Remember That Time I Did Triathlon Stuff?

So, a year ago this time, I was trying to make myself better but killing myself in the process. Or so it felt. So strongly I felt I was dying sometimes that I so often used the term "killing myself" or some variation thereof that an angry reader scolded me for being so careless and glib about, you know, death. 

Sorry, I said. But there were some days where I truly felt like I was dying.

Okay, that was probably an exaggeration. But in the moment? Yeah, maybe I did feel that a little. But mostly because I was kind of a wimp.

When I went to visit my uncle last summer, a few months after triathlon stuff ended for me, he asked me, "Dude, what were you thinking?" 

It was a good journalism project, I blabbered, and it got me in shape, and ... yeah. Now though, I'm with him. What the heck was I thinking? 

Anyway, here are some reflections on it, via this week's Get Out column in the Star-News. Click here to read it. Enjoy. 

Tri Update -- wetsuits are wonderful

Before yesterday, I'd never in my life worn a wetsuit. Which means that when Greg Koenig of Fitness For Life in Wilmington offered to let me borrow his for my open-water practice swim with the Y Dub Tri crazies, I was thrilled. 

But dude....that junk is tight. I put it on at my house before I left and called Greg to make sure I wasn't going to rip out of the thing. 

"Trust me," he said. "If I wear it, you can wear it."

By the time we jumped in the water, though, I was used to it. And the instant I hit the water, I was grateful for it. Remember how terrifying my first channel swim was last week? Remember how petrified I was of running into who-knows-what-type of sea monsters? The wetsuit canceled all that out somehow. Something about having a few millimeters of rubber between myself and whatever might come did wonders for my anxiety and made me a much more confident swimmer. 

It definitely helped that the water was warmer, and what cold spots we went through were wholly mitigated by the suit. We ended up swimming the Beach2Battleship half-Ironman swim route, only in reverse to go with the current. Had I known that's what we were swimming ahead of time, I honestly might have bailed. But I got through it.

LeAnne stayed back with me as I started falling behind.

"That's what you get for missing all these pool workouts," she said....while swimming with one arm, doing drills to keep from getting bored while staying back with my slow self. 

Turns out my form had fallen to crap. For some reason, I got it in my head that faster arms meant faster swimming, like how faster feet and legs mean faster biking and running. Not so. It's long, smooth, gliding strokes and not throwing your head up to breathe that makes all the difference. Of course, nobody told me that until I got out of the water. Well, I think LeAnne tried to, but all I was worried about was crossing that channel before any boats or jet skis ran me over. 

Suffice it to say I'm thoroughly stoked about Sunday's triathlon. That's right -- in case you haven't heard, I'm competing in the White Lake Sprint this weekend. I'm going to get to compete on my new bike, and Greg's letting me borrow his wetsuit, which will be pretty clutch for that 750 meter swim out of the gate. Sure, taking that sucker off will kill my transition time, but I think it'll be worth it saving that energy that the cold and the anxiety saps out of me in the water. 

It was comforting to learn, though, that anxiety isn't limited just to me. Simply knowing that helps ease it, I think.

~

In other news, I've finally settled on a good cause for which to raise money with my triathlon stuff. I'll post more about that later today, so stay tuned!

Tri training update - the race column and the thank yous

Click here to read my column about the race in this week's StarNews. (Awesome picture, too, right?) 

As I mentioned in the column, I owe lots of people lots of thanks for this whole triathlon training saga actually happening. They are below. 

(Also, stay posted....pictures and a "behind-the-scenes" blog will be up hopefully by tomorrow!)

THANK YOU to ....

Nicole Rodriguez, YDT creator/leader – for starting this club and for working with me and the StarNews to make this series happen.

LeAnne LaFave – for being the best running coach I could have asked for. And for, you know, just being LeAnne.

Brian Campbell – for loaning me his bike and giving me the loads of free advice. To Starbucks!

Ben Bowie – for the helmet.

Charlie George – for the bike advice.

Everyone else at Bike Cycles whose names I always forget – you’re all awesome, too.

Speaking of Charlies, Charlie Hauser – for putting on an awesome event and for the great keepsake. That goes out to all first-time triathletes – and I especially thank you for the alarm clock, maybe adding a fourth one will help me actually get to practice on time!

Hank Carter, a.k.a. The Tank, a.k.a. The School Bus – you might think you’re a fat guy, but you’re one tough guy to keep up with on the bike. Thanks for the rides man, looking forward to more!

James Hunter – for your amazing YouTube finds for spectacular triathlon training tips and inspiration.

Matt Willis, for being a constant source of encouragement from Barton. Now that I have my late nights back, we really do need to get ready for that tournament again. You should come to Wilmington so we can have a team practice.

Jamie Turnage, for being one of the initial inspirations for this. Yeah, I remember you talking about triathlons before I started thinking about trying one. You rock. Sorry your stupid knee kept you from the WAC – kill it at Buckhorn!

My brothers, Kramer and Logan, for picking on me over Christmas and calling me fat – just the motivation I need.

My sisters, Kara and Heidi, and parents, Will and Karen, just for getting so psyched about this whole idea.

All of my blog readers, too many wonderful people to name!

Dan Spears and the Wilmington StarNews for actually paying me to write about this crazy saga. It’s been so worth it. Hope you thought so too.

And last but so not the least - My incredible wife, Katie, for your unbelievable support, for the massages, for fixing great meals, and for not once making me sleep on the futon or in the guest bedroom. So lucky I married such an awesome, awesome girl.

~

If I somehow left someone out, please email me at bmsneed@gmail.com, and I’ll definitely add you. I’m pretty rushed right now trying to get this up, but really want to make sure to recognize everyone who was involved. I’m sure I’ll think of someone else; I’ll make notes of when this is updated.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’ve all been incredible!

(picture via)

Triathlon Training Update - 4 days to go and not going so well

Two weeks ago, I was running 1:15 - 1:30 laps at the UNC-Wilmington track without as much as getting winded. This morning, I ran five laps (one at a time) in about 1:30 - 1:40, but my legs felt weak and I was gasping, almost hurting, for air. 

Like yesterday, it's not worrisome, but definitely confusing. 

I asked a couple of my fellow trainees about it. They all had some good insight, pointing to a few things that could be causing this:

1. Training volume
2. Diet
3. Effort
4. Being a wuss

I've thought about my diet, wondering if I should change it. I eat a decent amount of fast food and drink my fair share of soft drinks, but I haven't changed anything about that since I started training and like I said, two weeks ago I felt downright studly. 

The general consensus was more that numbers 1 and 3 - training volume and effort - were playing the largest roles in my "blah"-ness. That really is the only way to describe it. Blah. I don't feel tired, but I don't feel as strong. We pointed back to last week, when I did two full sprint brick workouts. 

On Monday, I felt great -- but then, if you recall, I did my spin class on a new bike trainer and definitely put the resistance too high. Then I tried to run two miles at the pace of people who can run a mile in six and a half minutes, and ended up gassing out with half a mile to go. 

So maybe number four plays a big part in this too. I don't know. Seems to me that if I've been training four months then upping the intensity of some workouts wouldn't be that big of a deal. 

Then, four months ago I wouldn't be surviving such intense workouts. And I have been pushing harder. 

I'm down to two days. Two more days of training, then an off day on Saturday, then the Wilmington Athletic Club sprint on Sunday. 

Looking ahead, I'm thinking about taking it real easy in the pool tomorrow then running, at most, three miles on Friday. At this point, I think my body needs more rest than anything else. 

And some bananas. Wait a minute! That's it! I haven't been eating my pre-workout bananas! We ran out on Monday and .... yeah! Of course!

Alright then. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it. 

(picture via)