December update

My ironman triathlon was the biggest thing in my life during 2016, both the training and the actual event. Here is my final graph showing how many miles I traveled during the year compared to previous years. Honestly, I only did 56 miles in the past 3 months. I have to get back into training...but what will my goal be? I'll let you know when I figure that out.#MidlifeCrisis

AMYMSA Sewickly

Race: Masters swim meet
Date: December 4, 2016
Location: Sewickly, Pa

100 breaststroke: This felt like a strong and fast swim but I finished 3.63 seconds slower than my personal best. That's a lot of time for a 100-yard race. I am puzzled. My only explanation is that my warmup swim of 300 yards was more than an hour before and I wasn't "warm" anymore.

50-free: I finished in 29.21 seconds, which is 0.83 seconds slower than my personal best. This would be a mediocre result if I hadn't slipped on the starting block at the start. Because I didn't have a good start, I know I could have finished with a faster time, coming much closer to my personal best if not setting a new one.

25-yard butterfly: I signed up for this event just for fun but after my disappointing 100-breaststroke earlier in the meet, I wanted to do this one well. Nope! I finished in 14.96, which is 1.22 seconds slower than my personal best. That's terrible for a 25-yard event! **But in 2015-16 season my best time was 14.98, so at least I am better than last year.

500-free: I finished in 7:08.78, which was 4.42 seconds slower than my personal best. I had a really solid first 300 yards, beating or staying with my nearest competitor two lanes away. Shannan says I was on pace to finish around 6:50. But my last 200 was slower. I think I could have beat my time but I didn't have the motivation.

AMYMSA Greensburg

Race: Masters swim meet
Date: November 20, 2016
Location: Greensburg, PA

I'm starting to get serious about my competitive swimming again (after a lazy year in 2015 and the longer distance training for my 2016 Ironman). This meet illustrates that I still have speed, and by later in the season I am likely to have more.

My first event was the 100 IM. This was extra fun because Dan was in the lane next to me, and one of these days I'm going to beat him. I didn't have a great dive; I just wasn't ready when the signal sounded. My fly felt good though, and I was at the wall before I knew it. My turn was sloppy. I really need to think while I swim and plan ahead for these things. Anyway, Dan was ahead during the whole butterfly segment and I needed to get closer on backstroke. You can't see your competitors during backstroke so I just went as fast as i could. I felt my legs sinking a bit and solved the problem halfway through by kicking with my hips more than my knees. I had a nice turn at the wall and saw that Dan and I were neck-to-neck. My pullout in the breaststroke was a little short, but I was keeping up with Dan. His turns are better than mine, but in breaststroke I might have a touch faster stroke. At the wall I did a good turn and poured on the gas during freestyle. I kicked hard. I stopped breathing. I wanted to out-touch Dan. I think I improved my position from half a body length to getting even with him. We touched the wall at the same time...well, almost. He finished in 1:13.65. I finished in 1:13.88. I didn't beat him...this time! I still feel great about my race though, as I was just 0.12 seconds slower than my personal best. I can beat that next time.

My second event was the 50 Fly. I practiced this some during the previous week, but I'm pretty rusty after having ignored the stroke during my Ironman training. My dive was good and I added a few underwater kicks that seem to be helping me to surface in a more horizontal position. I concentrated on form and my swim probably looked really good, but I didn't have a fast turnover rate. My time was thus 1.69 seconds slower than my personal best. I am not unhappy with this. In order to get faster I had to improve my form. I didn't have good form last month; now I do, and I will get faster next swim meet.

My third event was the 50 Back. I don't swim this often because I don't feel good about my start (and it is hard to practice it at my pool). Anyway, I learned from the 100 IM and made sure to kick with my whole legs instead of just below the knees. I pulled a lot of water with my arms and I did the best I could. Even my turn and finish were really good. My finish time was 36.16, which was just 0.14 seconds off my personal best. Again, I feel like I can lower this next time I swim!

Feeling good about my previous events, I felt the pressure to perform lighten and it appears I took the 200 Freestyle a little too easy. A swimmer at the block was talking to me about how important it is to swim a little slower during the first half of the event so that you still have power at the end. I decided to take this advice so I reigned in my swimming during the first 3 laps. But this backfired because by the last lap my arms were still fatigued and I couldn't go any faster. My finish time was 2:31.27, almost 3 seconds slower than my personal best, and 0.39 seconds slower than two weeks ago.

Overall, I had a great time, and made an effort to talk to more people, too. The meets in 2015 were not as fun because I wasn't as social and I wasn't training as hard, either.

October update

October fitness totals: 9 miles swimming + 0 miles biking + 3 miles running + 6 miles walking = 17 miles. Ha!! What a sloth I've been. I got busy at work and took the recovery from my ironman quite seriously. I plan to ramp this up over the next few months while I figure out what races to do next summer.

AMYMSA Edinboro

Race: Masters swim meet
Date: October 16, 2016
Location: Edinboro, PA

500 free: swam in 7:15.73. This was about 11 seconds off my fastest time, and I'm ok with that. It's a good start to my swim season and I feel I can lower that to an even 7:00 with practice.

25 fly: I swam this in 18.66 seconds, which is ridiculously slow. I messed up on the dive, which really matters on a short swim like this. I laughed it off.

50 free: My time was 29.65, a little more than a second off my best time. Again, this is an ok time for me given it is the start of the season. I can brush up on my dive and turn and get this down to my fastest time in a few months. Today I had a breathing plan, too, but I forgot to execute it during the swim. I took 0 breaths in the first length and then 4 in the second. If I even this out, I can maybe swim faster during the second length.

100 breast: I swam this in 1:23.58, which was about 5 seconds slower than my personal best. The swim felt good except for my pull-outs at each wall. I don't usually have a bad turn so it just wasn't in the cards today. A faster swimmer complimented my stroke, so I am pleased. There were 25 people who did this event and only 4 of them were faster than me.

Air Force 10K

Race: Air Force Marathon 10K
Date: September 17, 2016
Location: Dayton, OH
Time: 56:20
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: X out of X
Results: http:

I ran with Kendra the whole time. My goal was not to set a record but just be her companion. I let her set the pace unless I felt her slowing. Then I ran a stride ahead of her, always with an ear to her heavy breathing. There was one spot at mile 4 where she sped up to a 8:00 min/mile pace or faster. I kept up, but worried she would burn out. She told me later that she saw a couple girls in her age group she wanted to beat. And she did. But mile 5 was a big challenge for her. She started hyperventilating and I helped her get back to normal breathing by telling her to breath out all the way when she exhaled. At the last 0.2 miles she started sprinting. I could have kept her pace but didn't want to be sore in the morning so she beat me by 4 seconds. Good going, girl! She came in 2nd in her age group, a field of 78 kids. My time was not a personal best, but it was still in the top 10% of 2000 participants.

Home now.

I am home, fed, and partially rested. As my friends, you know I will post a long race report soon. In the meantime, I am overwhelmed with the large number of personal notes, facebook posts, and in-person congratulations I have received. Thank you for your love. I really feel it.

I am an Ironman!

Race: Rev3 Cedar Point Full Triathlon
Date: September 11, 2016
Location: Cedar Point, OH
Time: 13:37:57
Age Group Rank: 9 out of 11
Results: http:

I am an ironman now! When my friend Dan and I did a half-ironman (70.3 miles) in 2014, I had so much fun that I wondered if doing twice the length would be twice as much fun. Today, having finished a 140.6 mile race, I have the answer: it was just as much fun as the half-distance race with an even greater sense of accomplishment and inner strength. There is an often-used saying that you can do anything you want if you are dedicated enough. I am not sure that is always true because there are so many factors beyond your control, but I am happy to illustrate a case where the saying did come true.

Let’s do my report by time of day. I looked at my watch regularly to make sure I was on track to finish the race in 15-16 hours. Are you ready to spend the day with me? Let’s go:

5:00am. Dan and I wake up in the shared motel room. We had gone to bed around 9:30pm the night before, after having dinner with my parents and stopping at two stores for supplies. One store was a Subway where I bought a 6-inch cold-cut sandwich for me to pack in my “Special Needs Bike” bag.

5:37am. I took my time eating Corn Pops cereal so we were late for my target departure time of 5:30am.

5:50am. I entered the transition zone. I racked my bike and dropped off 4 bags at different locations, each containing the supplies and food I would need at various stages during the triathlon. I was so nervous on Saturday that I would forget to put needed items into the proper bags.

6:25am. Transition zone was closing. It was time to walk 800 yards to the boat launch where the swim would start. The swim was taking place in a marina sheltered from the bigger waves of Lake Erie. I didn’t mind swimming in the marina, but the swim was supposed to be in the open water of Lake Erie. The race director decided to change the location due to wind conditions.

6:50am. The sun was still below the horizon when they played the national anthem. Today was the 15^th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, so we also paused for a moment of silence. I chose to look at the hundreds of small American flags that race organizers had placed around the boat launch. The flags were fully extended in the 14 mph wind. I was happy to be wearing my wetsuit because it kept me warm in the air as well as in the water.

7:00am. The racers lined up two-by-two and we were sent into the water every 10 seconds. The water was a perfect 75 degrees. The “time trial” start meant I didn’t have to worry about running into as many people on the swim as what would have happened if we had had a mass start.

7:05am. I immediately started swimming toward the wrong buoy. We were supposed to swim counter-clockwise around the marina, keeping the big yellow buoys on our left. I headed for the first buoy I could see. This buoy was on the far side of the looped course so eventually I would encounter it again, but not now. A kayaker intercepted me and pointed me in the right direction. I over-corrected and started swimming too close to the rock breakwater. My right arm hit rocks underneath, so I veered back into deeper water. This incident took my confidence down a notch. I had a long race ahead of me. How many more mistakes would I make today?

7:15am. I didn’t like this swim course. I was swimming right next to giant yachts (was I too close?), alongside a breakwater (would I run into more rocks?), and sometimes under branches emanating from trees growing on the breakwater (creepy, but kind of cool). Sometimes I was swimming right next to someone else (stressful), and other times the nearest swimmer seemed too far away (was I doing something wrong?). About this time, another kayaker got my attention and pointed to other swimmers a little farther off shore. He said “there is a better current over there.” Oh, I thought to myself. So that’s why they were over there and I was seemingly swimming all alone among the weeds and water snakes. I shifted into the deeper water and felt the propulsion of current. I felt like a sea turtle. It was a thrill. I just wish I had known about that earlier. At the southeastern end of the marina the water grew choppy, but I had just done the Presque Isle Sprint Triathlon a month before, and the water there was worse. This swim was going fine after all.

7:44am. I started my second loop of the swim course and felt more confident about my bearings. My arms were too warm, my calf muscles felt slightly crampy, but nothing was too bothersome. The sun was just now breaking through clouds on the horizon. The mix of patchy gray fog and a white cloud-speckled blue sky with rays of golden sun spurred a sense of thanksgiving within me.

8:20am. I saw Dan on shore with his camera. I gave him an “a-ok” signal with my hand as I took a stroke.

8:27am. I finished my swim in 1:27, about 18 minutes faster than I had anticipated. This put me in 31^st place overall, out of 90 racers. The calmer waters of the marina (versus the open lake) and the reduced need for sighting probably helped me keep to a straighter line and finish sooner. Upon exiting the water, volunteers helped me strip out of the wetsuit. Then I put the wetsuit, swim cap, and goggles into a mesh bag with backpack straps, put it on, and retrieved a pair of running shoes I had left in the designated location. After a few wobbly strides, I ran stiffly the half-mile distance to the transition zone.

8:32am. In transition, I was directed into the changing tent to prepare for the bike segment. The changing tent was a surreal and dreamy experience. There were plastic folding chairs for athletes to sit in as we changed our shoes.  A volunteer visited each athlete, asking if we needed water, Gatorade, or energy bars. I asked for water, and he returned in an instant with a cup of ice water. I think maybe if I had asked him for a hot towel and a glass of wine, he would have gotten that for me, too. It was like I was flying first class in an airplane. We spoke in muted tones, honoring the performance in which we all played a role.

8:39am. I left the changing tent with food stuffed in one pocket of my tri suit and the Quarq GPS tracking device in the other pocket. The Quark would transmit my position every minute to a website where my friends and family could watch my progress in real time. It was the size of a bar of soap and besides taking up valuable space in my pocket where more food would have gone, it was a great thing to have.

9:30am. The bike route coursed along a narrow strip of land with a beach on one side and homes on the other. As soon after it reached the mainland the course weaved through a neighborhood near a school. It was at this spot where I saw an ambulance crew loading an athlete onto a stretcher. I was moving at an average speed of 20mph so I didn’t have the chance to gawk, but it didn’t look good. I remember my first thought was “that’s so disappointing that she had an accident at the start of the race.” This reasoning isn’t quite logical, as it shouldn’t make any difference whether the crash was at the start or the finish. It would still be a bad day for the athlete. But what my thought process suggested was that I was having a good time, and I wouldn’t want to crash so early in what I hoped would be a very fun day.

10:00am. I had been following another guy on a bike for maybe an hour. Drafting was illegal for this race so I maintained a following distance of at least three bike lengths. He knew I was there because at every intersection controlled by police, he would thank them for being there, and then a second later, I would do the same. I really wanted to keep following him because it takes less mental energy to follow than to lead. However, we encountered a small hill and he slowed down. Having trained on the hills of Pittsburgh, I am a really good climber. I just couldn’t slow down for the hills, so I passed him.

11:00am. I passed through an aid station with a bottle exchange. I had been taking sips of Gatorade every 15-20 minutes so by this time, one of my bike’s bottles was empty. I slowed down a little, discarded the empty bottle, and grabbed another from a volunteer. It was effortless, like a pro. I had an emotional moment after passing through that aid station. I had tears. Was I grieving the loss of the water bottle? No, that couldn’t be it. I had planned to discard the bottle during this race. So maybe it was just a moment of reflection on how well this race was going for me.

11:15am. For food, I had been eating some Stinger Waffles I had stuffed in my pocket. I like the Waffles a lot better, but I wanted something different so at another aid station I stuck my hand out and grabbed a pre-opened portion of a PowerBar from a volunteer.  No one was stopping to eat, so I didn’t either. The PowerBar was so dry, I almost choked. It’s hard to eat and exercise at the same time.

11:30am. I came upon the half-way point on the bike route where our “Special Needs Bike” bags were distributed by volunteers. One person stood along the road well out ahead of the aid station and read our numbers. By the time we pedaled to the aid station, some Boy Scouts had found my numbered bag and handed it to me. I pulled over and took out my Subway sandwich. I stood there eating it for about 15 minutes as numerous cyclists grabbed their bags and went on. If they happened to see me, they looked at my sandwich with great envy. The volunteers were laughing at what I was doing; here I was, stopped, and eating a sandwich. I was joking with them and asking about their day. I was so relaxed and in good humor that they couldn’t believe I was doing a race. “I like this guy!” the Boy Scout leader kept saying. I am a slow eater. I finally finished, retrieved a few more Waffles and Clif bars from my special needs bag and put them into my pocket, and started on my way. Then I turned back and asked the volunteers where the porta-john was. They laughed some more and pointed me to a nearby intersection. After a few more minutes, I was on my way.

11:36am. I saw Dan and my parents along the roadside with signs, cheering for me. My mom’s voice carried more than anyone’s. She was so proud of me.  I am 41 years old, and the love and support of my parents still means a lot. I was heading downhill and couldn’t stop to say hello. I felt bad that they must have been sitting there for an hour waiting for me, and within 5 seconds I was gone.

1:00pm. I finally found another cyclist to follow and this helped pass the time. After a few minutes, though, we came upon an athlete who had pulled her bike to the shoulder. She had a flat. Proper etiquette required we pull over and assist her. Fortunately, though, the guy I was following encountered her first, so he was more responsible for helping than I was. The woman had a patch kit but no pump. That’s poor planning, you know? I don’t want to sound too critical, but you can certainly fix a flat with a patch, but that does little good without some way to re-inflate the tube. I’m not sure whether or not the guy in front of me stayed with her and used his pump to assist her, but since he was there, I felt I could move on without violating my ethical code.

1:28pm. By this time I was well into my second loop of the bike course. The field of competitors had really spread out and there was no one within view ahead of me or behind me. There had not been a lot of people passing me during the day, but I spent almost 18 minutes off the bike at lunch, so I guess a lot of folks passed me then (race data show about 20 people doing the full length race passed me between miles 22 and 60). My lower back was sore. The wind was no fun. I had maintained an average speed of 17.0 mph for 80 miles. I tried to think about how few miles I had before I could stop, but 112-80=32 miles and that still equated to two hours more to go. That wasn’t really a comfort so I stopped doing math.

1:32pm. I wasn’t feeling right. My leg muscles felt fine but my thought process didn’t feel sharp anymore. My speed had slowed to 13-14 mph. I also realized that my performance’s soundtrack had gone quiet. You see, I sing silently to myself when I exercise. I make up random tunes in my head and sing them over and over, coordinating my limb movements with the song in my head. Sometimes I sing tunes from church, or Christmas carols. But now on my bike ride, my mind had stopped singing. This was a clue that I was bonking; that is, running out of fuel and/or electrolytes. I pulled over and ate several handfuls of the pretzels I had stuffed in my seat bag. Another cyclist pulled over to see if I was ok. I explained that I was bonking, and he said he was too, and that we would do so together. I’m not sure he was all that ill—he might have just been caring for me. I recovered within a couple minutes and we started up again. He followed me until we encountered a hill, and since I am good on hills, I slowly left him behind.

3:20pm. I was finally done with the bike. I had seen my parents a couple more times, I had drunken another gallon of Gatorade (approximately), I had choked down another terrible PowerBar, and I had pushed through the back pain so that I was no longer feeling it anymore. I had also taken several salt tablets from aid stations, and that really seemed to help. As I approached the transition zone at Cedar Point, I yelled out the number of miles I had left: “10 miles!” then “9 miles!” then “8 miles!” and so on. I verbally congratulated myself for riding my bike farther in one day than ever before, and I reminded myself that I had never swam 2.4 miles in one day before, either. My official time on the bike was 6:41:42, averaging 16.7 mph, but that included lunch and several quick stops. My bike computer tells me my bike was in motion for 6:18:53, averaging 17.8 mph.

3:40pm. I racked my bike in transition and headed into the changing tent to change my socks and shoes. The tent experience was a lot less special the second time around. There were only a couple other athletes in the tent and they seemed spent. The volunteer was tired and nonverbal. In contrast, my legs felt amazingly fresh. I felt I could start running with no difficulty, but first, I wanted to thank my cheering squad. I left the tent and walked to greet Dan and my parents who were waiting at the fence. We hugged and chatted and it helped me relax. I wanted them to know I appreciated their presence on the course. I spent almost 16 minutes in transition.

3:47pm. I was running an 8:07 min/mile pace after the first mile of the run. I had 25 miles to go, so I decided to slow down. I had trouble thinking about the fact that I still had 5-6 hours to go before the end of the race. At every mile marker, I would do the math, and it was never good: “Great! I’ve run 5 miles. Just…um…21 miles to go.” Yeah, I stopped saying that to myself. I stopped thinking ahead and just concentrated on the present moment. I looked at the architecture of buildings. I greeted the athletes going the opposite way on this out-and-back course. I whooped and hollered with the volunteers at every aid station.

5:39pm. By this time I had run 11.4 miles and was maintaining a 9 to 10min/mile pace. The course consisted of a complicated 4-loop system around a marina, through a city park, through downtown Sandusky, through neighborhoods, and along the causeway back to Cedar Point. The looped nature meant that I would visit the same aid stations over and over, and I got to know the volunteers. Each station was fully stocked with water, Gatorade, Coke, salt tablets, energy gels, and PowerBars (none for me, thanks). Two of them had bananas in the beginning but they stopped offering these late in the run. As I would approach, I would call out what I wanted, and the volunteers would get it. As the miles went by, I really didn’t know what I wanted so the volunteers started listing what they had. One offered chicken broth. I turned it down the first time, but for the next 11 miles I looked forward to encountering that station again and having some.

5:53pm. I got to the halfway point of the run where I was given my “Special Needs Run” bag to rummage through for treats I had prepared for myself. I added a few fruit snacks to my pocket and changed my left sock because I was developing a hot spot and thought that would help. Dan was there and I talked to him as I changed my sock and examined my foot. I was fairly tired at this point and walked about 50 yards until I got the motivation to start running again. My pace had slowed to a 14:15 min/mile during this section because of my temporary pause in running.

6:33pm. In 2015 when I ran my first marathon, I ran continuously for 16.5 miles and then started to run/walk (i.e., run for 3 minutes and walk for 1 minute). I wanted to do better than that this year, so my goal was to keep running for at least the first 17 miles. Except for the pause at the midway point, I met this goal. In fact, the only time I walked was at the aid stations, but this was sometimes a necessity; the chicken broth was too hot to chug! My parents had joined with a few other spectators at a city fountain. I would stop to talk to them for about a minute each time I passed by that point. Then I would cross a city street and drunk people would cheer for me as I ran past a restaurant with outdoor seating.

7:11pm. I was maintaining a running pace of 12 min/mile at milepost 19. I wasn’t in any pain. My legs were certainly tired, but they didn’t feel stiff and debilitated like they felt in 2015 at this point in my marathon. I was still joking with volunteers and city residents who were always happy to cheer. There was a house with lots of spectators holding signs and being rowdy. On my last loop past them, I ran into their yard and exchanged high-fives. There was a street corner where another spectator had been sitting, and I told her I was happy to never see her again. She had a puzzled, somewhat offended look on her face until she figured out this was my last loop. “No offense,” I said. There was a grandmotherly whisper of a woman who had been sitting on her front porch all afternoon, ringing a bell as runners passed. On my last loop I ran up onto her porch and shook her hand. I hope I made her day. I had a great amount of endorphins and my body was still whole, so I wanted to take time to thank everyone for contributing to this experience.

7:50pm. With about 4 miles to go I hooked up with another runner who had a similar pace. That is, until he stopped to walk. When I passed him, I encouraged him to keep going. He started up again, and together we started running faster. He was more tired than me, so I took responsibility for keeping the conversation going. Shannan was watching my GPS tracker all day long, and she tells me my pace had quickened to around 10 min/mile. Eventually, my companion told me to go on. He stopped to walk; I kept running, and I was running faster and faster because I knew the end was near. I even had the concern that I would beat my parents to the finish line because they had to get into their car and drive across the causeway on their way from downtown Sandusky where I saw them last to Cedar Point. As I was thinking of this, several police cars followed by fire trucks raced past at an extraordinary rate of speed.

8:10pm. It was dusk now, and I had just passed the second-to-last aid station. A worker ran up to me and told me that I would have to stop running at the next intersection. There had been a car accident on the causeway and police had shut down the road. She said they were stopping the race clock, and she wrote down my number so they would know how far I had gotten. I had 1.83 miles left before the finish line. More runners came to the intersection, and eventually we backtracked to the aid station. No one knew when we would be allowed to start up again, so we kept walking around and stretching in order to stay loose and ready for our final push to the finish line. Constant movement was also a necessity in order to avoid an ambush of hungry mosquitoes. I am not exaggerating when I say I got two dozen bites. It was a fitting, miserable end to our run. However, the volunteers at the aid station more than made up for it. One man ran to his home and got some bug repellent for us. Another volunteer heated more chicken broth. Someone else retrieved a bunch of extra shirts for us to wear so we wouldn’t get too cold.

8:30pm. We runners had given up now. Many of us sat on the ground. Most, including me, were accepting of the situation and took this in stride. We couldn’t change the course of events, and look how far we had gotten! The race official at the aid station informed us that the race was now canceled; we would not be allowed to run the last couple miles.  A shuttle van would arrive in about 30 minutes and take us to the finish line where we would be given our finisher’s medals.

9:00pm. The shuttle arrived and we drove the run course in reverse for several miles, looking for any other runners we could pick up. There were still some people running their last remaining loop who would need transportation to the finish line. One athlete refused to get on our bus. She wanted to keep going. Fellow racer Christopher Jarc got off our bus to try to convince her to stop. When that strategy failed, he came back to our bus and told us to leave them both. He would run with her for as long as she could go on. Christopher was a 30-something bearded character who ran his race in jeans shorts and sandals. There are reports that he stuffed chicken fingers in his shirt pockets and offered them to fellow racers. It was an honor to be in his presence. He comforted people as they boarded the bus. Several were in tears because they couldn’t finish the race. I understand their tears. They would always feel like their race was incomplete, that because they didn’t do all 140.6 miles, they didn’t reach their goal, and all the training they did over the past year was a wasted effort that might never be repeated. I didn’t feel this way.  I accepted that my race would be 139.2 miles (I am including the 0.45 mile run between the swim and the bike transition), and it doesn’t bother me that I couldn’t finish. The race length of 140.6 miles seems really arbitrary. I still achieved my goal by doing something I had never done before, and because I was still having a good run at the end, I knew I could have gone another couple miles with no difficulty.

10:00pm. The shuttle bus took a 10-mile detour to get us back to Cedar Point. The president of the Rev3 company greeted us as we got off the bus and reiterated how our race would end. We would be given an estimated finish time based on our running pace when the race was stopped. We would be allowed to run through the finish line chute, one at a time, to receive cheers from the remaining spectators, and to be given our medals. I hadn’t noticed Dan or my parents at this point, but as soon as it was my turn to run across the finish line, my mother joined me in the run. The Rev3 company brands itself as family-friendly and they encourage family members to enter the finish chute with their athlete because this recognizes the fact that training for such a race takes a family-wide commitment. Mom had brought a couple little multi-colored spinning flashlights from home and spun them around as we ran. I was so amused by this that I never heard the announcer say my name and state that I was an official finisher of the Rev3 Full Distance Triathlon. It was official.  I was an ironman!

So what’s next for me? I would consider doing another ironman, but I’m not sure when. What I do know is that it will be very strange to get back on my bike and go for a ride. It’s been a long time since I have ridden it without a training plan telling my how long or how far.

I’ll end with some numbers:

Total Race Time (estimated)= 13:37:57. This is much faster than the 15-16 hours I had predicted.

Age Group Ranking = 9 out of 11.

Total swim time = 1:27:54

Total bike time = 6:41:43

Average bike speed = 17.8 mph

Maximum bike speed = 31.3 mph

Elevation gain on bike route = 1,637 feet

Total run time = 5:00:40. This is only six minutes slower than my marathon finish time in 2015, and back in 2015 I hadn’t just swam and biked beforehand!

Today’s high temperature = 73 degrees

This morning’s low temperature = 56 degrees

Today’s peak hourly wind speed = 14 mph

Number of blisters: 2, but these didn’t really bother me on race day.

Number of Tylenol tablets I had placed in my special needs bags = 6.

Number of Tylenol tablets I used today = 0.

Miles of training in 2016 before this race = 2,428.

Hours of training in 2016 = 223. I log my hours when I log each workout’s mileage.

Financial cost of doing this race = A lot. But I am really proud to have done it without buying anything beyond the basics. Most triathletes at this level have $3,500+ bikes, GPS watches, and professional coaches. I did buy a new jacket at the finisher’s brunch the day following the race. It was $75. Shrug. Nobody’s perfect.

Getting ready

This is my last login to Facebook before my "Ironman" triathon on Sunday at Cedar Point, Ohio. Starting at 7:00am on September 11, I will swim 2.5 miles in Lake Erie, then bike 112 miles in northern Ohio, and then run 26.2 miles back to Cedar Point. This should take me about 16 hours to do. Some people will be doing this race to beat other people, but since this is my first race of this distance, I just want to finish it. Doing something this big not only requires physical endurance; it also requires a mental fortitude that I am not sure I have. So, by sharing this information with you, I will be less likely to quit because I know I will have "spectators" who will want me to finish. I will be wearing a GPS tracker during the bike and run portions of the race. You may follow my real-time position on Sunday by visiting this website:http://www.quarqrace.com/race/678 . I think I can do this, but would appreciate your prayers to keep me safe. I view this as a way to get me out of my comfort zone and grow personally through the challenge. I wish you all a nice, relaxing weekend that does not include as much effort as what I will be doing!

10 day countdown

TEN DAYS until my Ironman!! I am ready and super excited. I want to tell everyone but am trying not to, because it really isn't that important to other people...just me. I have been wondering whether or not my signing up for this has been to prove something to myself--that I am strong, that I am still young, that I am worth something. Wanting to prove these things to myself has troubled me, because it might indicate my inner sense of self worth is low. But I have recently come to realize that trying to PROVE myself is not why I am doing this race. Instead, I am trying to IMPROVE myself, expand myself, do something I have never done before. This is a sign that my sense of self is healthy, not unhealthy. I know I am strong, I am still young, I have worth. I know these things without having to do this race. So bring it on! I am ready to grow through this experience, no matter what happens.

August report

August fitness totals: 16 miles of swimming + 433 miles of cycling + 116 miles of running + 3 miles of walking = 569 miles, the most I have ever done in a month, and probably the most I will ever do in my life. In fact, I have traveled 2,325 miles this year under my own power, the most--by far--I have ever done.

Saint Vincent Alumni 5K

Race: Saint Vincent Alumni 5K
Date: August 27, 2016
Location: Latrobe, PA
Time: 24:49
Overall Rank: 65 out of 115
Results: http:

I worked pretty hard for this. Most of the runners were from the current or past cross-country teams, so my 65th out of 115 finishing time doesn't seem that bad. I improved by 38 seconds compared to last year.

Presque Isle Sprint Triathlon

Race: Presque Isle Sprint Triathlon
Date: August 20, 2016
Location: Presque Isle, PA
Time:
Overall Rank: 60 out of 367
Age Group Rank: 5 out of 19
Results: http:

Race Report for the 2016 Presque Isle Sprint Triathlon. Read all about it if you care! 

SWIM: Today's race was under really great weather conditions; both the air and water temperatures were in the upper 70s. Despite the reasonable temperatures and clear skies, there was somehow quite a chop in the bay water where we swam, and that presented a challenge during the swim to the first buoy. At the start, I positioned myself at the front on the right side, just as in past years. This worked really well, as I was able to avoid the crowd of less-able swimmers in the middle and rear of the wave. The choppy water was a challenge but I've swam in worse. Nevertheless, I still had to battle myself in that I was swimming too hard to get out ahead of everyone, and consequently I was out of breath and didn't concentrate on maintaining good rhythm. Curving around the first buoy, the waves were less and I was farther away from other swimmers so I got into a better rhythm. I drifted a little off course to the right, but nothing serious. Starting at the second buoy, on my way back to the beach, I started to encounter large numbers of swimmers from earlier waves. These were the weaker/slower swimmers from the younger age groups that started first. I bumped into one who was treading water, and she said "sorry!" I've never had anyone talk to me during a swim segment before, and I laughed in my head that that would even occur.

I finished the 585-yard swim in 13:11, which was 4th place in my gender+age group of 19 swimmers. I had the 60th fastest time overall, out of 367 competitors.

BIKE: I felt like I swam pretty well at the time, but looking back, I really wasn't as tired as I should have been. That might explain why I felt strong and fast on the bike segment. I passed lots and lots of people, and was passed by maybe a dozen at the most. I was maintaining a speed of 21-22mph during the first 4 miles and I remember questioning myself whether or not I should take it down a bit in order to preserve my legs for the run. I decided against that, knowing that with all my training I was in good shape and could probably still run well. So I kept the pace at my maximum output for the duration of the bike segment. I noticed that my legs got tired after a bit in the aero position so I switched around between arms forward on the aero bars to the handlebar drops to the handlebar hoods. I was surprised to find that my speed was just as fast when my hands were on the hoods as in any other position, but this may simply due to the temporary leg muscle relief the hoods provided.

I finished the 12.5 mile bike segment 5th in my gender age group and 64th overall. I have done this same race in 4 previous years so I can see how much improvement has occurred in my bike performance since 2012. Um, not much. I had a faster bike segment in 2014 (35:50), and my time in 2016 was only 2:03 faster than my slowest time of 38:07 in 2013.

RUN: My typical behavior in a triathlon of any length is to expend too much energy in the swim and bike segments and then suffer during the run. Today was not like that. I dismounted from my bike, changed my shoes, grabbed a GU, and started running at a fairly brisk pace without too much discomfort. In fact, I started passing people on the run and this was an unusual situation! I again made an assessment about whether or not my pace was too fast. It felt too fast, but I decided to push myself and keep it going. I've got an Ironman race coming up and I needed to prove to myself that I was prepared for that upcoming event. Anyway, it seemed to take a long time to get to the turn-around point, but I finally made it. As I ran back to the finish line, I concentrated on people-watching, looking at the facial expressions of folks as they passed me going the other way, plus admiring all the different triathlon suits they were wearing, plus looking at all the tattoos people had. This kept my mind occupied. There was one man with elaborate tattoos on his arm and shoulder that I passed once or twice, and he passed me once or twice. We had about the same pace, so I started up a conversation. This helped both of us immensely. At first, he was pushing me to go faster, and then toward the finish he seemed to need me to pull him along.

With his help, I had a strong finish (for me). I finished the run 4th in my gender age group and 75th overall. This year's performance was my best in 5 years of doing this race. I was 35 seconds faster than in 2014, which was my previous best time.

Combining the swim, bike, run, and transition times, I finished the entire race in 1:21.38, which was 5th (out of 19; top 26%) in my gender age group and 60th (of 367; top 16%) overall. I feel great about the race and had a lot of fun. This was Shannan's first race at Presque Isle and she had great fun, too. I am now about 22 days away from my Ironman and I feel very prepared and know I'll have fun that day, too. This was a good thing to do just before my big race, since it has bolstered my confidence.

longest training ride

Every Paved Trail in Pittsburgh, plus a section of the Montour Trail: 91 miles in 6:01, average speed = 15.1 mph.

I felt good, considering the length of the ride. My legs had plenty more in them at the end, but my back was really sore from the riding position. Four eventful things happened on the ride: (1) At 1.0 hours in, it started to pour. The rain lasted about 30 minutes. Then, another hour later it rained again, so I was soaked for half the ride. I didn't mind too much. I got a little cold toward the end, but otherwise the rain made the ride interesting. (2) 2.5 hours in, I started getting muscle twitches that indicated to me a lack of salt and/or potassium. The snacks I carried didn't contain much of these electrolytes so I stopped at REI and bought some salty snacks. (3) Soon after my visit to REI, I was riding through Schenley Park and into Oakland. There were railroad tracks at a slant and signs there reminded me to take the tracks at a 90-degree angle. I was lazy and did them at maybe a 60-degree angle. This was good enough for my front tire, but my back tire slipped out from beneath me and I skidded onto my side. I got small areas of road rash on my shin, thigh, and ankle; my right cycling glove tore; and my bike's handlebar tape is cut up. I'm really surprised that that is all that happened to me and my bike. It was quite a spill! My chain started making high pitched noises after that, but I think it was just from having the rain wash away all the chain grease, and I only started to notice it after my fall. (4) I got my third flat tire in a month. Great, just great. I'm getting well practiced at changing a flat, but this is also making me really worry about getting the next one. I now constantly look down during my ride to see if my tires are still ok.

July update

Just six weeks before my ironman triathlon! My training is now the predominant thing I do with my time. In July I swam 18 miles, biked 389 miles, and ran 90 miles. This is by far the most miles I have ever done in a month, and my 2016 total now exceeds anything I have ever done in a whole year. I'm up to 1,758 miles so far in 2016.

June update

June training totals: 15 miles swimming + 280 miles cycling + 76 miles running + 15 miles walking + 8 miles rafting = 394 miles. This is twice the amount I have done in any previous month in the past year. My total miles to date for 2016 is exactly equal to my total miles for all of 2015. See chart. I am in good shape for my ironman in September...if I can keep this up for another two months!

IM bike course

My wife and others have asked if the bike course for the ironman I will do in September is going to be hilly. The event is in Ohio near Lake Erie so I figured it wouldn't be. However, I never really looked at the elevation profile so I just guessed and said "Nah, it's mostly flat."

Today I checked out the 111.5-mile course. The elevation gain is 1,429 feet. That's 12.8 feet per mile. There are definitely some hills, but they don't look too bad. For reference, the MS150 ride I sometimes do includes 4,114 feet of elevation gain on the first day over a distance of 74.7 miles. That's 55.1 feet per mile. The second day on the MS150 is 2,007 feet of elevation gain over 63.4 miles, or 31.7 feet per mile. Anyway I look at it, the ironman bike course will be 2.5 times easier than the MS150. Good news!

May update

May training miles: 7 miles swimming + 140 miles cycling + 33 miles running. For the year, I have traveled 837 miles, which is 10% ahead of my any previous year on this date. Expect a lot more miles in June as I ramp up my Ironman training!

Why I Race

I'm reading a book by Diana Tracy Cohen called "Iron Dads," which will hopefully help me find out how to balance my responsibilities between work, family, and training for an ironman. In Chapter 3, the author covers some reasons why men sign up for an ironman race. It has been 4 months since I signed up, so my decision is not a new one. Plus, I remember wanting to sign up for more than a year before I actually did, so this has been a long-term goal. But why? It's a fair question, and it applies more to just my ironman training. I have frequently wondered why I compete on a masters' swim team. So let's see if Cohen's book will help:

(1) Iron Distance as a Catalyst for Bodily Change: Some men sign up because they want to improve their outward appearance or inner physiology. At 6' 4" and 175 pounds, I have no weight to lose, so that can't be my motivation. Maintaining good physical health is important to me, but I don't obsess over it. So the only aspect of this category that applies to me is my desire to appear more muscular. I do want to work more weight lifting into my training, but that isn't really necessary to be an ironman. So this is a side benefit at best...if I do the extra work.

(2) Being a Role Model: Some dads do it to teach their children the importance of a physical lifestyle. My step-daughters are already athletic, and so is my wife. Besides, I decided to do an ironman before I even got married. So this isn't directly applicable to me, unless I consider other people I want to influence. As a professor of Human Biology, I certainly want to impress upon my students the importance of physical activity. I used the word "impress" on purpose, because I want my students--and others--to be impressed with my status as a triathlete. It would be great if my training and races creates within them a desire to compete as well. However, I think my motivation for being an ironman is not to influence others.

(3) Iron Distance as a Means for Doing the Extraordinary: Men sign up for these events for the experience of doing something they know is going to push them to the limits of possibility. There is a distinct chance of failure, but also a solid chance of accomplishment. I think this explains my own motivations well. I like to work hard at improving myself in all areas of life. I set goals and I work toward them. I keep lists and enjoy crossing things off as I do them.  Maybe becoming an ironman is just another milestone. I am an Eagle Scout. I got my Ph.D. I got a job as a professor and have received tenure. I bought a house. I have a family. I chair important committees at work and church. I want to continually grow and accomplish new things. Becoming an ironman is now on my list. Today as I write this, I admit that I am not sure I can finish the race this September. But I am now certain that that will not stop me. If I DNF this year, I will try again next year. Just saying this out loud makes me proud of myself. I am thriving on this idea. I will keep doing the extraordinary, this year, and next year, and for the rest of my life.

(4) Coming to Iron Distance through Media Influence: Some men sign up for an ironman because they see it on TV and they think they could be like the athletes appearing in the media. I admit this has influenced me. I saw a video of an 81 year-old man completing an ironman and I thought "If he can do it, so can I." I was also so influenced by swimmer Michael Phelps in 2008 that I signed up for swim lessons the next year and have been a swimmer ever since. I thought "that looks fun, so let me try." I have also enjoyed watching the Tour de France. I dream a little of what my life would have been like had I discovered swimming or cycling or triathlon when I was in my teens or twenties.

(5) The Appeal of Proximity: Some men sign up for a race because it is geographically convenient. Well, sure. But there has to be more to it than that.

(6) Something Larger than Me: Some men sign up for an ironman because they are fundraising for a cause, or they are promoting and evangelizing their faith. Faithful as I am, this is not my motivation. My faith is held private unless someone asks about it. As for fundraising for a cause, I actually hate doing that. I have had to raise money for my MS150 bike rides. It makes me uncomfortable because we all have our own interests and charitable causes, and support for that has to come from within. I only give to charities that I have some interest in. I don't see how I can influence the decisions others make.

(7) Exploring the Extremes of Pleasure and Pain: Some me sign up to experience great pleasure and pain, and to share the experience with others. I can see how this works, as it may explain why people form triathlon or marathon relay teams, or why the MS150 would be far more fun with a friend or group (I've always done it with a friend, but am considering a solo ride this year). But this isn't why I signed up for an ironman. I decided to do it solo, though Dan might join me on race day for the Half.

In summary, I think (3) best explains my motiovations for signing up for an ironman. I am driven to live a life of personal growth and fulfillment. Ironman is my next goal. Something will come along after that.

Time to Start Getting Serious

I've got my first ironman triathlon coming up in 17 weeks. I am concerned that I won't have enough time to ramp up my training so I have to start now. I am slowly returning to health after a bad cold, so I don't feel like jumping in with full thrusters today, but I have to do something. I've gotten the Herrick training plan back out and I've printed week 17's workouts. Today is supposed to be a 45-min run and a 40-min swim. I can't do a swim due to an eye infection, so maybe I'll get to the run this afternoon. Yes, yes, I will. I am worried about overdoing it while being ill, but I am well enough to run and it might be helpful. In place of the swim, I will do some lifting for 40 min.

I have re-checked my hotel reservations for the IM. I reserved a room with 2 queen sized beds, so that would be enough for either Dan or Shannan and Kendra if one or more of them decides to go with me. However, we can't all stay together, so Dan might have to be on his own.

I should let Karen and Jim know the date so they might come see me.

I am promising myself better nutrition from now on, too. I have bought a multivitamin and will start taking it tonight.

I have some new running buddies on campus and a new riding group near my neighborhood. I must join them consistently to keep this fun. Plus, weekends or evenings with Dan if we can work it out.

Now that I have a weekly plan, I need to look for opportunities to do smaller races and/or long bike rides. This will help keep me enthused for all those long hours I'm about to dedicate to this.

For now, let's assume my weekly schedule will go something like this:
MON run and swim
TUES run and bike (maybe with evening group?)
WED swim and weights
THURS long run (maybe with campus friends?)
FRI swim and bike
SAT weights
SUN long bike and weights

I will still have to play this by ear, given family commitments.

April mileage

It's 19 weeks until my ironman triathlon. My April mileages represent a good start for my preparation which shall begin in earnest in May: 10 miles swimming + 132 miles cycling + 40 miles running + 9 miles walking = 191 miles.

Pittsburgh Marathon Relay

Race: Pittsburgh Marathon Relay segment #3 (6.3 miles)
Date: May 1, 2016
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Time: 55:26
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: X out of X
Results: http:
I felt good throughout. The big hill wasn't much of a challenge. In fact, I sped up during the ascent to catch up with someone wearing a SVC jacket. I wondered if I would know who it was. It ended up being some older guy I didn't know.

AMYMSA Champs

Race: Masters swim season championship
Date: April 9-10, 2016
Location: Spire Institute, Geneva, OH
Results: http:

As usual, I headed into champs with some dark feelings: I haven't been training like I wanted to, I haven't been setting nearly as many personal bests this year as in past years, and so why should I be excited for championships? Should I swim hard, or, knowing that I will inevitably disappoint myself, maybe I should just swim for fun and to heck with trying to be faster? I had all these thought before I jumped in the pool to warm up. My mood turned a little more positive when I felt the embrace of the smooth water (the pools at Spire are of a world-class design that dampens waves). Plus, I was wearing a brand new racing suit that felt like I was wearing absolutely nothing (mmm, feels good!).

My first event was the 100-yard breaststroke. I figured I'd give it a shot. With the help of world-class diving blocks, I rocketed into the water and glided pretty far before doing a dolphin kick. In the breaststroke you are only allowed one dolphin kick, and I almost did second one before I surfaced, but I caught myself and quickly converted it to a rather decorative breaststroke kick which may or may not have been legal. I slowed down briefly as I thought through that series of strokes, but then I took it all out as I realized I was getting distracted. I was in Lane 4 and it seemed like I was keeping the lead. I finished in 1:19.86, which was 0.92 seconds faster than my seed time and a new personal best. What a relief! This swimming thing is fun after all.

My second event was the 50-yard freestyle. Now having some motivation to do well, I visualized how I would swim this race. I would breath 3 times and have a fast flip turn. I jumped in the water and swam it in 28.38, which lowered my personal best by 0.34 seconds.

Wow, so now I started to get nervous. I had one more swim today, and I felt pressured to set another personal best to keep my streak going. The problem was, my next event was the 200-yard Individual Medley. I remember saying to Shannan that there is plenty of opportunity for mistakes in that event because there are so many different kinds of turns. "What kind of attitude is that?" she chided. I set about gathering more motivation and mentally planned all those turns.

The starting blocks have a ramp at the rear for placing one of your feet. The ramp is adjustable, and since I am tall, I always had to move it from the 3 position to 4 before my swim. This gave me some confidence because I knew I was setting things up just right for me and no one else. This was my race. I was here for me. Let's do it!

With the buzzer I leaped in and started the butterfly segment. I concentrated on keeping a faster stroke rate than normal, trying to duplicate the technique from a video Shannan had played for me a few days before. At the start of the backstroke, I wasn't tired yet. During my backstroke, all I could think of was my upcoming turns. Backstroke turns are difficult for me because I either start them too early or too late. I think I did great at the far wall, and I came up just a bit short at the starting wall. I kept my momentum through the breaststroke, which seemed faster and stronger than normal, and then the freestyle was easy because I knew I was almost done. I wasn't out of breath yet, so I stopped breathing entirely on the last 20 yards, just to finish fast. My time was 2:48.62, which was 2:33 seconds faster than ever before. I was 3 for 3!

DAY#2
On the second day of our championship meet I had a personal winning streak to defend. I set 3 personal bests on Saturday—out of three events. How long could this streak last? Thinking back to previous champs, I don’t think I ever had more than three personal bests in a weekend. This was certainly an unusual and unexpected situation. So how could I best prepare for my swims today? I decided to do an abbreviated warm up of 300 yards. This seemed to go well until I did a length of butterfly, and then I realized my arms were not at 100%. This didn’t concern me. I didn’t feel weak on the freestyle, and today’s events would only feature about 150 yards of butterfly.

My first event was the 500-yard Freestyle. In past years I have not even warmed up for this, so now you can see how serious I was about doing well. Off the blocks I swam easy and fast. It was a pace faster than comfortable, but I felt I could sustain it for 500 yards. Lap after lap, I saw that the two competitors on either side of me were well behind, but there were swimmers at the far side that were keeping up and challenging my speed. I felt really good through the first 300 yards. I could hear Joanne and Shannan and maybe others cheering for me at the opposite wall. They sounded excited, so that kept me excited, too. I had some early turns where I barely hit the wall, but this didn’t diminish my drive. My legs began to fatigue in the last 150 yards. I kept my effort up, but I started to wonder if I would have anything left for the end. I finished as strong as I could, and ended up 5th in my heat (out of 8). I was out of breath, my legs were spent, and I even felt the nausea that comes with anaerobic energy expenditure. I really had given it all I had, and it made a difference. I finished in 7:04.36, which was 5.46 seconds faster than ever before. I was 4 for 4. My streak of personal bests was still secure!

My second event of the day was the 100-yard Individual Medley. I remember mentioning to Shannan that I had not lowered my time in this event all year. Alas, that remains true. I swam as fast as I could and I even had good turns. I had good rhythm in the butterfly and I pushed hard with my arms during the backstroke. Gary, a fellow swimmer in my age group, had complimented me on my breaststroke the day before, so I tried to show my skill during that segment today. I again minimized my breaths on the freestyle segment as I surged my hand forward to touch the timing pad. Still, I finished 0.14 seconds slower than my personal best. My streak had ended, but who could complain? Being a tenth of a second off was still close enough to be happy and content.

My third event was the 50-yard butterfly. My legs were starting to feel fatigued now, and my arms were already tired from yesterday’s swims. Shannan said I looked good and I felt fast. I finished in 32.22, which was 0.64 seconds slower than my personal best. I did the best I could. There wasn’t anything more I could give, and that felt good.

I also felt really hungry now. I have perfected my food intake during swim meets over the years, and I tend to stick with a mix of salty pretzels, fruit snacks, and the occasional bagel (water and Gatorade, too). On day 2 of such a diet, I think I was deficient in calories and protein. I still had one more event to swim, but I consumed a banana and promised myself more after I got done.

The 50-yard backstroke was three events after the butterfly, so I had some time to eat that banana. I also had time to get into the warm-up pool and practice my backstroke start. I had planned to do that because my start needs practice, and the starting blocks were different from what I was used to. But I now I didn’t feel like doing any more practicing. I was tired and wanted to be done. When it came time to do my event, I didn’t consciously decide to swim slow, but that’s how it turned out. After a good flip turn at the far wall, I finished with a poor one at the end; I misjudged and struck the touchpad with my elbow. I finished in 38.09 seconds, 2.07 seconds slower than my personal best. That’s not good at all, but I was too tired to care!

I had a superb championship meet, and Shannan had done really well, too. I feel energized for more swimming work this spring and summer, which is good, because my next big swim event is the 2.4 mile swim associated with the Ironman I have in September. A long-distance swim of 4,224 yards is an entirely different sport compared to what I did this weekend (<500 again="" be="" but="" can="" fall.="" i="" in="" ll="" masters="" meets="" my="" next="" see="" shape="" span="" start="" swim="" t="" to="" up="" wait="" what="" when="" yards="">

Wilmerding Indoor Triathlon

Race: Wilmerding YMCA Indoor Tri
Date: April 3, 2016
Location: Wilmerding, PA
Time:
Overall Rank: X out of XX
Age Group Rank: X out of X
Results: http:

The race started with the time it took on the treadmill to go 1.5 miles. I ran it in 11:09: Bumped the treadmill up to 8.3 mph. I don't think I've gone that fast before. Whoa, maybe I should get out more!!

Then I jumped on the exercise bike and went 5 miles in 14:09: I'm not sure I like those fancy bikes at the YMCA....I found it a lot different from my road bike, and even my indoor trainer.

Then I ended with a swim of 200 yards in 2:31: I went really fast at the start and then by the last lap I was really struggling. Fortunately, I was in the first heat and no one else had gotten to the pool yet, so no one saw me struggle. But now YOU know!

Rabbit Runs Through It 5K Race

Race: A rabbit Runs Through It 5K run
Date: April 2, 2016
Location: Latrobe, PA
Time: 23:38
Overall Rank: 18 out of 91
Age Group Rank: 4 out of 13
Results: http:
A dreary day turned sunny just as we got to the start line. It was still nippy with a cold wind and 48-degree temps, but I was not cold. I set a personal best today, breaking 24 minutes for the first time. The run felt good. I knew I was going at a fast pace through mile 1 and I wondered if I could keep it up as I started passing a lot of runners. I did, and ended up placing 4 out of 13 in my age group, and 18 overall out of 91 runners.

March mileage

My March fitness total was 155 miles (19 running + 108 cycling + 10 swimming + 18 walking). This is fairly average for the last 12 months but I am about to take it to a new level in April. My goal is to increase this by 50% to 232 miles. Let's go!

February mileage

7 months until my 140.6 mile triathlon! I started training in January, going 177 miles during the month. In February I only did 125 miles. Uh-oh, I did fewer miles in a month than I plan to do in one day (I was sick for a week). I need to take it up a notch.

Edit

AMYMSA swim meet

Race: Masters swim meet
Date: February 21, 2016
Location: Cranberry Township, Pa

I had mixed feelings going into this meet. I was looking forward to the competition today, but I was feeling sluggish. The sluggishness dominated during my first couple events:

Event#2: 100 IM. My butterfly felt strong but my stroke rate was rather slow. Backstroke felt slow. Breaststroke felt slow...and my legs felt stiff from my long run the day before. I hadn't noticed I was sore from that until this part of my swim. I tried to recover in the freestyle segment, but my time was 1:15.49, or 1.73 seconds slower than my personal best.

Event #4 50-yard Butterfly. I decided to work harder in this event after my "slow" performance in the 100IM. I planned it out in my head before the start. I would take only 3 breaths. I followed my plan, and had a quick turn at the wall. My stroke rate was good. One of the faster swimmers in our league complimented my form, saying it was only a matter of time before I would be in his heat. Always nice to hear that! (I realize I will need to do more fly during workouts to achieve this). My only regret about this event was my dive. It was too deep and I took too long to return to the surface. I finished in 32.45, which was 0.87 seconds slower than my personal best.

Event #8: 50-yard Backstroke. What a disappointment! I put my heart into this race and had a great performance until the very end. I looked for the backstroke flags overhead, did 2 or 3 strokes and then peered over my shoulder to find the wall too far away for me to touch. I should have just kicked a little more, which would have provided the necessary thrust to move me forward. However, I panicked and didn't think of that until what seemed like 3 seconds of fruitless reaching. My time was 37.92 seconds, which was 1.9 seconds slower than my personal best. I could have had a best time today, but I failed! I was angry.

Event #9: 200-freestyle. "Ok, calm down. Let's do the 200-free. I should do well in this because I have been practicing this distance a lot in training." At the buzzer I dove in and tried to take it out a little slow. This was my strategy; I wanted negative splits. However, I seemed to be leading my heat after the first turn. I continued to increase my lead for the next 3 lengths. I felt myself kicking more than normal, but I wasn't too out of breath. My turns started out really good, then got progressively sloppy. I finished whole seconds ahead of everyone else with a time of 2:28.45, a new personal best. My old time was 2.2 seconds slower.

AMYMSA swim meet

Race: Masters swim meet
Date: February 7, 2016
Location: Franklin, PA
Sunday morning Shannan Jones-Kellam and Jamie DePastino Brandon and Daniel Pruzinsky and I went to our master's swim meet in Franklin, Pa. This is a 2-hour drive each way, and we enjoyed each other's company during the carpool. At the meet, I performed surprisingly well for my somewhat-still-sick and sleep-deprived state. 

(1) My first event was the 50-yard butterfly. I swam in 33.06, which was 1.48 seconds slower than my personal best. Indeed, it was just an average swim. It felt ok, and I had a good stroke rate, but my dive was too deep. That probably cost me a second.

(2) My second event was the 25-yard freestyle. I swam it in 12.85 seconds, which broke my old record by 0.09 seconds. I even beat Gary, one of my age group competitors. He pointed that out and it made me feel good.

(3) My third event was the 50-yard backstroke. I swam it in 36.02 seconds, which beat my old record by 0.26 seconds. I had no idea I was in personal record territory, but I sure felt great during this swim. Well, actually, I didn't feel great. What I mean to say is that I worked as hard as I could...and that feels great. I kicked hard throughout, and I had a good start and turn at the wall. This swim was as perfect as I could make it, in the technical sense. At around 35 yards I felt tired and heard myself whimper. But I didn't let up. I will plan to do more whimpers during future swim meets and see if that helps my performance.

(4) My last event was the 25-yard breaststroke. I swam it in 17.43 seconds, which was 0.39 seconds slower than my personal best. I am not surprised. I'm not sure my legs were doing the kick right. It felt funny to me.

AMYMSA meet

Race: Masters swim meet
Date: January 24, 2016
Location: Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
Results: http:

We had another AMYMSA swim meet yesterday, this time at Duquesne University pool. The university women's swim team was there helping run the meet, and they had a great time cheering for all of us old people trying to be competitive. For example, the whole pool deck irrupted in cheers as Frank and Elaine, ages 83 and 78, respectively, raced in adjacent lanes during the 200-yard individual medley. The touch pad results indicate that Frank beat Elaine by 3 seconds, but all who watched the race saw that Elaine hit the pad before Frank (but she hit the top of the pad instead of the center, so it didn't register). In any case, it was a very close, slow-motion swim between husband and wife, and everyone celebrated. The 20-something university swimmers were definitely impressed.

My fellow swimmers all seemed to have good swimming times, so it was fun celebrating with them. Shannan Jones-Kellam had a wonderful day, beating her seed times in all 4 events she swam. "Where did that time come from?" she asked with awe and disbelief when she saw she dropped scores of seconds off her 200-fly.

My enthusiasm for my friends helped keep me in good spirits, even though my swimming performance was rather average in my 4 events. My first event was the 100-yard freestyle. Shannan tells me that my diving start was excellent, and I broke out well ahead of my heat. In the pool, I was preparing for a personal best by kicking hard, pulling hard with my arms, and minimizing surface breaths. But then at the 50-yard mark I began my flipturn too early and nearly missed the wall. This halted my momentum, and I saw that the other competitors had caught up. I angrily discarded my hopes for a personal best and tried to catch up to the other swimmers. I finished in 1:05.64, just missing my personal best by 0.15 seconds. I would have broken that record by more than a second if I hadn't messed up at the turn. One day later, I am still fuming a little at my mistake!

My second event was the 100-yard breaststroke, and this was also full of drama! My best buddy Daniel Pruzinsky was in the adjacent lane and some day I will beat him. Stepping up on the starting blocks, we were both wondering if this was the day (it wasn't). My strategy was to do a lot of gliding during the breaststroke. I think I'm good at that, and the alternative--increasing my stroke rate--doesn't do much for me other than tire me out. So I glided through the first 50 yards with Dan always there at my side. His turns seemed to be faster, and I was 0.58 seconds behind him at the halfway point. So on the last 25 yards of the race I took it up a notch and concentrated on pushing more water with my arm stroke and increasing my stroke rate a bit. This caused me to gain ground on Dan and I really thought I was going to win. In fact, that might have been my downfall, as I was celebrating in my head during the last couple strokes. Meanwhile, observers say that Dan gave it everything he had right at the flags, and he threw himself into the wall, out-touching me by 0.02 seconds! What?! Wow, what a good race. I don't mind he beat me. I had so much fun. Interestingly, competing next to Dan did not push me to set a personal best. My time of 1:21.39 did not beat my personal best of 1:20.78.

My third event was the 50-yard freestyle. I am trying to beat my 28.72 best, set last year. My time was 29.41. I felt like I had a great swim. I was a little surprised I wasn't closer to my best time, but upon further reflection, it makes sense that I didn't. My dive was a little deep, my turn not so quick, and I breathed 4 times instead of the 3 breaths I had planned.

My fourth event was the 200-yard individual medley. I finished in 2:52.38, which was 1.43 seconds slower than my personal best. I admit to having mixed feelings during the swim. During the backstroke and breaststroke, I started to push hard, then I'd pull back. I'd push a little more and then pull back again. I was weighing the amount of work required to swim fast versus how much discomfort I was experiencing, and I sometimes chose to minimize my discomfort. Races are not won by people who go the easy route. Analysis of my split times shows I have an endurance problem. After accounting for the dive in the beginning, my fly segment was 3 seconds slower than a 50-fly; my backstroke segment was 6 seconds slower than a 50-back; my breaststroke was 7 seconds slower than a 50-breast; and my freestyle segment was 8 seconds slower than a 50-free. In sum, I was getting slower and slower as the race went on.

I don't mean to end on a sour note. This was surely the most fun swim meet of my season. I've got some good swims ahead.

AMYMSA meet

Race: Masters swim meet
Date: Janury 10, 2016
Location: Grove City, PA
Results: http:

Just a quick report on my swim meet at Grove City YMCA last Sunday. I swam in 4 events and had fun. It's important to note that I had fun. I usually [have fun] or [work hard and swim fast]. I usually can't do both at the same meet. I wish I could! Anyway, here's my stats:

100 Breaststroke: 1:23.33 (2.55 seconds slower than my personal best)
50 Freestyle: 29.00 (0.28 seconds slower than my personal best)
200 Individual Medley: 2:55.93 (4.98 seconds slower than my personal best)
500 Freestyle: 7:17.52 (7.70 seconds slower than my personal best)

Essentially, I am stuck at my times from 2014. This may still be due to a lower swim training volume in most of 2015, but I started swimming more in November and December, and expected to be a bit faster by now. I will be patient.