NYRR Sprint Triathlon

Yesterday I took part in New York Road Runner's Sprint Triathlon in Flushing Meadows, Queens, with Team Achilles.

The East coast of the U.S. has been in the grip of a heatwave for the last few days, which made for potentially 'interesting' conditions on the course.  The day before, the event organizers had talked about making the run an optional 'fun run' only, or scrapping the run portion completely, if it got too hot.  Luckily, the event started early (7.00 am), and the short distances (400m swim in an inside Olympic sized swimming pool, 13 mile bike, 5km run in the park), meant that everyone should finish before it started getting dangerously hot (it reached 100 deg F in Central Park later in the day).

Despite the heat, I had a good race.  I still get nervous waiting to go into the swimming pool - my girlfriend and handler extraordinaire Rachel noticed I was engaging in a strange listless rocking motion while I was waiting around the side of the pool.   This was the third time I'd done this particular race, so I shouldn't have been nervous.   I wish before events I could be as relaxed as Allan, a friend from Achilles.   As it was like a sauna in the pool room (I swear I lost about 10 pounds just lining up for the start), Allan decided to wait just outside, horizontal, on the ground, with his eyes closed.   He actually looked so relaxed that one competitor passing by was worried he'd passed out, and Rachel mentioned a couple of times she was worried he'd fall asleep and miss the entire event.

Inside though, I knew my swimming would be better this year, and once I got in the pool, I felt pretty comfortable.   For this first time in this event, I managed to keep swimming without stopping for a breather.  I felt good on the bike portion as well, even though I haven't done much biking this year so far, and while the run was hot, I wasn't too uncomfortable.   The organizers did a good job of providing sprays along the course to keep everyone cool.

My final time was 1.36, including a 17 min swim, 46 min bike ride, and 29 min run.  Next year I'll be back to do the swim in under 15!  

The Achilles Kicking Crew

Early Morning Run

I've been finding it hard to get into the groove of marathon training over the last couple of weeks.  I have cut down on the cranberry muffins, but have yet to inversely increase the number of miles I'm running each week, which I will have to do fairly soon if I'm to hit the start line of the marathon in October with any degree of confidence.
For one thing, I still have some soreness/stiffness in my lower back.  I first injured my back training for,  and completing, the NYC marathon in November 2009 - one particular challenge of amputee runners is that we place a lot of strain on that part of our bodies.  After New York, I found a good chiropractor who did some manipulation and showed me some good stretches to strengthen my core muscles in that area.  They have definitely helped, but I'm supposed to do them three times a day, and I will admit to having pretty much skipped them over the last few months.    Stretching for the suggested 20 minutes in one session is something I have little patience for, but I have come to realise how important it is for staying in good shape, especially as I age and body becomes less elastic, so I will have to get this back into my daily routine.
Reason number two:  I feel like I have less energy, but I'm hoping that when I get stuck into training I'll consciously start improving my diet and sleep pattern to keep up with the demands of training.  I was also diagnosed with a vitamin B12 deficiency earlier this year, so I'll have to make sure I'm disciplined about taking my daily vitamin tab (B12 deficiency can lead to reduced energy levels).
Third reason - it's so hot out these days!  It reached about 93 deg F (33 C) today, with high humidity, and I'm definitely more of a cold weather runner.  Training for the London marathon surrounded by snow earlier this year was more my kind of thing!
One way round the heat is the early morning run, and today I did actually make it out of bed by 7.00 am (I'm definitely NOT an early morning person) for a quick 3.5 mile run in Central Park.  It was still warm, but once my body had properly woken up, it was enjoyable being outside and exercising amongst all the other early birds, and then coming back for a shower, knowing the workout is done for the day.  If the hot weather persists, I'll try to fit more of these runs into my routine.

A swim to the other side

It is a fair comment to say I've been a late developer in the swimming department, only learning properly when I was, ooh, I'd say about 34.  Before that, all I could do was a kind of panicky doggy paddle before starting to sink after about 2 metres.

This all changed when I met Heidi Chadwick around 2009, who encouraged me to join the Achilles Triathlon team.  As Heidi had completed Ironmans I was confident that she knew a thing or two about swimming, and would be in capable hands learning with her, so I agreed to join their weekly swim workout sessions.

I was basically starting from scratch.  Up to that point, I had considered myself a reasonably well co-ordinated person, but this all seemed to change whenever I slipped into a pair of speedos.   So much to think about all at the same time - kicking the leg, making a stroke with the arms, relaxing the hands, going in the right direction, keeping your composure, as well as the trifling matter of actually remembering to breathe.

Being part of the Achilles triathlon team though provided me with an endless source of inspiration.  If a blind person could get into a swimming pool, or someone with cerebral palsy, or someone left wheel-chair bound by polio, then there was no reason why I could not.

Slowly but surely it did start to come together, and I completed my first sprint triathlon in Flushing Meadows, Queens, in summer 2009.  The 400 metre swim took me about 27 minutes, but I was ecstatic just to get out of the pool.  Last year I completed the swim in the same event in 20 minutes, and I'm hoping to shave a few more minutes off my time when I do it again in a couple of weeks time.

Last week-end, Heidi invited me and mutual friend Nina up to her beautiful lakeside cottage up in the hills of New Jersey.   I tried on a wetsuit for the first time and was amazed by how buoyant they make you.  A highlight of the day was swimming to the other side of the lake and back, with Nina, Heidi, and her husband Don in a kayak for support.  It made me realise how I far my swimming has come in the space of a couple of years - I'm swimming distances I never thought possible - and started me dreaming of completing the NYC Olympic distance triathlon one day, which involves a 1500 metre swim in the Hudson (just don't drink the water!).

Delgado and Phelps

I consider overcoming my fear of swimming a real personal achievement.  It has been an empowering experience, giving me a confidence that likely spills over into other areas of my life; if I can learn to swim, anything else is possible; by tackling obstacles head on, the sky is the limit.   But as well as taking great satisfaction in my swimming accomplishments, more than any thing I feel gratitude that I've been touched by organisations like Achilles, and people like Heidi, who have helped me achieve what I once thought was never possible.

Time to cut down on the cranberry muffins

After doing the London marathon on the 17th April, I gave myself the rest of April, May, and June to take it easy and give my body a chance to completely recover.  Since then, I haven't done anything more than a 5 mile run.  I've been going to Achilles workout sessions on Tuesday evenings where possible, have been doing a bit of pootling around on the bike, and have started swimming as part of the Achilles tri team in preparation for a sprint tri in 3 weeks time, but apart from that I've been enjoying taking a relative rest.

From today onwards though - July 1st - I need to get back into a training groove for the marathon on Oct 31st.  My training usually consists of around 3 mid-week runs of up to 6 miles, an increasingly long training run on Saturday, peaking at 18 or 20 miles, and then often some long distance biking on Sunday, to build up endurance.  While I have enjoyed having the time off, I'm looking forward to knuckling down with training and getting back into the swing of things.

My best marathon time is 4.52, and I'm sure I have the ability to beat it.  There are some things I might try differently this time round, such as investing in a heart rate monitor (did have one once but never used it and then gave it away), more cross training, maybe some swimming in place of one of the midweek runs, and engaging with a coach who can show me how to do interval training.  The only way I have ever really trained is by running distances which seems to be a fairly unsophisticated approach compared to some.

Now I'm officially back in training mode, I should also start paying a bit more attention to what I eat.  I do consider myself a fairly healthy eater anyway, but one thing I could do is start cutting back on the cranberry muffins.  The cranberry muffin bought from the pastry cart next to my office is my savoured breakfast treat, but healthy it is probably not - so it might be time to break out the muesli, fruit, and yoghurt more often in its place.  I only said cut back though - completely cutting them out may lead to classic withdrawal symptoms, such as irritability, mood swings, and inability to concentrate.  A little bit of what you like, in moderation, can't hurt..