Im Backkkkk

I have been really negligent lately in both my training and posting. After the Smithfield Sprint, I took a week off of training and then traveled to Boston for work. After two weeks, I only ran twice in the next three weeks. This last week I managed to run three days.
An added bonus is that my 11 year old daughter has expressed an interest in training for a tri. When I told her that she was old enough to enter the Smithfield Sprint, she was excited. That night I went into her room and she had written a list of goals. They were
1) 300 meter swim
2) 10 mile bike
3) 3.2 miles

She is very excited and it is infectious. We started running this past week and she is really doing well. The plan is to take it easy at first and show her the distances are absolutely do-able. Last night we ran 3.2 miles with some walking thrown in. It took awhile, but that is ok. She can already swim well as last summer she was swimming with me, and has been on the swim team for a few summers before that.

Training for triathlons has already changed me for the better. Now it is helping me to show my daughter her inner strength. She can learn that she has a well of determination that she has yet to tap into. I really believe that the ability to positively affect someone else by setting a good example is a a joy that some never know. The fact that I can do something that I truly enjoy and spend time with one of my kids doing it is nothing short of amazing.

Smithfield Sprint complete

I have been slacking lately, but here is the race report for the Smithfield Sprint. The morning of the race it was in the mid 40s and gray out. There was some wind from the north so that was nice. I got to Smithfield around 8:30 and did not need to be in the transition area until 9:45 so some pre-race fuel was in order. McDonald's sausage "McMuffin"offers a great choice. Fully fueled, I made it to the race and set up the transition. The swim is indoors which works for me when it is that cold. The way the start works is that you send in your estimated time to swim 100 yds and they seeded you based on that. I think I did good as no one needed to pass me and I never needed to pass anyone. That might have been helped by the person in front of me was not there so there was a 30 second delay between the guy in front and me. The swim went well, and I felt strong the entire swim. I made it into transition and moved to the bike. I took my time because I wanted to ensure I did not get cold or forget anything. My t1 time was slowwww, but that is ok. I got on the bike and started to ride. As you can see, I had an issue getting the heart rate under control. It was cold windy and hilly, and as the song goes "these are a few of my favorite things". I was passed by about a dozen people and never passed anyone. I felt winded the entire bike ride and am seriously wondering how to get stronger. Spinning class appears to have not added any speed to my rides. I will need to work on this.





T2 was not bad as I only changed to my running shoes. As you can see, I still had an issue getting the HR under control.




I completed the race in 1:26:15 which is about 20 minutes longer than I was shooting for. I was not as fast as I wanted on either the bike or the swim and as thinking I swam a little harder than I should have. I really did enjoy this race and am looking forward to the next one. Every time you do one of these you learn a little more about yourself, training and execution.