Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Tin-Man or Ironman?

I went 40 miles on Saturday. It was pretty fun with the exception of a 30 minute segment during which it rained like a dog. I was a mess when I got home. It took me a little over 2:20:00. I went up the most wicked hill I've conquered yet. It was about 2 miles long and about as vertical as anything I'll ever want to do. After doing that hill though, it makes everything else I'm going up look like a speed bump.

Of course with a hill of that sort there is always an equivalent descent. I hit 39 mph on the way down and I'm not all that confident at high speeds yet so I was riding the brakes. I did break the speed limit in 2 or 3 locations however. The speed limit was 35 when I hit 39. I was also well over 20 mph in a few posted areas as well. I carry identification with me just in case. I bring my drivers license, my Visa, and a piece of paper that lists my name, address, my wife's name, her cell number and my blood type (in case I'm not able to tell them myself). :-)

I'm trying to convince my wife that it would be fun to go to Hawaii. For some reason she feels it would be a big chore. My 2nd great-grandfather served a mission there so besides the obvious attractions in Hawaii, I thought it would be fun to visit his old mission. I would really like to go during the first part of October. That is when they have the Ironman Triathlon. Jennifer is refusing to go, fearing that if I see it, I will be convinced I have to start training for it as well.

Would completing an Ironman be cool? Yes. The biking portion is 112 miles (a snap), the running portion is a marathon, 26.2 miles (trained for and ran one last year), the swimming portion however is over 3 miles and I am not a good swimmer. Putting all of these events back to back is another story. In order to be given the title "Ironman" you have to complete all 3 disciplines by midnight. I think that would be doable.

Swimming at 2 mph would mean 90 minutes in the water, followed by about 7 hours to complete the bike stage. Subtracting another 30 minutes for transitions, eating, and the possible flat repair, I would have about 7 hours to complete the marathon. It took me a little over 4 1/2 hours to complete my marathon last summer, so I think a brisk walk could get me over the finish line by midnight.

Don't tell Jennifer I've been breaking this down. ;-)

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Improvement

About 6 weeks ago I went on my first long-ish ride. It was only 15 miles, but I hadn't been over 5 yet so it was a big deal. It took me 60 minutes and I was fatigued when I was done. I did that same ride yesterday and completed it in 49 minutes. I felt much better when I was done to boot. I still need to get a new helmet. The one I have was a cheapo when I bought it about 10 years ago in a bookstore. It weighs double what a good helmet would weigh and it creates quite a racket with the airflow around the sides of my ears. It always sounds like there is a car coming up behind me even when there isn't.

I got myself a heart rate monitor so I can be warned if I'm about to have a heart attack.