I woke up extra early for my swim this morning. I was in the pool just before 6:30am. This gave me plenty of time to swim and get ready for work. When my workouts start increasing, I will need to come in earlier.

Warm Up: 300 meters
8x100's (15 sec rest): 1:51, 1:56, 1:56, 1:56, 1:54, 1:58, 2:03, 1:59
Average time: 53.94
Total time: 15:33
Cool Down: 200 meters
Total: 1,300 meters

I am not sure what happened on my 7th 100m? It felt slow...and it was. Well, at least I made it through. I did 800m in 15:33. That's awesome. Now if I can just swim this straight through!!
Give me time...I will get there!

It snowed yesterday and it's not melting any time soon. The temperature is supposed to be -2 tonight. Yikes. Because it was so cold...guess what that means...more time at the gym. I walked over to the City of Aurora Fitness Center. Here is my workout:

35 minutes - Bike - Cross Country Course (8.20 miles)
5 minutes - Run - 1/2 mile
35 minutes - Bike - Cross Country Course (9.50 miles)
5 minutes - Run - 1/2 mile

Total:
70 minutes - Bike (17.70 miles)
10 minutes - Run (1.0 miles)

Not too bad. I went home, shoveled snow, ate dinner, and went to Jazz Band. Came home, talked with my wife for about an hour and back to sleep. What a lifestyle! THE LIFE OF A TRIATHLETE.

My Running/Triathlon Career
----------------------------------

Here is a list of many of the races I have finished within the last 12 years. I have also listed the clubs/organizations that I participate in.

Triathlons/Duathlons
2006 Rattlesnake Sprint Triathlon 1:28:31

Running
2006 Boulder Backroads Marathon 3:39:00
2005 Boulder Backroads Marathon 3:40:06
1999 Colorado Marathon 4:36:58

13th 2005 Annual Holy Cow Trail Stampede 10K Run – 42:48

1999 New Years Day 5K – 22:44

Bolder Boulder 10K Run
1995 - ??
1996 - 0:46:00
1997 - 0:44:55
1998 - 0:42:36
1999 - 0:46:05
2000 - 0:50:07
2001 - 0:42:25
2002 - 0:48:47
2003 - 0:46:51
2004 - 0:47:38
2005 - 0:44:37
2006 - 0:45:27

Clubs
Rocky Mountain Road Runner Member
Bicycle Village Bike/Tri Club Member
Triathlon Class Attendee

Other Accomplishments/Activities, etc
Toastmaster President
-Held a humor speech contest
Church Webmaster
Blog – http://www.erics-half-ironman.blogspot.com/
-Updated Daily
-Pass out Blog Business Cards
Jazz Band
Teach at a technical school
Married, 1 furry dog
Home Owner
-Coffee Bar in basement
Help out family/friends with computer issues/problems without charging

Hobbies
Bowling, Running, Skiing, Computers, Trombone player, and so much more...

I woke up and had ran out of time at the pool today. The swim masters group meets Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. They usually swim 5:30-6:30. When I get in the pool around 6:30-6:45 I usually get a lane. Today I had to wait a little bit because there were lots of swimmers. I started swimming about 6:45. There is another pool, but its about 20-22 yards in length. The smaller pool is ok, but the distance throws me off a little and it just seems different.

Warm Up: 300 yards
10x50's (10 sec rest): 50.95, 54.28, 56.24, 54.72, 56.50, 53.88, 53.57, 54.59, 52.03, 52.35
Average time: 53.91
3x100's (15 sec rest): 1:57, 1.59, 1.53
Average time: 1:56
Cool Down: 100 yards
Total: 1,200 yards

I had three goals for the 50m and 100m repeats today.
1) To swim each 50m repeat under 58 seconds
2) To swim each 100m repeat under 2 minutes
3) Consistency

Because I was running low on time, I decided that if I could swim my 3rd 100m repeat in under 2 minutes, I would stop and cool down. I did just that, except I didn't have enough time to finish my cool down laps. The high school team comes in and swims starts about 7:30.

The schedule is working for me so far, but I will be increasing my workouts and I will need more time in the pool. I will have to figure something out. I will probably just need to come in earlier.

I went to the Alamogordo Space Museum again for my run today. I did the first part, but I didn't go straight back. I went around the scenic route. It was a tough run because there was no sidewalk to run on.



Total Distance: 7.1 miles
Total Time: 58:56
Avg. Pace: 8.18/mile

Nicole and I went to Alamogordo, NM for Thanksgiving. The holidays are the hardest to workout every day. It even gets tougher if you are out of state. I wanted to bring my bike, but it just didn't seem realistic with only being gone 4-5 days.

The easiest part about training for a triathlon, is that no matter where you go, you can run. I went to the Alamogordo Space Museum for my run today. I went there and back.

Total Distance: 4.3 miles
Total Time: 37:45
Avg. Pace: 8:47/mile

I went to the City of Aurora Gym to ride. By the time I get home, it's already dark. That's no fun. I had everything today, but my shoes. I rode the stationary bike with my socks. WoW. Because of this, I only rode for 35 minutes. I went about 7-8 miles. I did the interval course.

Today was another endurance swim.

Warm Up: 300 yards
800m swim: 17.29 (Today's swim) PR
My split times: 200m splits - 4.13, 4.30, 4.29, 4.18
500m split time: 10.57 PR
800m swim: 19:05 (Friday's swim)
Cool Down: 200 yards
Total: 1,300 yards

I wanted to see how I would compare with a warm up. I think this really made a difference. My time improved by about a minute and a half.

PR - Personal Record

Ride: Cherry Creek Reservoir & Parker Ride
Distance: 29.50 miles
Time: 2:09:35
Max Speed: 43.2mph
Avg. Speed: 14.3mph (includes total from 2 rides)

Overall I had a pretty good ride. I decided to wait a little longer to help my wife out with Baby Shower stuff. I tried to catch up with the Bicycle Village group, but they were long gone. They could have taken a different route too. I hit my best max speed! Yeah

F A S T!!! 43.2mph on a BIKE...wow

Today was an endurance swim.

Warm Up: 0 yards
800m swim: 19:05
Cool Down: 200 yards
Total: 1,000 yards

I wanted to see how my progress is with a long endurance swim. I use my watch to swim in 200m increments. 32 laps in the pool can be hard to count. I did not warmup because I wanted to see how I did before a 300m warm up.

I took this morning off. I have been working really hard and I felt like I needed the extra rest.

I went to the Castle Rock Rec Center tonight. My aunt, Linda, has been coaching me on swimming. It looks like we will be meeting every other Tuesday night.

Warmup
5x50
4x100
Cool down

I am not sure of the exact distance I went tonight, but I worked on speed. I may have swam my fastest 50 ever tonight. My first 100 was fast too. The Castle Rock Rec Center is a yard pool. I mostly swim in a meter pool, so I am not sure about the times.

It was cold outside today. I decided to go out on the bike today despite the cold weather. A winter storm is headed our way, so I figured I better get out now. It was about 37 degrees today. I felt pretty good on the ride, except my fingers froze. I have come to the conclusion that if the weather outside is under 30 degrees I will go to the gym, or if the ground has snow/ice.

I bought a Cat Eye Astrale 8 over the weekend. This is a cyclocoputer which will tell me more information about my ride. I will now be displaying my statistics of my rides.

Ride: Cherry Creek Reservoir Loop
Distance: 13.45 miles
Time: 49:44
Max Speed: 29.7mph
Avg. Speed: 16.2mph

I had triathlon class tonight. It went well. We ran for a little bit, then did some core exercises with 2lb weights. It was tougher than it looked. Our main focus tonight was swimming.

100m Warmup
Drills
4x50
3x75
Cool down

I woke up and had plenty of time at the pool today.

Warm Up: 300 yards
15x50's (10 sec rest): 54.40, 54.85, 55.22, 58.18, 58.75, 58.40, 58.19, 57.73, 58.27, 58.68, 56.46, 57.38, 58.88, 54.94, 58.23
Average time: 57.24
Cool Down: 150 yards
Total: 1,250 yards

I had three goals for the 50m repeats today.
1) To swim each repeat under 60 seconds
2) Consistency
3) Only rest 10 seconds between repeats

I reached all goals except #3. I did much better with the rest in between repeats. I find myself resting too much!

I am starting to notice how my hips can make a difference. I felt less fatigued today. I also realized I need to get more sleep...zzzzzzzzz

The weather was not too swell today. I went out early because I took my Grandmother to church. We go once a month and usually the 2nd Sunday of every month. I took out Pazu (our cute dog) with me. It started snowing on us. We were soaking wet when we got back home. I was slower than normal, but Pazu had to make a few pitstops along the way. My total time was 38:29. I am not sure how many miles I went, but I was more concerned about the time.

Saturday's are becoming my long rides with the Bicycle Village group. One the riders got a flat about 10 miles into the ride. He ended up using 3-4 tubes and 3-4 Co2 cartridges. We all waited for his. That set us back out 30 minutes. I had to cut today's ride shorter than I wanted to because of the delay.

The wind was terrible today. It was blowing so hard and held no prisoners. The ride back was nice, but it seemed that the wind calmed down. No flat tires today! The piece of metal from last week, must have been causing all the flats.

I have been watching some swimming videos. These videos use a Total Immersion style of swimming.

Freestyle made easy (video) by Terry Laughlin
Happy Laps (video) by Terry Laughlin
Triathlon Swimming made easy (book) by Terry Laughlin

I had today off so I went swimming a little later in the day. There were many kids at the pool, but it did not interfere with my lap swimming. There is a section at the Utah Pool for Lap Swim "Adults Only". I was able to apply what I have been learning.

My swimming speed was about the same today, but I wasn't as tired once I got out. I did the same exercise as Wednesday to see how it compared.

Warm Up: 300 yards
4x200's (20 sec rest): 4.08, 4.19, ?.??, 4.18, (today)
4x200's (20 sec rest): 4.15, 4.20, 4.21, 4.13 (Wednesday)
Cool Down: 200 yards
Total: 1,300 yards

I did not clock one the 200's. I am not sure what happened?? Oh well. The first 200 was very good!

Day off! Alright!!

I did another loop around Cherry Creek Reservoir. I am getting faster each week. My time didn't show it today. Some mornings are faster than others. This can change depending on the weather and stop lights. My total time today was 1:02.19

The weather was well over 50 degrees this morning. I can't complain one bit!! It got much warmer later in the day, but if I ride in the morning, it's done and over with.

Today was another early morning swim. My repeats are starting to get a little longer each week. This will help with my endurance. I take too much time in between reps. Instead of 20 seconds of rest, I may take 30 seconds. I need to stop.

Warm Up: 300 yards
4x200's (20 sec rest): 4.15, 4.20, 4.21, 4.13
Cool Down: 200 yards
Total: 1,300 yards

A weeks worth of posting to catch up on. This is the first time I have been lazy and did not make any posts. I skipped swimming this morning. I was pretty warn out from this weekend. 50 miles total. WoW.

I did go to my triathlon class. We did a few warm up laps first. We then learned how to better pace ourselves by running 3/4 around the track and speed walking the remaining 1/4 lap. It was pretty challenging because I am not used to going that pace. We then did some spinning on the bike. Towards the end we got off and did brick workouts (running after bicycling). What a funny feeling it is!! I will be doing more brick workouts as time goes by.

I recovered pretty well from the long ride yesterday.
I decided to do the RMRR (Rocky Mountain Road Runners) Trophy series race today. The run was a Waterton Canyon, just a few miles south of Chatfield Reservoir. It was a distance from my house, but well worth it.

I ran very well. I finished with a total time of 1:15:53. It was 5 miles up the canyon with a strong win. Then it was 5 miles back with wind and downhill helping you. It was a total of 10 miles. My average pace was 7:35. I can't complain.

I won 9th place overall for the trophy series race. The trophy series racaes (run) are based on using handicaps. This handicap makes it fun for everyone because not only the best runners win. I got a 9th place ribbon which is now hanging on our fridge.

During these events, you have chances to win a few prizes. I won $25 to running store in Highlands Ranch. I was pretty happy.

You can see the results on the following website:
http://www.rmrr.org/rmrrRaceResults/2006/rmrrRaceResultsNovember2006.html

I need to rest better after these races. I should go home and go straight to bed. Instead I try to do so many other things. I went to a football party at Jesse's (my brother) house. I felt pretty tired and sick almost the entire game. I get pretty sick after I run and I should get as much sleep as possible afterwards.

Today was the longest I have ever been on a bike. I started at about 9:40am. I finished after 1:00pm. I am not sure with exact times, but it was about 3 1/2 hours. I went with the Bicycle Village group. We had a couple of breaks in between.

I had another flat today. I found out that there was a metal piece in the bike tire, which was punching holes in every tube, I put in. I learned out to use CO2 cartridges today. I am glad that I bought them. I wouldn't be able to make it home if it wasn't for them.My front wheel reflector was smashed to a million pieces today. It got close to the brakes during a downhill and it was making some terrible screeching noises. I thought something was serious and I was going to loose the group. There was some damage to my bike :( Some of the paint was stripped off. It is about the size of a quarter. Yikes....

The total bike ride was about 40 miles. Add sixteen more miles and that's the bike portion for the half-ironman. The Bicycle Village group goes about 60 miles during the spring (March and April). This will be even better training.

It is thorny season and I have bought some new tubs with the "green gu". This green gu is supposed to plug the hole when a thorn has punched the tire/tub. I have one of these tubs in my front tire. I will put one in the back tire when it goes flat.

Today was another endurance swim.
Warm Up: 300 yards
Endurance swim: 500m 11.06 (Best swim - Personal Record!!)
Cool Down: 200 yards
Total: 1,000 yards

I swam very well today. I felt like a fish. Todays swim was my best swim ever. I seem to be getting faster and better every week. The videos must be helping!

Day Off!

I went during my lunch hour today and rode the bike at the City of Aurora workout gym. I went about 50:00 min total. I also went about 12 miles total. The stationary bikes only allow 30 min + 5 min cool down. I had to stop and start back up again. Not much you can do, but it's so much better than going out in 27 degree weather! Brrrr. thats too cold!!