By leaps and bounds...

One of the reasons why I decided to join the Iron Team in the first place was to conquer my fear of swimming in open water. A few weeks ago I posted my story about my first triathlon and stated that my swim sucked, mainly because I lost my nerve, panicked, and totally freaked out 50 yards into it. Ever since then I haven't felt right about anything regarding the training and I really wanted another go in the open water before our next scheduled tri in a month's time. Renee, Jesus, Jerald and I decided to go for it and we planned to do our own open water swim at Aquatic Park in San Francisco and I am so glad we did. I took my time, allowed myself to get acclimated to my surroundings, RELAXED, and this time I remembered everything I had been working on in the pool over the last three months and I was able to swim 200 yards non stop several times. It was amazing. I am so happy about this that I can hardly explain it.

It was about 45 degrees that morning but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. A beautiful winter day in San Francisco.

Jerald put on his wetsuit for the first time, this was his first open water swim. He was pretty nervous and it took some arm twisting to get him to join us...
We made our way out into the water which was so cold that it was painful to get in. It took a while to get warm again but we did. Wetsuits are amazing...
Once we felt ready to go we headed out to the white buoy which was about 100 yards from shore. Unlike the last time, I was able to swim as I have been instructed, I was able to relax, I didn't go out too hard, and I made it!
I ended up doing four laps total, this is a shot of Renee and I taking off for another lap with Jerald and Jesus looking on.
My last lap was my best, I was comfortable throughout and was pretty happen when I got back.
Renee and I were thrilled with today's swim as we both had rough swims at the practice tri, but we were all very happy and proud of Jerald as he did great in his first time out. Jesus was a great coach today, he put us all in the right frame of mind and told us exactly what we needed to hear. His girlfriend Bertina took the pictures and did a great job as well. What a day!

It's crazy when I think back to late July when I couldn't swim one length of a pool (25 yards) without stopping to catch my breath. I am gaining confidence and skill with the swimming by leaps and bounds! I am back to thinking that I can actually do this...

Weekend with the Ironteam

The Ironteam had workouts on both ends of this weekend. Saturday was the Spinerval, and Sunday was the Run/Swim workout. A spinerval is a series of Spinning intervals broken up by running laps on the track followed by strength training.


We would do a spin workout for 20 minutes , get off the bikes and we would run on the track for about 1.5 miles

After the run we would meet the coaches where they would lead us in strength training. Sometimes it was squats and lunges, or push ups and crunches. In this case we worked with the bands to strengthen our shoulders

The bands also work for the quads as well as the ass. This thing really did have me sore in places I didn't know I had muscles. After the strength stuff it was back on the bikes for another spinerval. We did this 4 times on Saturday...

On Sunday we did our longest swim workout yet as we were in the pool for one hour and forty minutes and for the first time I logged in over 2 miles in a workout. This picture illustrates what fast, experienced swimmers look like.


This is what I look like...


After the swim we ran for 40 minutes and called it a day. After a mandatory burrito, I got home, took a shower and pretty much spent the rest of Sunday on the couch watching football. It took every ounce of energy that I could muster just to do that. I am seriously loving this team.

My First Triathlon

Sunday the Ironteam held a practice triathlon as part of our training. Both the North Bay as well as our team were in attendance. Roughly 70 people taking part, and at times it seemed just as many volunteers were there to put the race on. I was pretty nervous as I really didn't know what to expect. This would also be the first time I swam in my wetsuit, in open water, and in traffic. I got a crash course in setting up both transition areas and the little details like where to put your race number on your bike so it doesn't obstruct your water bottle. It was actually kinda cool to not know everything or be expected to. Everyone was so helpful in telling me how to set up, I'll never forget that.

In short, the swim sucked. The water level at is pretty low which meant we had to walk barefoot down the embankment on gravel and sharp rocks that hurt your feet in order to reach the water. With the temperature in the mid 40's that morning, getting into the water literally took my breath away. I was really nervous too which made me go out too fast and I actually started to panic when I got to the first buoy because I was out of breath and absolutely spent. Between going too fast, having a rough time breathing in the freezing water, and swimming in a wetsuit which I learned is pretty restrictive, I actually did a lot of my swimming on my back! It was pretty crazy but I finished, and learned a lot in those 15 minutes or so that I was in the water. Next time, I need to SSLLOOOOOOWWWW DOOOOWWWWWWWNNNNN...... The worst 600 yards of my life.

Once I finished the swim I got out of the water and walked up the gravel and rocky embankment to the transition area to get ready for the bike. My feet were so cold that I didn't feel a thing going back up that embankment. I don't even remember thinking about my feet other than they felt like rocks themselves. I got to my bike and spent what seemed like the next 5 minutes getting my wetsuit off. My arms and legs were exhausted from the swim, and stiff as well from being frozen in that water. I got my suit off and put my riding pants, shoes, gloves, and helmet on and I was off. The rest of the race was great, it took a while for my legs to feel "normal" again but I was able to do the 12 mile ride without issue. It was a lot of fun cheering on teammates as we passed each other going out and coming back in.

I got to Transition 2 and threw off my pants, put on my running shirt with my number on it and off I went for the 5K. As I put my running shoes on I realized that my feet were still frozen stiff, even more so than when I got out of the water after riding in that cold air. It took about 2 miles of running before they felt "normal" again. As I reached the finish line I was glad it was done, but I really felt dissapointed in the swim. I felt like I made great strides in my swimming over the last 2 months, and I have. But the open water informed me that I still have a ways to go.

When got back to the start/finish area and was reunited with my friends Jesus and Renee, I found out I wasn't the only one freaking out in the water which was good to know. In the end I did have a good time and I am so happy we did that race. I am eternally grateful for the Ironteam for putting that on!

UPDATE re: 40

Today I learned that I still got it...

Lately I have been fighting this cold that has not taken my spirit or my energy, but for the first time in my life I have lost the ability to speak. Ever since 4pm on Saturday afternoon, no-one can understand the words that are coming out of my mouth. My lips move and short faint gasps can be detected but that's all I can muster. After all those Raider games, weekends partying in Chico, AD/DC concerts, never had I lost my voice to this extent till now. Taking an Irishman's tongue is like putting a bird in a cage. It's just not natural. It really, really sucks which is why I have decided to absolutely bombard myself with every over the counter cough and decongestant at my disposal. On my latest trip to Rite-Aid I picked up an 8oz bottle of Robitussin, and I am talking about the good shit with the magnetic label on the top that sets off the alarm at the door if the checker doesn't deactivate it. I took the bottle to the register and the older lady scans the box and asks if I am feeling OK. I motioned yes by nodding as telling vocally her would have been impossible. As I pulled out my debit card and prepared myself to answer the question "ATM or credit?" as I have been pre-programmed, this kind, thoughtful, beautiful woman asked me for my ID, as she needed to ensure that I was actually over the age of 21.

For a fleeting moment in my mind this unfolding magic whisked me and this woman from the cold and sterile environment of the fluorescent lighting, X-mas impulse items, and bad muzak, and transported us into a field of sun splashed waving amber grass as we ran to each other, her in a flowing white chiffon dress, and me in my bell bottom jeans, tie dyed shirt, and beads. The sounds "Dawn of the Aquarius" wafting in the background as this gift from God so eloquently bestowed itself upon me.

I got carded today, and man did that feel good. But as luck would have it I can't tell anybody.

Story of my life.