A Badass Coach…

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I couldn’t find a sport specific one (running, cycling, etc.), so I went with this one. It’s probably more spot on though… 😉

For those of you who haven’t caught on by now, Terri is my [badass] coach. There are many things that make her a badass, but this is just one example. On Sunday, her day started at 4A, she was at transition at 5, swam 800m as part of a Tri relay, and then picked me up for training. Which consisted of at least 600m in the pool and about 2mi of run/walk.

We had a much clearer path on Sunday than we had last week. After about 75-90 minutes in the normal area (4-5 feet), I decided to give the deep water a try. The Tri in August will go from 0 depth to 15 feet in M layouts, so I need to get into the deep water. I think that I should have stopped two laps before we did, as I was far beyond spent on the run.

I was done for the day after the training session, and spent most of the day sleeping. But not her – she caught her 4th or 11th wind and just went onto the next thing. So when you see me say ‘badass coach’ in the future, you’ll know what I mean… 🙂

Beach Brick

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So after two days of crappy weather, we finally got a nice day for a swim. We took full advantage of that, staying in the pool for two hours after getting properly dressed (wet suits, caps, goggles and ‘magic tether’).

It started out with a fun entry into the water, continued with drills and eventually laps. When they started the deep water test in the intermediate water, we had to dodge crowds while training since everyone was compressed. While there’s still work to be done, it all came together by the end of the swim session. One of the things I still need to work on is not losing stroke / concentration when told to turn. But there’s still plenty of time.

After the swim, we went for what was supposed to be 2 miles, but turned into closer to 3. The swim->run bricks aren’t as bad as bike->run ones are. I know that the latter is what the Tris will be, so hopefully that will get easier with more practice.

Black Flagged… Again

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On Sunday, we got a small amount of practice in before they effectively closed the beach down (consecutive 30 minute delays from thunder). So our plan was to go Monday evening for a swim.

Best laid plans… Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn’t want to cooperate with us. THis time round, we didn’t even have a chance to get into the water. While the swim was off, we put the time to good use (beach membership and grocery shopping), and planned to do the swim Tuesday.

The Four Elements…

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There are four elements — earth, wind, water and fire. Earlier today, we got to see all four together. And it was purely by chance.

We had decided yesterday to do an AM swim at Centennial Beach. Terri picked me up and we headed over to the beach so we’d be there at 9. When we arrived in the parking lot, we saw a huge assortment of police equipment. As we sat and waited for the thunder to pass, we figured out what it was.

It was the Torch Run, and as things worked out, we were in the right place at the right time to get a great video of the procession when it left.

Having captured an incredible scene, we were finally able to go into the water. I had an opportunity to try out my new wet suit. For those of you who have never put one on, it’s quite the experience. Think about how people make sausages. But in this scenario, you’re the hooves and snouts going into it. I will say that Suit Juice not only is amazing, but IMO is essential if you’re going to be wearing a wet suit.

Once in the water, we were only able to get about 200 yards in before the tthunder/lightning alarm (10 mi radius) went off. We originally thought it was just 30 minutes period before it went to all clear. We soon learned that each thunder crack added 30 minutes on instead of resetting. Having heard 6 thunderclaps in about 5 minutes, we left instead of waiting for 3+ hours to be able to get back in.

We will give it another go tomorrow. And even though we only got 200 yrds in, I’ve got ZERO complaints. The first part was well worth all the mess in the rain afterwards.

Oswego Bricks

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Yesterday, we headed over to Oswego for a bike/run brick session. We did about 9 miles on the bike through the Fox Valley Trail. As always, Oswego Cyclery lent us the tandem for the day. I am so grateful for Art continuing to let us use it!

Montgomery still needs to fix their part of the path. It’s got so many bumps in it that I joking said to Terri ‘stop saying bump – just say no bump when there isn’t one.’ As soon as I can figure out exactly who to report that to, I will be sending an e-mail. Everything I’ve found so far points to Aurora instead of Montgomery.

After the last bike/run brick, I could barely run. On this one, I was able to do small stretches before the jello in my legs took over and I had to walk. As we were headed back into the park, a couple of guys called ‘where’s the double bike?’, so we’re evidently getting noticed in Oswego when we ride. 🙂 We only did 2 miles of the ‘run’ because today was a planned swim. More on that in the next post…

Blindsided…. by sponsors!

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There have been a lot of people who have helped me since I started this journey. I wouldn’t be where I am without their help and support. Some have even helped me through sponsorships — but I always knew about that going in.

However, yesterday, I was blind sided by the generosity of two sponsors. I won’t drop names right now, BUT I will say that when the Tri kit happens in 2016, you WILL see their logos on it as my way of showing gratitude for their support. If either of them would like to publicly raise their hand, I’m happy to approve the comments.

So at the end of yesterday, I had a pair of running shoes and a wet suit. Both of which I need as I continue to push forward. THANK YOU so much to both of these generous sponsors!

Tethered…

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During the run training, there’s been an on-going joke about tethering because I take off so fast and burn out. On Memorial Day, when we went for a brief (3mi) run, the tether made its appearance.

Because I still have a decent amount of vision during the day, I haven’t run tethered before. It’s always been easier and more comfortable for me to run next to or between the guides.

It helped with the training, and is something we’ll probably continue to use during it. But for races, I still plan to run untethered.

Fish Training, take 3

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With the nice Memorial Day weekend weather, we took advantage of it and put in a brick session (swim/run). While still a struggle, it went better than the first one (bike/run) — I could actually run this time.

We started out at Centennial Beach for the swim. Beginning first with drills and then doing laps. As always, Terri helped to support me and teach me through the drills. 🙂 We ended up doing about 400 yards between the drills and laps.

After the swim, we went for a run on the same course that we’ll be running in August. I was only able to make it about 2 miles total with walking, but it was an improvement from the ‘no run’ during the first brick session.

A Lesson in Limits

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Having found a new way to get into the forest preserve,we set out for a run. At about 2.5 miles, Terri asked me I wanted to turn around. I said no, that I wanted to keep pushing, so we turned around at 3 miles. I really should have kept it at 5 total, as that last mile was painful. I had absolutely nothing left in the tank and had to walk almost all of it.

Lesson learned – we’ll see if I remember it…