My hikes were between 2 and 5 miles and take place primarily on the trails near the house. Initially, I would let Champ off of his leash and we’d just walk at a very comfortable pace. After 3 of these hikes, I made the decision to run at least one of the miles in the middle. Since this is the time of the year that the rattlesnakes come out, I didn’t want to let Champ off the leash either. That being said, my first run in about 3 months was exactly one mile at a 10:12 pace. Even though I felt good and could have probably gone much further, I definitely didn’t want to rush back into it. The good news is that there were absolutely no side effects during, or after, the run. With this in mind, I did the same thing on our next hike two days later. This time I ran one mile at a 9:36 pace. I wasn’t trying to push it or go faster, I did whatever came naturally. For the following week’s hikes, I decided to run the middle TWO miles. The results were as follows:
9:58 pace / 10:01 pace
9:39 pace / 9:32 pace
9:14 pace / 8:48 pace
On top of the running, I also tried to pick up the walking pace as well. I’m happy to report that there were no knee issues at all! Hopefully this is a good sign for the months of running ahead! I’ll gradually increase the mileage in April and will hopefully be able to complete 5 mile runs on a regular basis.
Back in February, I was able to meet up with my good friend Greg McGlinn. Greg is a cycling/tri coach and one of the 3 people that influenced me the most within the sports of cycling and triathlon. This was the first time that I had seen him since he moved away several years ago. Anyway, we got to talking about my performance in my last IM and then discussed my goals for this year’s. When I told him that I didn’t want to go out any harder on the swim (to try and better my 1:00 time in 2010), he asked why. I told him that I didn’t think that it was worth the extra drain to squeeze out 4 more minutes. He then asked if I was training with weights in the gym. Again, when I told him that I wasn’t, he asked me why. He then posed a question that literally changed my view on strength training. He said, “Well, what if you could swim at the same effort AND shave those 4 minutes just because you were stronger?” Queue the fireworks, the illuminated light bulb, the fanfare, or whatever other metaphor that fits the bill for “I GET IT!” That being said, March saw me in the gym 7 times working primarily my core, shoulders, and triceps. I plan to incorporate more in April, but figured this would be a good start.
ONE Multisport held their first open water swim on Friday, March 2nd and there were only 5 of us that showed up. In 2010, my first dip into the frigid waters was on March 19th and in 2011, it was with David and Suzie on March 18th. You never quite forget how cold the water is, but you aren’t quite ready for it either. This time around, the first guy in the water quickly turned around and yelled, “You’re gonna hate this!” to the rest of us still on shore. The wetsuit always does a fantastic job of keeping me warm, and my hands and feet get used to the cold pretty quick too, but my face, well, that’s a whole other story. I had to stop at least 4 times on the way out to the first buoy (maybe 200 yards out) to lift my face out of the water to try and stop the stinging/burning. Unfortunately, this particular day was very windy and I found absolutely no relief using this strategy. Once the numbness took over, it was off for .8 miles of white capped and choppy water swimming. There was no real training reason that I was out there. I didn’t need the experience and I could have done more in a heated lap pool. The number one reason I was out there was to say that I was in the first open water swim of the season and was it worth it? Hell yes it was! Once out of the water, it was time to trek back up the rocky beach to the car. My feet were so numb, the wind was blowing so hard, and the air was so cold, it literally felt like I was walking on my ankles. I really had to pay attention to each step I took so that I didn’t twist them! It should be noted; I haven’t been back since and probably won’t get back until May or even June.
Finally, a quick note on my rides....My longest of the month was 66 and the shortest was a speedy 14.37 at the Underground Crit. The last ride(a 60 miler) took place on Saturday, March 31st, at about 11:30AM. The weather was a record high of 91 and totally sunny.
Record heat + 3 hours under clear/sunny skies + missed areas with sunscreen =
First sunburn of the year! It's a doozy too.
The numbers (I started included gym/strength training numbers here):
MARCH 2010 TOTALS:
SWIM = 47500 yards
BIKE = 404.5 miles
RUN = 51.2 miles
GYM = 3 times
MARCH 2012 TOTALS:
SWIM = 40258 yards (-7242 yards)
BIKE = 407.25 miles (+2.75 miles) (335.5 tri & 71.75 road)
RUN = 8 miles (-43.2 miles)
GYM = 7 times (+ 4 times)
OVERALL 2010 Season (Dec 2009 – March 2010)
SWIM = 77850 yards
BIKE = 1578.5 miles (1182.75 tri & 395.75 road)
RUN = 153.2
GYM = 14 times
OVERALL 2012 Season (Dec 2011 – March 2012)
SWIM = 74658 yards (-3192 yards)
BIKE = 1192.12 miles (-386.38 miles) (858.13 tri & 333.99 road)
RUN = 11 miles (-142.2 miles)
GYM = 7 times (-7 times)
