It was a good try....err...TRI!
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Monday, 20 August 07 - 03:30 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Triathlon Training |
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Back on January 11, 2007, I publicly announced on this blog my intent to train for and complete a Triathlon. http://chadholtz.terapad.com/index.cfm?fa=contentNews.newsDetails&newsID=3383&from=archive&directoryId=781
I sit here on August 20, pleased to report back to you "Mission Accomplished!" I did it!! I even beat my goal time by nearly 2 minutes. The really cool thing....my wife did it too!! And she got 3rd place in her age group, bringing home a medal. NICE! I'm very proud of her!! Two other friends of ours did their first ever with us too. Way to go Dave and Ryan!!!
Even with thunderstorms, lightning and thunder (if you've been tracking this blog, you'll note that I never compete in GOOD weather!! Not sure what is up with that!) and a 30 minute delay in start time to hopefully let the lightning pass.
The run - I turned in my fastest ever time...even beat my training times and previous run only competition times. Think I had some adrenaline going?
The bike - not a super hard course, but the wind was strong from the storms so we had a pretty hard head wind for the first half of the course.
The swim - of course you know I was dreading this. Part of the reason I chose this tri was because the swim was in a pool, not quite as daunting, but still nerve-racking for me. The swim actually makes me chuckle. As I was running to the pool (hobbling is a better word, I had MAJOR cramps in both calves after the bike ride), the guy at the pool says, "no diving please", very monotone like he had said it a hundred times already (which he had), and I laughed saying "Oh, you don't have to worry about that" and proceeded to sit down on the edge of the pool, dangle my feet and then ever so slowly ease into the water. As I was swimming, I tried a few times to do something that even resembled a real swim stroke, but quickly abandoned that idea and just went to a modified glide through the water and occassionally flail your arms and legs type motion. I think I invented a new stroke...let's call it "The Chad", the basic premise is--try not to sink. Then, I swallowed a ton of water...not because I was struggling so much, but because I was laughing at the lifeguards...they were eyeing me nervously and shuffling along side of me. 1) I think they could tell I wasn't a strong swimmer (or even a weak one for that matter) 2) I don't think they wanted too badly to have to jump in and save a big flailing guy that has no swimming skills whatsoever...
I would be remiss if I didn't thank my wife and kids...they've put up with a lot from me while I pursued this goal and have always been there cheering me on. Mom, for being there several times this year in crappy weather to cheer me on in events leading up to this. Nick, for coaching me on swimming. It's no fault of his that I suck at it, actually without him helping, I'd probably still be in the pool. Friends, family and co-workers for all their support and encouragement as I trained. Thanks to you all.
And, Dad. He's the reason I did this. You can re-read the January 11 post and others along the way for all the details, but he was my motivation. I said early on that he never backed away from a challenge and I sure didn't intend to either. I did it, Dad. And if I inspired even 1 person along the way, or made them reconsider diet/exercise and working on their health, then I'm happy and I'd do it all over again. We miss you very much Dad, hope you enjoyed watching us compete on Saturday!
And, God....He gave me the strength, ability and endurance to do this. We had a lot of LONG conversations during my training and competitions this summer. My strength comes from Him.
There you have it. Never, never, NEVER sell yourself short. You can do anything you put your mind to. If a non-runner, non-biker, absolute NON-swimmer can train and complete a triathlon, you can achieve your goals too. Don't stop. Don't EVER give up.
The final countdown....
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Monday, 13 August 07 - 03:18 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Triathlon Training |
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I think that was the title of a bad 80's song, wasn't it? (I say that in the most loving, big hair, leg warmer, parachute pants way that I can...I was right there in the 80's...can you say "Mullet"?)
Anyway....if all goes well and we can work out the details and timing still....my first ever solo attempt at a triathlon will happen this Saturday, Aug 18. I'd be lying worse than a Hollywood star denying a relationship or a split-up if I didn't say I was nervous. I am.
I'm still pretty sure that one way or another I can push through the bike and run portions, but that silly swim is still on my mind. The only upside is that this particular tri (and part of the reason I chose it) has the swim portion in a pool vs. open water. That helps my psyche a little. And, unless you've done a tri before, or plan to be there on Saturday, I don't even want to hear about how that makes it "easier".
Plus, I'm very proud to say, I think my wife is going to attempt it too (YEAH!) and two friends that are both first time tri's too.
I have a busy, busy week with little time for any more training. That, actually, might work in my favor...we'll see.
My first triathlon...Part II
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Wednesday, 18 July 07 - 02:58 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Triathlon Training |
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I've been questioning myself a little bit about wanting/not wanting to write this post. But, I've decided to go ahead with it as one of the reasons for starting this blog back in January was to have a place where I can express my thoughts, feelings, issues, and struggles. (and a place for that teeny tiny frustrated comic inside all of us that thinks we are the funniest person we know!)
I had really mixed emotions as we headed to and started our team triathlon (see previous post). You see, this was the one that I had planned to do solo, and what I had so publicly dedicated to my Dad in one of my first posts on this blog...see it here.
Part of me thought I was failing by not doing it solo, but I had to keep reminding myself that I was NOT failing. I have accomplished a LOT since January in terms of my health, fitness and competition level. I've run two 8K races (a distance I had never run before), completed a duathlon (something I had never done before), and am making plans for a second duathlon, a solo triathlon, a possible 1/2 marathon, and a possible century (100 mile) bike ride. All, while still lifting weights 2-3 times a week, eating healthier, adding lean muscle and decreasing my body fat %. I HAVE accomplished a lot. And, if you read that January post...I said I wanted to promote healthier living, rise to the challenge, and honor my Dad. It's with tears in my eyes, that I write....I think I've done that, and continue to do so.
Back to the triathlon... First of all, let me say this, if you are married, dating, have a significant other, whatever....do things TOGETHER...it will bring you closer. I've said many times that working out with my wife (biking, running, swimming, lifting weights) is good quality time. Good bonding. I'm SO SO SO proud of her for doing the swim portion of our triathlon. She was nervous (scared?) and worried, but she did it!! She trained hard and rose to the challenge on short notice. That's awesome. Standing in T1 and seeing her emerge from the water, tired, exhausted and ready to rest was one of the proudest moments of our marriage for me. She is always my constant cheerleader and supporting all the crazy stuff I think I need to do, it was a thrill for me to return the favor and be the first to greet her and say, "YOU DID IT!! YOU ARE AWESOME!!" At that point I didn't care two bits what her time was. (of course, about 10 seconds later my competitive juices re-engaged and I thought "Crap, I better get moving!")
As I mentioned in the last post, the course and the weather were brutal. Even with all the training, I was struggling. Then, I started crying. Not because I was tired or wanted to quit or was in pain....but because I started thinking about my wife completing a BIG challenge for her on the swim, of my Dad and how I even got started in triathlon training (to promote healthier living, rise to the challenge, and honor my Dad). I just started thinking, don't quit, don't give up, push through it...this is for you Dad. I want to make you proud. And I found renewed strength and energy to finish the race.
I still plan to attempt a solo tri in August, and I'll do my best, but if I can't complete it, I'm in no way a failure....look at all I've accomplished this summer. I'm not bragging, not in the least. There are such better athletes out there than me. But, for 6 months of effort, the payoff has been huge.
Dad, I know you are watching, and I hope you're proud of son #3. Love you, miss you, and I plan to keep pushing forward in this "race" that we call life. Until we see each other again....
First Triathlon...a success!
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Monday, 16 July 07 - 04:10 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Triathlon Training |
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On July 8th, I was part of a team Triathlon and it was really fun and we got 2nd Place!! Yes, you read that right, we got 2nd place... Let me caveat just a bit, but not detract from what I think was a very successful day...
We finished in 10th place for all teams in the triathlon. But within just the Co-Ed teams we finished 2nd. Considering it was the first ever tri for every member of our team and the conditions/course were somewhat brutal, we are thrilled with the results.
Some details:
SWIM: Originally, we had a men's team, but one of our team members had medical issues requiring surgery, so my wife stepped in and agreed to do the swimming portion. Having never done a competitive swim or ever done much "open water" swimming, she was nervous. She trained really hard, but was still apprehensive come race day. The conditions were rough, strong wind blowing in toward shore, so the first 250m were straight into wind/waves. Put 350 or so other competitors around her and it was as much of a mental challenge as it was physical. In typical triathlon fashion (from what I've read), she got pushed under water about 3 times. Now, people don't do that intentionally, it just happens with that many people in the water all trying to finish as fast as they can, if something is in your way, you swim over it. She emerged from the water, tired, exhausted, and handed me the timing chip for the biking portion.
BIKE: I'm not normally apprehensive about bike courses and the distance (15 miles) was manageable for me based on my training. HOWEVER, as we were driving to the race site earlier that day, the hills we were driving were really starting to freak me out. As I pushed my bike through a very LONG T1 before mounting, I was worried what the course had in store. First 2-3 miles, no problem, looping the lake. Mile 3-3.5 come around the corner, the biggest hill known to man stared me right in the face!! Ok, not really but it looked that way. Seeing 1/2 or more of the people walking and pushing their bikes up the hill, and a few people off to the side of the road losing their breakfast (literally) didn't help my psyche. I pushed through and never walked the bike. The rest of the course remained very hilly, very windy (which is not fun on a bike) and very hot. I pushed through it though, and finished in a reasonable time, but about 5-6 minutes off the pace I wanted. Legs spent, I almost ran over my team before I could stop. I would like to say I "handed" the timing chip to our running teammate, but it was more like "I can't move, you're going to have to take it off my ankle yourself!"
RUN: Off he went. Through the same LONG T2 before you can even get to the start of the course. The most unfortunate part is that by this time, temperatures were rising steadily. Add in a good Midwest humidity, hot southerly wind, and some of the same hills I cursed on the bike, and the run wasn't fun either. He pushed through though and did really well, I was waiting just past the finish line with a luke warm bottle of water that hadn't been in near enough ice for such a hot day and he quickly announced, "I passed 51 people!" Nice...I love the competitiveness and is very fitting his personality.
Ok, enough details...but suffice it to say, we were THRILLED when we found out we placed 2nd in the co-ed teams and began the much too long wait for the awards ceremony. But, bringing home a trophy is a good motivator to keep doing races!
Add to that, my Mom and my Brother and his family were there cheering us on too. Thanks guys!! It helps more than you can know to see/hear family cheering you on.
8K number 2
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Friday, 06 July 07 - 03:02 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Triathlon Training |
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I did it. I ran my second ever 8k this week. On July 4th, and the proceeds support the local Boy Scout Troop. So, a good cause overall.
I hadn't run since Memorial Weekend when I did my duathlon, but I thought I would be ok since I've been biking, swimming and lifting weights.
Recall, the 8k in April was COLD, 15 degrees and windchills in the single digits. Well, being Iowa, we love our extremes, so this race was HOT and HUMID even though it started at 8am!!
I ran about the same time as the one in April...a little disappointing because I wanted to shave some time off. But all in all, considering I didn't train and how hot it was, I'm pleased.
Another milestone in my "Summer of Fitness".
This weekend--Team Triathlon. I'm excited.
Why do I do this to myself?
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Friday, 29 June 07 - 07:15 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Triathlon Training |
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Well, I'm signing up for another 8K run. I've only done this one other time in my life and it was COLD, but I finished and was pretty happy with my time, all things considered.
So, just for fun, this 8K is 4 days away and I haven't run for almost a month! Ooops. And just to make it even more interesting, I'm deep into some intense biking training to get ready for my team tri on July 8th. So, I'm killing my legs trying to slash time off my biking. Now, let's go run 8K with no training! Why do I do this to myself???
It will be fun though. A couple friends are running it with me. Well, one will be with me, the other will be about 20 minutes ahead! If you can believe the weather forecast, 
, it is supposed to be hot/humid that day. HA! Quite the extreme from the below zero windchills the last time I ran an 8K.....
We'll see what happens.
Swimming
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Friday, 29 June 07 - 02:23 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Triathlon Training |
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We're doing a Team Triathlon on July 8th. Our team name is "3 Guys Tri". We've had a minor setback in that our swimmer had to withdraw un-expectedly due to some medical issues. My wife is thinking about taking the open swim spot. She's been training really hard and I think she can handle the distance, but from a mental standpoint, the open water swim (this one happens to be in a lake) is a little nerve-racking for her. 1) she's not overly wild about open water. 2) she's never done an open water swim, or swim competition before.
But, she's swimming every day and improving her time. Any advice on open water swims would be welcome.
Me? I swam again this morning too. I'm still struggling, to be perfectly honest. I've made big improvements since January/February but still not anywhere near what I would call a strong swimmer. I keep plugging along. August 18th is my deadline.
I have been able to shave several minutes off my bike times this week though. Which is good.
Oh, and since we may have a female on our team now, suggestions for a team name other than "3 Guys Tri" would be welcome as well.
Train, train, train...
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Monday, 25 June 07 - 02:28 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Triathlon Training |
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On July 8th, I'll be participating in a Team Triathlon with some friends. "3 Guys Tri" will be competing and I'm doing the biking portion of the race. I've been doing some biking recently and feeling pretty good, but I decided I need to focus on the distance I will be racing that day (14 miles) and get my time as fast as I can for that portion of our race. I rode last night for 12 miles on a fairly hilly stretch and I was okay with my time, but not ecstatic. For the next 13 days, I need to try to ride almost daily and keep pushing myself to improve the time. Must....get....faster.
On July 4th, there is an 8K run in the town where we live and my wife is wanting to do that and asked if I did too. Recall that I ran my first ever 8K in April. I'm assuming (hoping) the weather will be better this time around. Of course, this is Iowa, so we could experience the opposite extreme of hot/humid vs. cold and windy! Anyway, I haven't run much since my duathlon on Memorial weekend, so I probably need to get out and run some in the next week too.
Oh...and since I still hope to do a solo tri in August, I need to keep swimming too...
Busy, busy...but it's all good. Actually, I really enjoy the challenges and seeing if I can physically and mentally rise to the occasion.
WAY TO GO!!!
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Wednesday, 20 June 07 - 02:41 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Triathlon Training |
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Sunday was the Hy-Vee World Cup Triathlon here in our great city. Literally, the best triathletes in the world were here to compete for the largest ever triathlon prize purse. It was exciting and great for the city.
In addition to the "Elite" (i.e. professional) divisions, some 1700+ amateur athletes competed in the morning.
My wife and I got up at 4:30am to go cheer on our friend Nick (who, by the way, is my swim coach and big motivator for my tri training)--he was slated to hit the water at 6:03am.
I won't go into all the details, because I'll direct you to Nick's blog for that, but I just want to say "CONGRATULATIONS NICK!" and job well done. You rock, my friend. What a great accomplishment!! Glad we could be there to cheer you on.
I had high hopes of doing the Hy-Vee next year, but admittedly, seeing the swim portion of nearly a mile (Olympic distance tri) really made me nervous. I think I'll stick to the sprint distance training for now.
Here is Nick's account of the experience. Nice job Nick! You should be very proud:
http://nickthetraveler.blogspot.com/2007/06/big-triathlon.html
Going.....going.....GONE(R)
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Thursday, 31 May 07 - 10:09 PM (GMT) By Chad Holtz in Triathlon Training |
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Ok....in yesterday's post I said that overall, the duathlon went pretty well, with one notable exception. What is that notable exception, you ask...
Well, I wiped out on the bike portion of the race. Yep, it's true....I took a tumble. A pretty good one too.
The first 5-6miles of the bike course were straight into a strong headwind and up/down some pretty good hills. About mile 5, I was a little tired of riding uphill into the wind, so I put my head down to catch a breather while I pedaled. When I lifted my head back up, I could feel myself drifting to the side of the road where there was about a 4 to 6 inch dropoff from the pavement to the ditch.
It was as if everything was happening in slow motion...I was drifting right, I was telling myself "stop drifting to the right, you're going to crash", but I kept drifting... So, I started leaning left to straighten my course, but I kept drifting. When I hit the dropoff, I was leaning left and that just added to the trouble--the bike went one way, I went the other. I'm still not sure if it was just exhaustion, or simply stupidity, but it was as if my brain just stopped working for a few minutes.
I gathered myself up and started looking for blood. I figured if I came through T2 (that's Transition #2) with blood all over me, my wife wasn't going to react well. Amazingly, I had a couple good patches of road rash, and some soreness, but no blood/cuts. I slowly got back on the bike to continue riding. Of course, the chain was off and jammed in the sprockets, so I set to fixing that.
Meanwhile another racer rides by and yells "You ok number 61?" The biggest bruise being my ego, I shouted back, "Oh yeah! I'm fine!" as if this was a normal experience. Fix the chain, back on the course. I lost some time in the fall, and some more time getting back in the "zone" mentally and physically....I figure I hurt my time by about 5 minutes.
Incidentally, I talked to "Number 94" after the race and thanked them for checking on me after the crash. To their bewilderment, that is--they thought my chain just came off...they didn't see the crash.....which helped my ego a little....
Fast forward...I take my bike into the shop, explain that I wrecked during a race. Need the bars re-taped, check the wheels, crank, etc to make sure nothing is bent/broken. The guy writes "Involved in crash - check over" on the ticket and that's it....as if it's common place in bike shops. That helps my ego a little more....I'm not the first one.
I've seen a lot of "first timer" stories on various websites and almost everyone has some story about their first race...I even heard about one guy that had to stop in T1 to go #2, if you know what I mean.... 
So my first timer story can be summed up as "Involved in crash - check over"
Have a great day,
signed, Competitor #61
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