Something to Prove...Take Two?!
Originally written Sunday, March 11, 2007 at 8:48pm
No...not really. After spending so much time preparing for the marathon and going through the whole ordeal (wearing the cotton shirt, soaked in water, freezing, etc.) I really needed to do another marathon just so I could finish. By that point, I didn't care what my finishing time was for the first marathon, I just wanted to be able to say 'I completed a marathon'. A week ago today I ran in the Sarasota marathon and had such an amazing experience.
Well...the week leading up to the Sarasota marathon also saw me register for 'The Great Escape' triathlon held in Clermont, Florida on March 11. There was really no reason for it, other than that I thought it would be fun, thought it would be a great experience, and it would give me a taste for another one of my life goals: completing an Iron Man competition.
Anyways, like I was saying, the week leading up to the Sarasota marathon I was doing some very light running and started swimming and biking in order to continue building up my workouts. Directly after the marathon, I only ran on Thursday night (the one night I go running that week and I get hit by a car, not so much fun). I did some pretty good combination workouts with the bike and swim (20 miles biking and 1/4-3/5 mile swims). I had so much fun alternating my workouts, it was really nice to give my running muscles a break since I had run 7 days a week since May 2006.
So I talked with an old friend of mine who is a physical therapist in Miami (and a world championship qualifier for Iron Man). She gave me some great tips on how to direct my training, buying equipment, etc...and of course, told me not to overdo it(just like everyone else :-P).
I left for Orlando Friday morning to judge a national qualifying debate tournament. It was so much fun. The kids were great and the level of performance was very impressive. I can't wait to see some of them perform at the national tournament in Houston at the end of May.
After the tournament ended Saturday afternoon I left for the site of the triathlon in Clermont. It was a surprisingly hilly area with some beautiful scenery and lakes. I picked up my race packet and took a look at the course before going to the hotel. I spent alot of time resting up that day since I've been going non-stop for so long. It was good to just spend 2-3 hours in the hotel bed watching college basketball and some movies.
I woke up at 4 a.m. to prepare for the race (skipping ahead an hour for daylight savings was fun......). I got all my stuff prepped, stretched and headed to the course. It was 57 degrees that morning, which was perfect running weather...but I had to go swimming in 65 degree water for 3/5 a mile before biking and running in that 57 degree weather...so it was a very cold day :-P Fortunately, the wet suit I bought really helped me to survive the cold and the swim portion of the race.
Unfortunately, the suit didn't help with getting kicked in the face a few times. It wasn;t on purpose, it's just hard to swim in the middle of a four or five hundred person pack. I swam into people who were going slower than me, which was really bothersome because it continually forced me to stop and redirect myself to avoid other people. At the same time, some people who were swimming faster than me got kicked (hopefully in the hands and not the face...) and had to redirect around me. The current was pretty strong throughout the swim...I felt like every three strokes I took forward brought me back about two with the current. It was also difficult because, unlike the very nice clean and clear pool, the water was very murky and it was hard to swim in a straight line. I must have swam an extra 200 meters just zigzagging back and forth trying to get to the next buoy.
Once I finally got out of the water I felt like the hardest part of the race was over with. I stripped out of my wet suit, dried my feet and put on my shoes, helmet, gloves, etc. It was sort of funny being one of two people who did not have a tri-bike/road bike (mine was a converted mountain bike with hybrid wheels). No matter how much effort I put into it, every time I passed someone they would be able to pass me back with very little effort. It was a little frustrating at first because I get very competitive...especially at the one or two people who were a little condescending when looking at my bike. Apparently the Clermont triathlon is an upper-echelon event and a qualifier for the Alcatraz tri in California, so it brings a lot of elite competition. I just smiled though...I told myself I would see them again in the run portion of the race.
Once I finally got off my bike, I was very excited because I was feeling really good, and felt confident about the run. (3.1 miles? Nice cool down for me now :p) I started off on a brisk wobble...it's kind of hard to transition straight into a run after biking for an hour straight on hilly terrain. It was also a little difficult because whoever put the course together thought it would be fun for everyone to run through the loose sandy beach for a bit. Once I finally got off of the sand and onto some stable terrain I took off. I told myself I wanted to have a strong run and started counting the number of people I passed. It was especially satsifying passing those few people who had given me the looks about my bike :D
I'm not sure what my time splits were for each portion of the race yet, I'll post them when I get the information. I did however end up passing 42 people during the run.......very satisfying. I finished the race in a time of 1:47. I was shooting for anything under 2 hours, so I felt like I had a great race and a great experience. I met several nice people who gave me some great advice for investing in a good entry-level bike. It was amazing how many people who came to participate were from Europe and spoke almost no English. It seemed that almost half of the competitors had traveled from outside the continental U.S. I was very impressed. Anyways, overall I had such a wonderful time. I got some great educational experience on competing in a triathlon, met some nice people, got some good tips on how to improve (especially with a new bike :P) and can't wait to compete in my next one.
I'm not sure where I'll go from here. I definitely will continue running marathons. I'm a runner first and foremost. I will also continue to swim and bike in order to break the monotony of training and just to have fun. Thanks for reading and, as always, feedback is appreciated!
No...not really. After spending so much time preparing for the marathon and going through the whole ordeal (wearing the cotton shirt, soaked in water, freezing, etc.) I really needed to do another marathon just so I could finish. By that point, I didn't care what my finishing time was for the first marathon, I just wanted to be able to say 'I completed a marathon'. A week ago today I ran in the Sarasota marathon and had such an amazing experience.
Well...the week leading up to the Sarasota marathon also saw me register for 'The Great Escape' triathlon held in Clermont, Florida on March 11. There was really no reason for it, other than that I thought it would be fun, thought it would be a great experience, and it would give me a taste for another one of my life goals: completing an Iron Man competition.
Anyways, like I was saying, the week leading up to the Sarasota marathon I was doing some very light running and started swimming and biking in order to continue building up my workouts. Directly after the marathon, I only ran on Thursday night (the one night I go running that week and I get hit by a car, not so much fun). I did some pretty good combination workouts with the bike and swim (20 miles biking and 1/4-3/5 mile swims). I had so much fun alternating my workouts, it was really nice to give my running muscles a break since I had run 7 days a week since May 2006.
So I talked with an old friend of mine who is a physical therapist in Miami (and a world championship qualifier for Iron Man). She gave me some great tips on how to direct my training, buying equipment, etc...and of course, told me not to overdo it(just like everyone else :-P).
I left for Orlando Friday morning to judge a national qualifying debate tournament. It was so much fun. The kids were great and the level of performance was very impressive. I can't wait to see some of them perform at the national tournament in Houston at the end of May.
After the tournament ended Saturday afternoon I left for the site of the triathlon in Clermont. It was a surprisingly hilly area with some beautiful scenery and lakes. I picked up my race packet and took a look at the course before going to the hotel. I spent alot of time resting up that day since I've been going non-stop for so long. It was good to just spend 2-3 hours in the hotel bed watching college basketball and some movies.
I woke up at 4 a.m. to prepare for the race (skipping ahead an hour for daylight savings was fun......). I got all my stuff prepped, stretched and headed to the course. It was 57 degrees that morning, which was perfect running weather...but I had to go swimming in 65 degree water for 3/5 a mile before biking and running in that 57 degree weather...so it was a very cold day :-P Fortunately, the wet suit I bought really helped me to survive the cold and the swim portion of the race.
Unfortunately, the suit didn't help with getting kicked in the face a few times. It wasn;t on purpose, it's just hard to swim in the middle of a four or five hundred person pack. I swam into people who were going slower than me, which was really bothersome because it continually forced me to stop and redirect myself to avoid other people. At the same time, some people who were swimming faster than me got kicked (hopefully in the hands and not the face...) and had to redirect around me. The current was pretty strong throughout the swim...I felt like every three strokes I took forward brought me back about two with the current. It was also difficult because, unlike the very nice clean and clear pool, the water was very murky and it was hard to swim in a straight line. I must have swam an extra 200 meters just zigzagging back and forth trying to get to the next buoy.
Once I finally got out of the water I felt like the hardest part of the race was over with. I stripped out of my wet suit, dried my feet and put on my shoes, helmet, gloves, etc. It was sort of funny being one of two people who did not have a tri-bike/road bike (mine was a converted mountain bike with hybrid wheels). No matter how much effort I put into it, every time I passed someone they would be able to pass me back with very little effort. It was a little frustrating at first because I get very competitive...especially at the one or two people who were a little condescending when looking at my bike. Apparently the Clermont triathlon is an upper-echelon event and a qualifier for the Alcatraz tri in California, so it brings a lot of elite competition. I just smiled though...I told myself I would see them again in the run portion of the race.
Once I finally got off my bike, I was very excited because I was feeling really good, and felt confident about the run. (3.1 miles? Nice cool down for me now :p) I started off on a brisk wobble...it's kind of hard to transition straight into a run after biking for an hour straight on hilly terrain. It was also a little difficult because whoever put the course together thought it would be fun for everyone to run through the loose sandy beach for a bit. Once I finally got off of the sand and onto some stable terrain I took off. I told myself I wanted to have a strong run and started counting the number of people I passed. It was especially satsifying passing those few people who had given me the looks about my bike :D
I'm not sure what my time splits were for each portion of the race yet, I'll post them when I get the information. I did however end up passing 42 people during the run.......very satisfying. I finished the race in a time of 1:47. I was shooting for anything under 2 hours, so I felt like I had a great race and a great experience. I met several nice people who gave me some great advice for investing in a good entry-level bike. It was amazing how many people who came to participate were from Europe and spoke almost no English. It seemed that almost half of the competitors had traveled from outside the continental U.S. I was very impressed. Anyways, overall I had such a wonderful time. I got some great educational experience on competing in a triathlon, met some nice people, got some good tips on how to improve (especially with a new bike :P) and can't wait to compete in my next one.
I'm not sure where I'll go from here. I definitely will continue running marathons. I'm a runner first and foremost. I will also continue to swim and bike in order to break the monotony of training and just to have fun. Thanks for reading and, as always, feedback is appreciated!
posted by Marcos Redondo - Running For Hope at
7:59 PM
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