Tuesday, June 22, 2010

USAT Regionals, first Tri of the Season

So there I was, One foot in the soothing water, one foot feeling the liquid of the sand behind me. The blast of the gun. The two black walls on either side shot forward. I dived. Water shielded my eyes from sunlight as I heard what seemed like a swift whirring inside of my head. Feet propelled in front of me. Arms stratched from behind. I found myself to the right of the pack. Sighting: I found the first of eight buoys, directly in my line of sight.

My Clastrophobia had acted up earlier but it subsided within the first four minutes. I sunk my right shoulder just beneath the first buoy and pressed on. I felt my body rolling, left to right, right to left. The forth buoy passed on my right. The pack was thinning. My muscles started feeling weak. My hand slipped through the water, it had become stiff. I rounded the last buoy and pushed for the beach. The sun was in my eyes but I eventually started seeing sand underneath me. I took four more strokes. My right hand felt the sandy bottom of the lake. I stood up, slightly lightheaded. I started picking up my knees to pass by instead of needing to fight the water. Up onto the asphalt. I got to my bike and slipped off my wetsuit, put my right cleat on, strapped my helmet and rolled my bike. Across the line I jumped onto the seat and clipped the right and slid my left foot into the shoe. I strapped both with gentle ease and took off.

The First 9 miles I averaged 25.1 mph. All downhill, and very technical. I felt comfortable, no fear rounding corners or breaking speeds of 40 mph. The climbs came in. I started passing more competitors. I powered through the hills trying to keep the momentum I gathered off the downhills. Though my muscles started fatigueing quickly. My Musclular Endurance was weak. My quads tightened. Just keep going, steady, steady and quick. With one mile left to go I let out a gear and spun out my legs to prepare for the run. 100, 103, 105 rpms. I rounded the last turn and relaxed my excitement to start my strong leg.

Transition two went well. I had slight trouble re-racking my bike. I had never used a seat hanger before. I slipped on my shoes easily and headed out the back run exit. I felt strong. I didn't expect my bike to run muscles to switch so quickly. I went out quickly, probably too quickly. My first 5k labeled 18:22. I held strong but faded a little bit on the second loop. My core became weak and sore. I powered up the last hill and finished the olympic distance in 2:16:36. A 37:10 10k. 18:48 second 5k. Not my greatest Olympic Distance but I learned my strengths and weaknesses quickly.

Strengths- Overall Strength - Cardiovascular Endurance
Swim - Efficient Stroke, Low Heartrate, 29:53
Bike - Climbing, and Slight inclines, High Cadence, 1:07:58
Run - Overall, Turnover, 37:10, 18:22 first 5k
T1 - 0:45
T2 - 0:51 (Trouble with Re-Racking)

Weaknesses - Overall Weaknesses - Strength, Mostly Muscular Endurance
- Swim - Muscular Endurance - Hip Sinkage? - Not really sure, I think I need to be kicking a little bit more, I noticed I barely kick.
- Bike - Muscular Endurance - Downhill Riding, I think Areodynamics - Good at technical aspect
- Run - Need a little more core work. A little more steady state.

Overall I'm pretty strong. I just need a few more quality workouts. Excited for the season!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Middlebury CT Pat Grikus Triathlon

So here I am in Middlebury CT and it has been quite a pleasant trip with my mother so far. We've been having alot of fun, going over the course, checking out the local life and seeing the amusment park. The triathlon tomorrow is a little scary. Alot of downhills. It seems like many parts of the course are going to be really fast. I just want this first tri of the season to go better than Keuka did back in 2009. At least I won't drown on this one. My wetsuit is now formed to me. I'm excited to be racing again! First triathlon since the accident September 10th, 2009. The trees are green, grass is plush, the flowers have bloomed, its time to move!!!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

My First Post

This is my first post. Throughout the days, weeks, months, and years ahead I will be posting short stories, poems, and memoirs. Thank You for Reading!