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SwimmingTraining...
I'm starting to crank up my training intensity. I'm trying to swim three times a week with one session of drills (one-arm drills are my favorite) and one "long" swim. I try to run one interval run and one long run, and one long ride, then fill in the rest of the week with 30-60 minute runs and rides.
I started taking creatine last week. I did for a month last fall and it worked out well. So far it is rough. I am constantly dehydrated, and possibly from all the water I'm drinking I am running low on salts. I suspect this because I have been cramping and that is not normal for me. I am doubling up on bananas and drinking Gatorade to correct that. My hamstring cramped up on me twice and I just do not like that at all! I am working out more intensely and as a result I'm completely sore.
Interesting Races in 2010
I'm watching these events. I won't do them all - I couldn't afford the race fees - but I'll do a few. I'll update this page throughout the year, and hopefully improve the formatting at some point.
January 2010
Race Report: 2010 Polar Bear PlungeRace report for the 2010 Polar Bear Plunge. What a way to start the new year! Pre-RaceThe race was in Tulsa, on the west side of the Arkansas river (at the Oktoberfest site). A couple of hundred people were milling around, quite a few in costumes. They had drinks - coffee, hot chocolate, beer, and shots of schnapps, but I didn't partake. The air temperature was The race is presented by the Tulsa Area Triathlets and the Tulsa Area Trail and Ultra Runners (TATUR) so to honor both groups I wore tri shorts and trail running shoes. My strategy was to warm up (I didn't) and then run hard enough that the water wouldn't bother me. I made a very conscious effort to not think about the water at all. I never once imagined how cold the water would be, not once in the last month. The RaceAs far as I can tell the race just started, no gun or anything especially formal. Of course I was in the very back tying my shoes so I may have missed it. Everyone seemed to be running very slowly so I stayed on the side and passed a lot of the pack. Since I didn't warm up before the race my body rejected this idea after a couple of hundred yards. I slowed down and tried to find a rhythm while I also tried not to slip on the ice. I was really hurting by the time I made it to the pool, so I didn't think anything at all about jumping in the water. I dunked my head under on the way out when I realized my hair was dry, and then hit the trail again. By that point the water did not feel like anything at all - I was already numb from the air and the water was probably about the same temperature. No cramps, and it did not feel at all stressful. After the pool I tried to find a slow pace to get down to the river. I brushed the water off my arms because I read on the internet to do that. I followed the trail back over the icy sidewalk, and then across a muddy peninsula out to the river. The peninsula was crowded with runners and spectators going both ways but I stayed on my feet and didn't get into any of the brush or tree branches. At the end of the peninsula we had to run down a sandy slope and out into the water a few feet to touch a buoy. The only thought in my mind was how muddy and nasty that Arkansas River looked. The people around me swam around the buoy but I just tagged it and turned around to stay as much out of the water as possible. As I climbed out through the sand my feet started complaining. I was wearing mesh shoes - you can see right through them - and my toes hurt. I ran back off the peninsula and then somewhere on the final stretch I quit running and just walked for a while. Up until I stopped running this guy behind me was talking to someone. Once he passed me I realized he was alone and had been talking to me for the last thirty minutes. (Keep in mind it's a one mile race that was at most fifteen minutes long. Time can be stretchy ...) I saw my family up the hill so I started running again for the camera. I made it on up the hill, and I may have stopped again because at one point my wife was next to me, telling me I needed to cross the finish line. The PainI stumbled into the parking lot and just felt bad. I ran way too hard at the start and I was really paying for that. The cold was not bad, and I didn't feel "cold" for a good twenty minutes after the race. My wife gave me a blanket and I had to have her wrap it around my shoulders because I didn't have the dexterity. I squatted down away from the crowd (but close to the ambulance) for what seemed like a long, long time, waiting for the pain in my chest to subside and maybe to throw up. I knew I was not having a heart attack or anything serious, but this little voice in my head kept taunting me with inspiration like "are you sure, smart guy, because you can't even remember what the signs of a heart attack are". I think the little voice insulted me once or twice, too. The pain was right behind my sternum, so I think my bronchial tubes were objecting to all the cold air. At some point I realized I needed to get dressed, and my wife brought me coffee, beer, and pizza. Once I had dry clothes and caught my breath the world returned to normal. I wasn't really aware of what happening, but I think there was a lot of pizza, beer, hot drinks, and schnapps. Overall it was definitely worth the five bucks. (Dear Daughter, I will pay you back!) Instant BronchitisA few hours after the race I've developed a nasty chest cough. My breathing is noisy, almost like pneumonia. I'm exhausted, but I also had a long week with some late nights at work, so that's not necessarily due to the race. I hope this passes as quickly as it arrived. Next YearI just realized as I'm writing this that I forgot to try the touch-your-fingers-to-your-thumb dexterity test, so I'll have to do it again. Next year I will warm up before the run, and reread Jack London's "To Build a Fire" just for fun. LinksPolar Bear Plunge - http://www.tatur.org/PolarPlunge.html
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