the Pens? You're too focused on this weekend!

    Have fun and I wish you the best!

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  18. Enjoy the race! You'll do great...

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  19. Good luck in the race! We live in the land of chip-seal. I avoid it at all costs, be careful! Look forward to the RR!

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  20. Six easy miles?? You make me sick!!

    Good luck this weekend, I hope they were wrong about the rodes, the vibration will wear on you some. You will do great.

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  21. Good luck this weekend and I hope you don't get any flats! Nothing more frustrating than flatting during a race.

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  22. Good Luck this weekend this is very cool and excited. I am dying to hear how it goes especially with the heat on the run. Just make sure you have FUN!!!!!! it is your 1st HIM so enjoy it!

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  23. Hey there!
    cool to have this post, as my first read of your blog. So fun that you have an HIM on Sunday! woo-hoo! you go!! will be curious to hear how it goes.

    and I think Annie and I may be similar riders;-)

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