Monday, February 10, 2014

The Beach and the Musselman

Posted by CheapRunnerMike

Last day at work for each of the CheapRunners and then we'll be hopping on a plane to the Dominican Republic, trading in the cold and snow for this beach…

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Yup, can't wait!  I've looked at the maps and checked some online message boards and I think I've come up with a 5K loop that should be safe to run, so we'll be able to get our morning 'detox' run in each day before settling into our busy day of sitting at the beach, drinking, reading, eating, drinking, sitting by the pool, drinking, eating and drinking.  Cause an easy 5K run every morning makes us feel good about everything else we are doing, right :)

I'm happy to report that after taking turns being sick last week, everyone is doing good now…I tried to get out for a run once I was back in the office, but I clearly wasn't ready for much.  I felt really tired and sluggish and my pace was proof of it.  Afterwards I was short of breath and just not feeling very good.  Gee, you think I might have rushed back?

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I also decided that I would put my money where my mouth is on something else…I've been talking about doing a Half-Ironman race for a little while now and had a few in mind.  I had looked at Steelhead 70.3 down in Michigan (which happens to be the weekend of Michelle's birthday) as well as Rev3 Cedar Point (which would have been fun, but again the weekend conflicted with other plans), so I settled on the Musselman Half in the New York Finger Lakes area.  It's a very highly spoken of and sounds like a great place to run my first long distance triathlon…plus this lady enjoyed her time there last year enough to go back again (I'm seeing some post-race Guinness' in our future!).  Swim training will start in earnest as soon as I'm back from vacation and I'll have about 20 weeks to prepare at that point.  Time to put that YMCA membership to good use!  I did get a good 40K/25 mile session in on the bike trainer this weekend though…almost half the distance (and none of the hills!) that I'll half to cover for the race.

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Honestly I am fearful of the swim.  1.2 miles is a long way in the water.  That's 1.9km for us Canadians, and while I have completed an Olympic distance triathlon (which is a 1.5km swim), it is just daunting.  I'm not great in the water, but my goal is to just get towards the middle of the pack, meaning a swim time under 40 minutes.  Doable, but it will take a lot of work.  I think I can hang in the top half for the bike portion and then rely on my run to close the gap.  I'm not out there to win, and at this point I don't even really know what my goal time is…but I do know that I can get competitive and if I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it right.

So I better enjoy this vacation, because the next few months are going to be anything but relaxing…I'm looking forward to kicking my own ass.  Aren't goals great?

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Look at the runner in that picture, such great form!  And boy he looks good in spandex :)

Stay tuned to the blog while we are away though as we have lined up some AWESOME guest posts from our blogging buddies for you…big thanks to each of them for helping us out!  We will try to post a picture or two on Instagram, but we are too cheap to pay for wifi, so it will be hit and miss…no promises.

Any other triathletes out there?

What's the longest race you've ever done?

15 comments:

  1. Jealous times a million jillion...have so much fun!! And update your instagrams so I can stalk your adventures!!

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  2. Glad y'all are all well - you need to be in top form for the beach and eating, drinking, and sunning!!!
    Have a great week!!!

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  3. katie @ fromicecreamtomarathonFebruary 10, 2014 at 2:40 PM

    Congrats on signing up for a half Ironman! That's so awesome. I'm still considering doing one someday, but the swim part terrifies me too. I don't know if i could get over that! I look forward to following your training.
    I hope y'all have an amazing time in the DR! Can't wait to see the pics!

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  4. Thanks Kim, we are rounding into form at the right time!

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  5. Amy @ fitnessmeetsfrosting.comFebruary 10, 2014 at 4:19 PM

    I would love to do a tri but the open water freaks me out! Good luck on your training!! And have a great vacation!

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  6. Thanks Katie...I guess I'll have to get over that swim now!

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  7. No need to be jealous Kate, we'll share some pictures ;)

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  8. Thanks Amy...it's just the length of the swim that makes me nervous. That's what training is for, right?

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  9. Have so much fun on your trip!! Well deserved!

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  10. Enfreakingjoy the beach!! Looks amazing! PS Ironman races qualify you for badass status. Just saying.

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  11. Amy @ fitnessmeetsfrosting.comFebruary 11, 2014 at 3:14 PM

    Oh then you're gonna rock it!!

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  12. I hope you are all enjoying your beach vacation, and I'm sure you are well aware I am jealous of the beach and warm weather!


    But I am ridiculously excited to meet you 3 at musselman!! Post-race Guinness for sure!

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