Running Sucks

So my biggest fear and weakest sport is running. I did some running 20+ years ago and I didn't really like it. I got convinced to do a 10k and it sucked (I did the same race 3 times over 4 years though). I ran a handful of 5k races over the years. The last one in 2006.

Basically I hate running.

Through the swimbikemom blog I learned of the run/walk/run method that Jeff Galloway preaches. This sounds amazing! I can so totally get into this and it sounds wonderful.

So I set up an interval timer on my phone to a 20s run with a 60 second walk. I already had a 5k route that I occassional use to walk the dog so I was all set. I knew I walked at about a 15:00/mi pace so I was curious how much faster I might be.

I did a .3 mile walking warm up and then off I went. I felt great! I stopped running at 20 seconds and it was just to the point where I was getting out of breath, then with the long rest I was ready to go again. I hit the 1 mile mark and my pace was 11:30/mi! Holy cow! That's way faster than I thought.

Then it hit me. I started to get a pain in my inner thigh, then it moved up to my groin muscle. I powered through it but after the second mile I stopped and just walked the remainder.

Dammit! I had injured myself on my very first run! God I hate running.

My legs were sore for days after. Not unbearable, or limping or anything just sore enough to think "I did something the other day."

So we will see how I feel later in the week.

Research

Took a couple of weeks off from thinking about this stuff. Went to Vegas for a long weekend, and then had a family reunion in Michigan followed by a work trip to Tennessee.

I have taken some time to do some research. Mostly on bikes.

Lordy, there is a lot that goes into bike shopping. Everyone has an opinion and a favorite bike.

The local bike shops here all cater to the mountain and fat bike crowds and there are virtually no road bikes available.

I talked to some friends about their suggestion and they all said to head to the Twin Cities and hit up the bike shops there. So thats where I am headed this weekend. Hopefully to come home with a bike and all the gear I need.

US Masters Swimming Summer Nationals

The USMS Summer Long Course Nationals were held at the University of Minnesota this year. As I mentioned before swimming is relatively new to me. I took swim lessons every summer as a kid and I enjoyed them immensely but I was never a competitive swimmer. In fact I didn't know it really even existed outside the olympics at that time.

So fast forward to fall of 2015 and I find myself with shoulder issues from lifting weights, and a desire to swim with my 9 year old daughter who was on the YMCA swim team. Frankly she made it look easy so I figured I would do it too.

So at the advice of my doctor I scheduled a set of 8 lessons with my daughter’s swim team coach. 25 yards was about all I could do without resting when I started. Swimming is harder than it looks. But focus on proper technique to prevent injury was the goal as I knew endurance would come. I was swimming 2x/week once with a lesson and once on my own.

That fall, the swim team offered a parent race during one of their meets. My daughter said I should try it out. So after a lesson on starting from the blocks, I was ready for my first 50 free race. It was a lot of fun. With that behind me I decided to join USMS and go to a meet. There is no team that gets together in Duluth, so I practiced on my own. My first official swim meet was in Dec 2015 and I swam 50 free, 50 back and 100 back. Breathing was still difficult, no flip turns (hadn’t learned how yet) but I did it and met some good people.

Me next to a "real swimmer" prior to a race

I swam regularly and competed monthly through the winter of 2016. I stopped swimming in the spring, switched to golf. In the fall, I joined another pool so that I could go 3x/week at the same time my daughter was at practice a mile away. That significantly helped my endurance and I started the next USMS season in the fall of 2016. I did 50/100 Free and 50/100 back. But in practice I was regularly swimming a 500 non stop.

In January 2017, a new coach on my daughter’s team started up a “Tri-swim” class. He held it two mornings/week and on Sunday afternoon. I couldn’t do the early morning ones, but I made many of the Sunday swims. They were long swims, and he worked me hard. Focused on technique, some speed work, some endurance work etc.

I was consistently getting a little bit faster at every meet. I will never say I am fast. I finish last in all my heats usually, and in my age group. But I do enjoy the competition against myself. At the spring state championship I upped my longest competition yardage to a 200 Free. I spend most of my time swimming freestyle now.

Unlike the year before, I continued to swim during the spring. Having never swam a long course meet before I swam one in June, and did a 400m Free in competition for the first time.

At the USMS Nationals they let anyone swim up to 3 events without a qualifying time. So I signed up to swim 3 events and on 2 relay teams. Thursday afternoon was a 50 back as part of a medley relay, and then on Friday 400 Free, 50 back, and 100 Free, and a 50 Free as part of a relay team. I had some great swims! The backstroke events sucked, but I had not been practicing them at all. I took 20 seconds off my 400m Free PR!

At Nationals, they hand out medals to the top 10 places in each age group. Fortunately not many people competed in some of my events in my age group and I managed to come home with 4 medals.

So I have really enjoyed swimming. It is really difficult. Prior to nationals I was focusing on learning flip turns and gaining endurance. Since nationals, a part of every practice is working on alternate side breathing. I will get there, but it is a slow process.

Trip to the Triathlon Store

My hometown of Duluth doesn't have a true triathlon store. I had just dropped my wife and daughter off at the airport in Minneapolis so I decided to stop at a triathlon store and see what questions they could answer.

So I stopped by Endurance House. They had just opened and I was the only one there and the sales guy spent at least 45 minutes with me walking me through the basics of equipment, what I need, what I might need to pay, options, recommendations etc. It was so great to just chat and not try to get sold anything at all. It really helped me feel at ease.

But man, there is A LOT OF STUFF!

Swim Bike Mom

So one day prior to my decision I was curious about how triathletes wear their timing chips. So off to the google I went and found my answer. As with most things google, one search led to another and I ended up on the swimbikemom blog. I got hooked and read nearly her entire blog. Then I downloaded her book. The whole thing just resonated with me. Her struggles, her accomplishments etc.

It was one of the many reasons I felt that I could possibly do this. So thanks Meredith!

TriTimTry

I have decided to become a triathlete.

What have I done? I am not a single sport athlete, much less a tri-sport athelete. This is crazy!

I have swam, in fact that is my current "sport." I have run in my past (very slowly), but I have never really biked.

Swimming is a sport I just picked up 2 years ago. I am slowly ramping up some yardage. I ran some 5k (12 years ago) and 10k races (18 years ago). I would never consider myself and my 11 minute miles fast. I haven't ridden a bike in over a decade. The last time was a mountain bike that I rode on some paved trails for about 10 miles.

So why am I combining 3 sports which I am not good in any of them. 2 simple words. Peer Pressure.

My masters swimming group has several people that also do triathlons. They have been trying to get me to do it too. Frankly it is something I have always thought about. I first learned of this sport right after college in the mid-90's. I can remember reading books from the library on Triathlon. It was fascinating to me that people would do that. Then adventure racing became popular. I would watch those crazy people do these long endurance events. So these types of things have always interested me to some extent, but I never did anything about it.

So here I am off to try this sport, and to document my progress and feelings along the way.