Ohio Triathlon

A picture of the lovely lake where last weekend's race took place. It went well, except for a small mishap with my chain falling off, and this poor turtle. The bike course had nice rolling hills and was very nice. Unfortunately there was this HUGE dead turtle in the middle of one of the roads we were on, it looked as if someone had tried to straddle it with their car, and squished it anyway. Very Sad. The run course was a simple out and back on a gravel/dirt trail. It was pretty muggy because they had gotten a bit of rain beforehand, but it was otherwise enjoyable.

I got to meet some of my other Mid-East Collegiate racers too, which is always fun. Unfortunatly the other people from my team were not able to make it :(

--Miche
Active things done today: 90 min Swim, 40 min Dryland

Nearing Races

Finals are always rough, mentally and physically. It's becoming an adjustment week for me; I'm starting my new lab job, learning new dry-land, and weight workouts. But with this transition also comes races.

Nothing beats the "blah" feeling of finals like a good Race.

I travel to South-West Ohio this weekend for my first sprint race of the season. I need a good pick-me-up, and I'm hoping this is just the thing. My first race period did not go as well as planned, it fact, it was a disaster. I do not take full blame: true, I did not have long to train (a mere 7 weeks after the final meet of my swim season), but I had a brand new bike (Lyndsky Ti, an absolute dream) and some solid workouts under my belt. I was brought down by a combination of hills (which are hard to come by where I'm from) and cold (mostly this factor). I had trained in expectation of hills, but for someone who does not have the natural body-fat to deal with cold... Well, does hypothermia mean anything to you? Suffice to say, I spent a lot of time in front of the blast heater after I dragged my frozen self over the finish line. I don't think anyone on my team ever wants to go back to Lubbock, TX.

5 Days till race!

--Miche

Active things done today: 2hr swimming, 2hr weights (1 hr worth of work, rest was orientation of sorts)

Dolphin or Cheetah?

The two animals above are both very good at what they do. I would have added a 3rd animal who bikes, but (thankfully perhaps) we humans are the only ones who have figured out how to make such contraptions. As you might have also noticed, the animals look very different from one another. So what makes us humans think we can be good at both at the same time?!?

The engineer in me creates an equality:
Water: Fat= more bouancy = less work
Land: Fat= more mass = more work

As a lifelong swimmer, who must transition from a high level of swimming to a high level of triathlon-ing every season, this can be a dilemma. Throw in college with all its stresses, and you're lucky to just stay a dolphin (and not progress to some kind of blue whale). I struggle to find a "happy" weight, one where my body is not sore after running, and where I can still swim at a good clip.

So what is one to do? Answer, I read. I love looking through sports nutrition manuals, but recently I picked up _French Women Don't Get Fat_. I like it. Admittedly, I need to eat quite a bit more than someone who only walks 20 min, three times a week, but the principals are good. Smaller meals, spread out, lot of fruits and veg, a healthy appreciation of pastries, oh c'est magnifique! I shall keep reading, I think body can be very happy with this one.

--Miche

Active things done today: 30 min bike, 30 min dryland training, 2 hr swimming