Friday, August 3, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Getting Close!
With less than a week until our event, we’re beginning to
get a bit nervous… We have been watching
the Sunriver weather forecast deteriorate more and more every day. What started
out looking like a cool weekend has turned into downright cold and RAINY! Not
what we were expecting for late June in such a pleasantly named place.
But rain or shine, we head out Thursday for a long weekend
in Sunriver.
We went for a short swim on Sunday up at Lucky Peak
Reservoir. Our little pond near downtown Boise is actually quite warm compared
to what we expect to find at Wikiup Reservoir in Sunriver, so we felt we needed
some experience in colder water. Once we were over the initial pain of putting
our face in the water and our hands finally went numb, it wasn’t too bad!
I guess all we can hope for now is that the water in
Sunriver will feel warm compared to the air temperature as we wait for our wave
to start at 9:15 am.
Here we go, Team!
-- JAM
Friday, June 8, 2012
The LONG Swim
1900 meters last night! Wow!
It was super cold and windy, so actually I probably swam quite a bit farther. The wind kept pushing me off course so I didn't exactly swim in a straight line. It would certainly be interesting to see my route from an aerial view.
We only have two more swims and one more "brick" training (two activities back to back, like swim then bike or swim then run) before we begin to taper off and rest up for the big event.
Only 16 more days and we'll be diving into Wikiup Reservoir!
The GREAT news is, thanks to a corporate sponsorship from my parent company, we have reached our fundraising minimum --- and then some!! Yeay!!
Not that we aren't still accepting donations because 100% of the funds donated will go to research and patient services! : ) But it is wonderful to have that weight off our backs. Especially considering how far we have to swim! Ha ha!
Thanks to all our friends and family for the support, encouragement and generosity.
GO TEAM!!
-- JAM
It was super cold and windy, so actually I probably swam quite a bit farther. The wind kept pushing me off course so I didn't exactly swim in a straight line. It would certainly be interesting to see my route from an aerial view.
We only have two more swims and one more "brick" training (two activities back to back, like swim then bike or swim then run) before we begin to taper off and rest up for the big event.
Only 16 more days and we'll be diving into Wikiup Reservoir!
The GREAT news is, thanks to a corporate sponsorship from my parent company, we have reached our fundraising minimum --- and then some!! Yeay!!
Not that we aren't still accepting donations because 100% of the funds donated will go to research and patient services! : ) But it is wonderful to have that weight off our backs. Especially considering how far we have to swim! Ha ha!
Thanks to all our friends and family for the support, encouragement and generosity.
GO TEAM!!
-- JAM
Friday, June 1, 2012
Mock Triathlon - Number TWO!
No kidding! We did go out and do
it again on Monday, Memorial Day!
The morning was beautiful, but the pond was cold, cold, cold! We completed the swim with much chattering of
teeth, then jumped on our bikes. I put
on a sleeveless jersey, then a light windbreaker since it was still a little
cool. So, no need for sunblock...
We made it about 5 miles or so into our ride and came to a
roadblock. The Exergy Tour was in town
and all the phenomenal women cyclists were riding toward us on the road we
intended to take. We had to wait about
20 minutes, but it was awesome to see the pelaton fly by us! I got a little toasty waiting to proceed with
our ride and took off the aforementioned windbreaker. This will be important information later.
Once we got the ok to go on, we headed out to our turn around point,
then came on back. Once again we were
held up briefly by the cyclists since they were completing 3 loops along our
route.
Finally, we returned to the car and prepared to run. At this point I finally put on some sunblock. Can you see where this is heading?
After running, we spent some time downtown enjoying the beautiful day, good Boise food and people watching. Once we got home and washed off the pond and
road grime, we discovered that I had become a superhero. One of the X-Men.
Ouch…
-- JAM
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Mock Triathlon
Saturday was a mock triathlon for our team. We completed a full triathlon but with shorter distances than our actual event will be - a 900 meter swim, 16 mile ride and 4 mile run.
Naturally the day dawned cloudy and POURING down rain. Not just a drizzle - we're talking jungle type rain. But since we were going to be jumping into a pond anyway, it's not like we had to be concerned about getting wet!
Getting suited up and waiting to get in the water was brutal. Cold, cold, cold!
But once we got in the water, it was actually warmer than outside. The swim went well - it still took me half the distance to get my groove on and really start swimming. But we completed the distance and headed for the car to change into biking clothes.
Still. Pouring. Rain.
The biking was probably the most miserable part. We got absolutely soaked. My shoes literally had puddles of water inside them.
We returned from the bike ride and, again, jumped into the car to change into drier clothes for the run. At this point the rain had almost stopped.
It only took about a mile and a half for the feeling to return to our feet and after that it was smooth sailing! We crossed the finish line to the cheers of our coach and the folks that came down to support us - way beyond the call of duty on such a rotten day.
So what's next? We think we just might go do it all over again tomorrow morning. The forecast shows a high of 75 and zero percent chance of precipitation!
-- JAM
Naturally the day dawned cloudy and POURING down rain. Not just a drizzle - we're talking jungle type rain. But since we were going to be jumping into a pond anyway, it's not like we had to be concerned about getting wet!
Getting suited up and waiting to get in the water was brutal. Cold, cold, cold!
But once we got in the water, it was actually warmer than outside. The swim went well - it still took me half the distance to get my groove on and really start swimming. But we completed the distance and headed for the car to change into biking clothes.
Still. Pouring. Rain.
The biking was probably the most miserable part. We got absolutely soaked. My shoes literally had puddles of water inside them.
We returned from the bike ride and, again, jumped into the car to change into drier clothes for the run. At this point the rain had almost stopped.
It only took about a mile and a half for the feeling to return to our feet and after that it was smooth sailing! We crossed the finish line to the cheers of our coach and the folks that came down to support us - way beyond the call of duty on such a rotten day.
So what's next? We think we just might go do it all over again tomorrow morning. The forecast shows a high of 75 and zero percent chance of precipitation!
-- JAM
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Vacation!
Last week we made our annual trek to Cannon Beach, Oregon to spend time
with our extended family. The weather,
as usual, was perfect - sunny and reasonably warm for May.
The night before we left we went for another swim in the pond. Dan’s family came along to watch and also be
available in a canoe in case we needed any help. I got a little more practice with the front
crawl this time, but it still was a real struggle. It’s much harder to breathe out there and I
don’t know if it’s the wetsuit constricting my lungs or the cold or maybe both
things combined. Dan discovered that he
tends to head left when he swims. So I’ll
stay to his right out there. We did
probably half our race distance and I was just exhausted when we were done!
At the beach, we enjoyed lots of good food, karaoke and other crazy
games, a visit to the tide pools, shopping and even rented some cool three
wheel bikes to ride on the hard sand. We
all enjoyed doing cookies and racing each other along the beach!
Dan and I went for a 10k run along the beach one morning while the wind was calm. It was absolutely beautiful and if felt great to run at sea level!
But we’re back to reality now. The kids are finishing up school, we are back to work and hitting
training HARD! Just over 4 weeks left to
go until our event! And I still don’t
know about open water swimming. We head
for the pond tomorrow evening to get in some more practice.
-- JAM
Friday, May 11, 2012
OPEN WATER
Just when I thought I had things kind of wired with this swimming thing ...
Last night we had our first open water swim. I'll admit I'd slept badly the two nights prior and had woken up with a sore jaw from clenching my teeth during the few hours that I did sleep. I was wondering if Valium was a bad thing to take just before swimming.
Naturally, Thursday was the coldest day of the week. The wind was blowing like crazy. And we decided to jump into a cold pond.
The wetsuits we received are nearly impossible to put on. In the house, I would be exhausted before I even got the thing up to my waist. Wetsuits become harder to put on when your body is wet, so the fact that I would be sweating like crazy from the struggle didn't help at all! But since it was barely over 60 degrees with a cold wind last night, donning the wetsuit was a snap!
Fortunately it was not as cold as I had feared. I think all the ice baths I've taken after long runs really got me conditioned. The pond was nowhere near as cold as ice!
But then we were told we needed to fill our wetsuits with pond water. Open up the neck and let the water flow right on in. Nobody told me THAT before! Brrr!
After getting our faces used to the water a little, we headed out into the pond. I could barely feel the cold of the water through my wetsuit. Thank goodness!
However, I felt like everything I'd accomplished the last few months had just disappeared. Front crawl? What's that? How about side stroke, doggie paddle, back stroke... I did get my face down in the water a few times and take a few strokes, but not for long. It was exhausting trying to breathe easily in the chilly water, but the wetsuit did make me float almost effortlessly. I could tread water with just the smallest effort.
Overall, it was a good introduction to the world of open water swimming. I didn't drown - but then that was not my fear. I didn't freeze to death - that wasn't my biggest fear anyway. I didn't see any creatures or other murky looking shapes under the water - THAT was my biggest fear. Looking down was just a cloudy, green haze. Not too bad.
We will miss next week's swim since we'll be out of town, but hopefully I can catch up the following week. We will be swimming twice a week from now until our event. Good thing - I'm going to need the practice!
-- JAM
Last night we had our first open water swim. I'll admit I'd slept badly the two nights prior and had woken up with a sore jaw from clenching my teeth during the few hours that I did sleep. I was wondering if Valium was a bad thing to take just before swimming.
Naturally, Thursday was the coldest day of the week. The wind was blowing like crazy. And we decided to jump into a cold pond.
The wetsuits we received are nearly impossible to put on. In the house, I would be exhausted before I even got the thing up to my waist. Wetsuits become harder to put on when your body is wet, so the fact that I would be sweating like crazy from the struggle didn't help at all! But since it was barely over 60 degrees with a cold wind last night, donning the wetsuit was a snap!
Fortunately it was not as cold as I had feared. I think all the ice baths I've taken after long runs really got me conditioned. The pond was nowhere near as cold as ice!
But then we were told we needed to fill our wetsuits with pond water. Open up the neck and let the water flow right on in. Nobody told me THAT before! Brrr!
After getting our faces used to the water a little, we headed out into the pond. I could barely feel the cold of the water through my wetsuit. Thank goodness!
However, I felt like everything I'd accomplished the last few months had just disappeared. Front crawl? What's that? How about side stroke, doggie paddle, back stroke... I did get my face down in the water a few times and take a few strokes, but not for long. It was exhausting trying to breathe easily in the chilly water, but the wetsuit did make me float almost effortlessly. I could tread water with just the smallest effort.Overall, it was a good introduction to the world of open water swimming. I didn't drown - but then that was not my fear. I didn't freeze to death - that wasn't my biggest fear anyway. I didn't see any creatures or other murky looking shapes under the water - THAT was my biggest fear. Looking down was just a cloudy, green haze. Not too bad.
We will miss next week's swim since we'll be out of town, but hopefully I can catch up the following week. We will be swimming twice a week from now until our event. Good thing - I'm going to need the practice!
-- JAM
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)