Intro to Cycling

My swimming is improving and the running I have no problem with but that still leaves one event of the triathlon unaddressed: Cycling. I've never owned or ridden a road bike. In fact, I think I can count on one hand how many times I've ridden a bike since I had two stolen from me five or six years ago. I quickly learned that researching bikes is not like researching running shoes, which you could do fairly well in an hour or so. Not so with bikes. Recognizing I was in way over my head I called a friend who knows his way around a bike. I started searching Craiglist and other sites trying to find something used that wouldn't require a month's paycheck to pay for, emailing my friend links every so often asking what he thought of them. He also graciously let me borrow his own bike and indoor training stand to start getting used to riding.

 

I took the bike out on the road the next day and needless to say, it was a little shaky at first. The road bike is a different beast, a little squirrely on the front wheel at first and so so smooth going down a hill. I put in some good miles and loved pushing myself extremely hard on the indoor trainer for 45 minutes or so out in the garage (my kids kept poking their heads out the door wondering if I was alright).

 

After a week or so I finally spotted a bike that my friend agreed would be good for what I needed at a price that was reasonable. I went to check it out, made an offer, watched the seller squirm because he didn't want to sell it to me at that price, kept my mouth shut as he was waiting for me to apparently offer more and then handed him an envelope of cash containing my original offer after he had agreed. I now have a bike. It fits, it feels good and I'm getting more comfortable riding it.

Learning to Swim

I've done a brave thing this month: I started to swim. For someone who doesn't swim doing so can swing somewhere between embarrassing and horrifying, depending on the day, my energy level and the number of people within view. I struggled through the first couple of days, completely out of breath after just 50 yards. I'd catch my breath and then do it again. I'd finish my 500 yards, get out of the pool frustrated and wonder if I would ever come back. And then I came across an article under a Google search entitled, "If I'm so fit, why is swimming so hard?"

 

I read the five page PDF wondering where this gem had come from. It described me and my struggles precisely. I later traced it to a book call "Total Immersion" which I promptly check out from the library. Over the next 24 hours I plowed through 120 pages, nodding my head, creating a picture in my head of what the perfect swim stroke should look like. I watched YouTube videos and marveled at how easy the subjects made it look. On page 121 I came to the first drill: float on your back.

 

I called my wife and told her I wasn't sure whether I wanted to throw the book across the room or cry. 120 pages of gold and the first thing I'm being asked to do is the thing I absolutely cannot do: float. (The second and third drills, by the way, called for me to float on my side). Frustrated but determined I skimmed the rest of the book and was about to put it away when I stumbled across two pages which had five simple visualizations to keep in mind. They described the picture I had created in my head exactly. Following the visualizations was a note to those who struggle with the drills and how if they did nothing but pay attention to these visualizations, they'd probably be alright. Good enough. I went to work and lo and behold, swimming got easier.

 

I'm still a massive work in progress but I've got my basic mechanics down. Various lifeguards at the YMCA have offered tips and advice (which I appreciate) and slowly but surely I'm getting better. Even with my less than perfect form I know I can finish the 500 yards I'll need for my first triathlon next month, but now it's about doing it well.

29 for #29

The 4th of July also happens to be my birthday. So in addition to running a marathon, becoming eligible to be a Maniac, attending a parade and getting together for a big family reunion that day I had also planned to run 2.8 more miles to make it an even 29 miles run on my 29th birthday. After the marathon I drove 90 minutes back to my hometown for the local parade festivities (always a treat, especially if you're from the area). After the parade my wife and I ventured over to the university track and I put in the additional miles. I actually felt pretty good and could have gone on (despite the on-track temp pushing 95-100 degrees) but 29 was the number I was aiming for and that's what I did. Happy Birthday self. See you next year at 30.