Semi-Wordless Wednesday: a New Speedo

>> Wednesday, July 31, 2019

I just swapped out my old suit for a new one. My old suit was slipping off my waist before the end of each workout no matter how tight I tied it in the locker room. I happened to get 2 of the same suit when I last bought suits, so I think it’s the first time I went from one suit to the same exact suit (only new).

And, dear God, I should have done it sooner.

Here’s a pic of Henry holding up my NEW suit in front of our kitchen window:



And here’s the same shot, only with him holding up my OLD suit:



See the problem?

Read more...

More "Heart of the Lakes" Tri Stuff

>> Monday, July 29, 2019

Here are 6 more points I want to make that I didn't include in my Heart of the Lakes Triathlon race report from last week:

• FIRST: Age Group Placing: I didn't have my age group placing in the official results in my race report. The overall winner was in my age group, 2nd overall was a young-un, and I was 3rd overall. (First and third [me] were taken out of our age group awards, which is appropriate.) Out of 11 in the 35-39 age group, I had the 2nd fastest swim, the 2nd fastest bike, and the 2nd fastest run, all behind the overall winner.

• SECOND: Fast Bike Splits = Fast Overall Finishes: I'm always concerned about my bike fitness because it's SO important in the sport of triathlon. First through 3rd overall had the 1st through 3rd fastest bike splits:



Another way to look at this: the top 10 swimmers finished in the top 124 overall. The top 10 runners finished in the top 31 overall. But the top 10 cyclists finished in the top 21 overall. I don't think this is out of the ordinary. I'll have to keep an eye on this stat in future races. And keep working on my bike speed.

• THIRD: Fueled by Pizza: My race report opened with a photo of me and my family at the Pizza Ranch the night before the race. And I noted a "PR" of 4 porta-potty visits pre-race. Those 2 thoughts are UNRELATED. A speedy triathlete/runner on my YWCA team commented about that on Facebook:



Gym buddy (and race buddy) Leah had a BETTER thought:



• FOURTH: Finisher's Video: A few days after the race, a finisher's video appeared with my results. Here are three shots of me sweatily working my way across the line:


Rounding the corner. The "long course" athletes finished
coming down that chute straight off into the distance.


Sweated through. Not horrible form. But my left ankle is doing that thing it does.


About to run off frame and cross the line. Classic "stopping the watch" shot.

Oh, and I saw the guy I was chasing to the line in the video as well. I didn't think he was in my age group or anything (and he started before me so I still finished ahead of him in the end), but over the last half mile, this guy was my rabbit:


Finished 6-7 seconds before me. A good "pull," but I couldn't quite get him.

• FIFTH: Kym's Photos: Kym posted some photos on Instagram and Facebook. Here are 4:


The crew from our gym.


Me with my artwork on the podium as 3rd overall.


Gym buddy Leah as 3rd in her AG.


Kym on top of the podium in her AG
(also as 4th overall - just 30 seconds from the overall podium!).

• SIXTH: Winning Artwork: As I mentioned in Saturday's post, I was actually on a family vacation during the race. And I nearly forgot my winning artwork in the cabin as I tucked it away for the week so it wouldn't be in anyone's way or get busted. Last night, Henry took a photo of me with my bronze-framed art:


He had me angle the piece so he didn't see his reflection in it. :)


Close-up of the bottom.

Here's my Heart of the Lakes Triathlon race report if you missed it, and some good bike workouts this past week.

Read more...

A Good Week of Cycling

>> Saturday, July 27, 2019

Before last weekend's "Heart of the Lakes" Triathlon, I had a pretty normal "pre-race" week. I didn't bike much (just a 45 min spin on the trainer on Wednesday), I didn't run much, and I took the day off before the race:


Only 13.42 miles of running all week. Lowest amount since
between 2 races in March (where I went 14.8 miles).

Then the following week (this past week), we were on a family vacation! Actually, when I did the "Heart of the Lakes" Triathlon, I got up early at the cabin to head to the race, and then went back to hang out with family for another 5 days. I'll have just a few photos from our vacation in the next few days, but first here's what my training looked like these last few days:


Post-race rest day on Monday, then some (easy) runs and (harder) bikes.

That week also looks like vacation because there's little strength work. Just some heel exercises on Wednesday, some core in the cabin on Thursday, and some physical therapy leg exercises on Friday before coming home.

On Tuesday (my first workout post-race), I did a long ride. I didn't push TOO hard because it was still close to the race. My wife and I took off together from "Big Ole" in Alexandria, and we headed down the trail:



When I turned around on my ride, I saw my wife coming a mile later. I pulled up to stop at an intersection in the middle of nowhere, and a pickup pulled up and we started chatting. He reminded me of my late Grandpa Clem - just easy to make friends. "How far ya going? Oh wow! So are you halfway yet? Heading back? Hey, you know this lovely lady?..."



That ride was 33 miles with a 20.4 mph average. "Out" into the wind slower, and "back" with the wind a bit faster. (One of my 5-mile splits on the way back averaged 22.7 mph.)

Then 2 days later, I went out for my favorite bike workout: 3x5 mile intervals. I went the other direction from town, and it was move open and quiet trail:


During my warm-up.


View after my first interval.

The wind was a side-wind, so I didn't know what it would do to my splits. It turns out that I don't think it affected it much. I rode "out" for the first full interval and half of the 2nd. Then I turned "back" for the rest of the 2nd interval and all of the 3rd. Here were my splits:

- 13:28, 22.3 mph
- 13:40, 21.9 mph
- 13:11, 22.7 mph

That was better than I expected! But I'm also used to trying to find a place in the city to do this workout, and doing it on the FLAT with just a few roads to cross helped my times. For sure.


I rode through some SWARMS of gnats! I didn't know I had some in my
teeth until I snapped this photo. Gross. (Note more flat trail in my sunglasses.)


Armful of gnats.

Those 2 rides gave me a 61 mile week, which is the most all year (and the biggest week since May of 2018). And add in the race 2 days before, and I covered 73.61 miles in 5 days. I know... I don't bike much.

Back with some more about last weekend's triathlon shortly.

Read more...

Friday Funny 1633: Evan's Senior Photos

>> Friday, July 26, 2019

I found this on Facebook and just had to share:

























As always, check out lots more funny things posted all day long on SportsAndLaughs.tumblr.com. HAPPY WEEKEND!

Read more...

Friday Funny 1632: Jerk Dogs




More funny things posted all day long on SportsAndLaughs.tumblr.com.

Read more...

Friday Funny 1631: Dumb Text Messages














































I wanna try the Gatorade rice.

More funny things posted all day long on SportsAndLaughs.tumblr.com.

Read more...

Twitter

Follow steveinaspeedo on Twitter

Facebook Fan Page

All content and original images copyright 2006 - 2024 by Steve Stenzel, AKA "Steve in a Speedo." All Rights Reserved.
Want to use something seen here? Just ask - I don't bite.