As you may or may not know I am training for a sprint triathlon (400 meter swim, 16 mile bike, 5k run). It's set for the day before St. Patrick's Day and it's benefiting a mission trip for Ashland students. Training started last week and it's been exciting throwing non running activities into my repertoire.
Thursday I headed to the pool with Bryce "The Catalyst" York and it was our first time at the Natatorium. The pool opens at 5:30 and I got word that you have to get there early to secure a lane and that morning was particularly cold. I pulled into the parking lot and sat in my car, cold, for a good ten to fifteen minutes. Since it was my first time there I was ultra paranoid that I was at the wrong place and they wouldn't be open. Luckily two older gentlemen got out of their car and headed around the building to the entrance. At this point I still didn't know where the entrance was so I pulled a pretty creepy card. When they turned the corner I started up the ole Focus and followed them. Sure, I may have looked like a creeper but I found the entrance. Success! When we mustered up the courage to go into the building we wandered around for a good couple minutes before asking for help. The kind janitor pointed us in the direction of the locker room and it was time to jump in the pool. Kinda. When we walked out of the locker room the lifeguard told us about how to sign in and where to pay. He could sense the fear of being first timers. Time for the pool.
We secured our lanes. Ready. Set. Plop. Aside from watching the Olympics I don't know how to swim. I can survive and float but I have no swimming technique. It wasn't a bad session though. I was able to work on what to do with my arms, thanks to my training partner. Yeah! The last couple laps the lifeguard came and sat down right next to my lane. This made me a little embarrassed and I also didn't want to splash him. My form isn't very flowing and smooth. Breathing and being aerodynamic is still a hassle. God blessed me with a larger than normal noggin so I have to work a bit. Another positive that came out of the day came from my training pal. He said because of my beard that I look like a bear coming out of the water. Yeah again! One goal that's kind of silly and not mentioned in my 2013 post was that I want to grow my beard for the entire year (much to the dismay of Mrs. Costello) I'm taking the bear comment as a compliment!
Now is when the non-existent race comes into play. Saturday I was browsing some triathlon stuff online and I checked on the site for the St. Pattys day race. Maybe it was the excitement of finding a tri in March but the second time I visited the site I wasn't too confident that a race would happen. The race is in it's second year. They're using a Blogger page for their race but it hasn't been updated since July 2012. There's no link to register. No start times. I emailed the address on the site and have yet to get a response. Yeah, it's not happening, and wouldn't you guess it there aren't too many triathlons in Northeast Ohio in the winter (not counting "indoor triathlons" because I'd like to actually go somewhere when I pay for a race. I'm not paying a race entry to ride on a stationary bike and run on a treadmill). My first reaction was to be a little bummed out but now I have more time to train. My training will continue! Race or no race! Still excited for the future and excited for the next day when I would start training on the bike.
Flat tire. Crappola!
My list of things needed for triathlon racing is growing. Most of the items needed are bicycle related. Running is cheap. Tris? Not so much. Patience. Patience...
I am saving up money by working some overtime and not spending frivolously. Also I sold my Nike GPS running watch (just shipped it today). I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the watch but it's too one dimensional for my mission. I have jotted down a rough list of items I plan on purchasing:
-Trainer (item used so I can turn my outdoor bike into a stationary bike)
-Running assessment (to combat my pronation)
-Tire pump and other bicycling repair items
-Garmin watch
-Swimming cap
-Wetsuit
-Bike
The last three or four items aren't anything I'm too worried about right now, or within the next year.
Monday was a rest day and this morning I was back in the pool. This time we walked with confidence. Seasoned vets. I made the mistake of telling Bryce that I didn't want to get the lifeguard wet. He took that as an opportunity to make fun of me for not wanting to get a person who's job it is to jump in the water, wet. Is it so bad that I don't want to get the guy wet? I mean he has breakfast with him and everything. He's obviously not planning on getting splashed. I chose a different lane.
From Thursday to today I looked up a few swimming videos to help my form. I put them into action and surprising enough these video makers know what they're talking about! Breathing is now my focus. I'm still in "panic mode" anytime I put my head underwater. Apparently taking a breath underwater is not the greatest idea. Bryce gave me some pointers and I feel like I'm on the up-and-up. Breath out WHILE you're going underwater. Now it's time to play jigsaw and put all the puzzle pieces together. It's a great workout too. Makes me feel like I've done something and the feeling lasts all day.
On to a local annoyance, a feud brewing between the two parties responsible for the Canton Marathon. I mentioned something about a few posts back but over the past week things have heated up. A new race was started. Looked legit. The Canton Marathon Facebook page was even referring people to "like" the new race. Turns out there was a big split and now there will be two races Fathers day weekend, which is logistically impossible. They're pointing fingers and throwing out debt amounts in the hundred thousand plus range. I foresee no race happening in June and a black mark over large running events in the community. Both races claim to want to do their race for the community when it's the community they'll end up hurting. Can't we all just get along? Take a year off from the race. Pay off all your debt. Hug it out.
Here is a link to the North Canton Patch if you'd like to read about it.
http://northcanton.patch.com/articles/canton-marathon-llc-says-it-s-not-affiliated-with-new-2013-race-letter-to-the-editor
Finally, I've reached 1,000 views on my blog (thank you!). After I noticed the milestone I went to the stats section and it even breaks down how many views I get from each country. Coming in at number 1? USA USA USA!! No surprise there. What did catch me off guard was 37 views from Malaysia. That's right, Malaysia. Canada had 7. Come on Canada. Malaysia is making you look bad!
Thanks for reading everybody!
Any ideas that can help me reach out to our brethren up north? Leave a comment!
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