One foot in front of the other.
Newton Sir & Lady Isaac Review
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I am a fast swimmer. I make no bones about it. I am not as fast as a professional, but suffice it to say that I usually finish in the top of whatever race (triathlon) I’m in (in the swim leg). My average 100 meter swim in a race is around 1:05 (+/-) I am aware that that probably comes off as arrogant, but please believe me when I say that I really don’t mean it that way. I say it because, when I go to do my swim workouts I relegate myself to the fast lane. Let me explain.
I swim at the Bally’s Sports Club at Worldwide Plaza at West 50th Street and 8th Avenue in New York City. They have a four lane, twenty five meter (debatable) pool. Each lane of the pool has a large, clear sign at the far end designating the speed for that lane. They are, from left to right: Loafer Lane, Fast Lane, Medium Lane, Slow Lane.
The reason I’m writing this is because, as of late I have been switching my swim workouts to the evening due to working and such. This is coupled with what I think is some kind of membership promotion by Bally’s to sign up every single person in the world. This has made for what can only be described as unbearable conditions for someone who is in the pool to actually work out.
The rules of the pool are simple (although, not so well enforced by the lifeguard); If there are two people in the lane, one should swim on one side of the lane (divided by the line on the bottom) and one on the other. If a third person joins the lane, it is assumed that that person is not slow (which, more often than not is an incorrect assumption) and circle swimming becomes the pattern. Circle swimming is when you treat the lane like a road; each person stays to the right in whichever direction they’re moving, thus making for an efficient way for more than two people to swim together in the lane. If a third (or more) person gets in and circle swimming commences, it is the responsibility of the slower person/s to defer to the faster person/s. That is to say that, should you feel someone touch the bottom of your feet or your achilles area, they are not being rude, rather, they are merely letting you know that you are about to be passed.
Recently, at Bally’s there have been TONS of people who just jump into whatever lane they please, without telling those of us already swimming. This is extremely dangerous because I, for instance, assume that if someone is going to join my lane, they will 1. Let me know and 2. Be fast enough to hang. There has been more than one occasion where I have been coming into the wall and about to do a flip turn when I suddenly see a pair of legs in front of me. Had I not looked up in time, that person would most likely have wound up with a broken nose or worse. There have also been several incidences of me touching (gently) the bottoms of peoples feet and going to pass them, and all of a sudden they decide that I am being rude and an altercation ensues.
For reference, you probably shouldn’t be in the fast lane if:
Now, this is of course not a complete list. Nor are all these things entirely exclusive (hence the “probably” at the top). For instance, I have been in a lane with someone who was plenty fast but wearing board shorts.
What would you add to the list?
[Edit] Just as I think it’s rude for slow (and I mean S-L-O-W) swimmers to get into the fast lane, I think it is equally rude for fast swimmers to get in the slower lanes. It ruins everyones workout! Thus, I don’t get in the other lanes.
Heart Transplant Patient to Run Kona!!
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Forgot to put this on the show, but a HUGE shout out to Kate and all the luck and ass kicking in the world this weekend in the America’s Finest City Half-Marathon this weekend in San Diego!!
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[svgallery name="Bobby Ironman 2009"]
2010 New York City Tritahlon Registration
2009 New York City Triathlon Results (I’m bib #4517)
Central Park Underwear Run Video
The Resurrected Runner Running Book Library
Brandon’s Marathon Podcast Live!!
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Yesterday, Sunday July 26, 2009 was the New York City Triathlon.
Race morning began with me waking up at the ungodly hour of 3:45am. I had been very careful to make sure everything was already packed and ready to go for the morning, so that all I had to do, was eat breakfast, get dressed and go. This included having different bottles labeled and ready to go in the refrigerator. They were as follows:
So, I gathered my bottles and myself, I headed out the door and down to 72nd St. on the 1 Train. As soon as I got out of the subway it began to rain. Fortunately, I brought an umbrella for just such an event! Myself and a ton of other people were making our way to the transition area on the West Side Greenway at about 76th & 78th Streets, depending on which transition are you were assigned (I was in the Red transition area).
The day before when I dropped off my bike at transition, I had secured a garbage bag over my handlebars. I did this because whether rain or just dew, I did not want to have my grip any more slippery than I knew it would be with water from myself and the copious amounts of sweat that I knew were coming. The rain that had welcomed us to transition that morning quickly stopped, and I got about the business of setting up my transition.
About the transition rack situation: In this transition are, as with most triathlons, this is the type of rack used. In this event, each racer was designated a space which was indicated by a sticker with your race number on it (my race number was 4517). The idea is to hang your bike on the rack by the nose of your saddle (seat), so that each bike was facing in the opposite direction than that of it’s neighbor. It appeared that each bike was being given about 9 inches (+ or -) which does not sound like a lot, but it’s pretty standard and works just fine if the bikes are alternating sides properly. In my transition space however, because I was close to the end of the rack where the supports are located, whomever had placed the stickers had gotten lazy and had not planned ahead. This resulted in my transition area and that of the bikes on either side of me, being crammed into an area about 18 inches TOTAL!! Now, my handlebars are about 18 inches wide, just to give you some perspective! It was ridiculous, and should have been checked over by race organizers and/or transition managers, and I know for a fact that my area was not the only place this happened.
I digress.
The transition area closed at 5:45am and the first wave of professional men were scheduled to start at 5:50am. Due to weather, this time was pushed back about 25 minutes. I still left the transition are at 5:45 and headed in the general direction of the swim start with my wetsuit slung over my shoulder and my bag for the finish line (change of clothes and Ipod and such) in hand. Keep in mind that because the swim for the NYC Triathlon is a straight shot down the Hudson River, the walk from transition to swim start is right at a mile.
I got to the swim start with a TON of time to spare, so I just sat down and stretched a bit and mentally ran through my race. After a while I decided to drop my finish line bag at the trucks that would be transporting them for us. Then I went to do a quick crowd scan for my wife before getting in line in my wave. Danielle did end up finding me with our friend Allie which was awesome to get a last minute good luck!
I started the swim in the water as far to the outside (closer to the middle of the river) as I could, knowing that was where the current was strongest. The start came and we were off! I can’t really say too much about strategy for the swim, because I tend to just rely on raw speed and technique to get it done. I can say that I aimed to stay toward the outside portion of the course to take full advantage of the current. For the record, I don’t think ANYONE should count on current being a help. If you can’t do the distance in a pool, you should not be doing it in open water, it’s not safe, period!
I was first out of the water in my wave and by the time I exited, had passed a lot of swimmers from the five waves in front of me as well. My total time was 14 minutes 53 seconds. This is when the fun started. After coming out of the water, each runner had to then run/walk about 300~400m to the transition area. This had the effect of making the T1 times look very slow, mine was 4:48.
I got all geared up and ready for the bike and then went! I saw Danielle and Allie at the beginning of the bike and it was so great to hear my name being yelled! The bike course ran North on the West Side Highway out of Manhattan and onto the Mosholu Parkway where it made a u-turn at Gunhill Road, then came back the same way it went out, passed the transition area, made another u-turn at W. 57th St. and came back North and into transition. It was awesome having the West Side Highway completely open and not having to worry about vehicular traffic! The course itself, did not present and crazily steep hills, but it was most definitely a hilly course, that did have me coming out of athe saddle a few times.
My biggest problem on the bike were people not watching their surroundings. In the MANDATORY briefing that we all had at packet pick-up, the race organizers were VERY clear about riding to your right at all times, unless you were passing someone. Many, many, many people did not heed this advice. Drafting was illegal in this race (the practice of riding right behind someone to take advantage of them breaking the air for you), but because of the amount of people riding on the left full time, it was impossible not to draft without pulling across the cones separating outbound and inbound racers. I was constantly yelling, and I do mean yelling, “On your left!” just so I could be safe and to keep people riding on the left would not get wrapped up in less observant racers than myself.
The bike as a whole, felt really great, and I felt strong throughout. My total time on the bike was 1:10:24 with an average speed of 21.2 mph.
I got into transition and was out pretty quickly, not feeling rushed in a time of 1:44. Not super fast or anything, but I got everything I needed done, so it’s all good. On the bike course, there were no water or aid stations, and so I relied on my hydration on my bike and my chia. Once the run began, however, there was water and Cytomax right away. It was nice to be able to dump some cold H2O down my back and get something with some flavor in it in my mouth. As I came up W. 72nd St. and headed toward Central Park, I was amazed by the crowds that formed a solid wall of humanity for the entirety of that part of the course, which once again, included Danielle and Allie!!
After entering the park, there were about five miles left in the run/race. I was feeling very comfortable in my stride, not too fast and only a bit slower than I wanted to be. At about 3 miles into the run, my stomach started to rebel against the liquid that I was all of a sudden cramming into it. I felt a tiny bit uncomfortably nauseous off and on for the remainder of the race. Not enough to really effect me, but just enough to make me notice.
I finished the run in a time of 51:34 which make for a 8:19 per mile pace. This is about a minute per mile slower than my general 10k time, but it is faster than I felt like I was going.
My total time for the race was 2:23:20 which put me in 42nd place out of the 443 people in my division (Men 30-34). For my first Olympic distance triathlon, I felt great! I feel like I really like this distance and can’t wait to do another!! Please listen to Brandon’s Marathon Podcast, Episdoe 51 for even more info and impression of the race!!
My Results:
In my excitement and hast to get up Episode 50 of Brandon’s Marathon Podcast, I forgot that I have my first triathlon of 2009 coming up!! It is the 9th annual New York City Triathlon!!
I honestly can’t believe I forgot it!
In any event, it takes place this Sunday, July 26, 2009. My wave will start between 7:36 and 7:42 AM, EST. It’s funny, as I just wrote that I actually felt a giant bump of adrenaline go through me! This will be my first NYC Triathlon and also my first Olympic distance event. The distances are:
Swim: 1500 meters
Bike: 40 kilometers
Run: 10 kilometers
I feel mostly prepared for this event. About two weeks ago, I took about a week and a half off from swimming. This was not on purpose and when I got back in the pool, I had to face up to the fact that time is not always on my side, and I paid the price. Fortunately, swimming is my “thing”. I was soon back to a very good pace and feeling good in the pool.
As far as the bike; I feel ok about it. What gives me pause just now, is the fact that when I went out for a medium thirty miles this morning, while my speed was decent and acceptable, I felt dead-legged. I made sure to get home and cram down two health scoops of Endurox R4. Over the next couple of days, I will be continuing to down the R4, run, ride or no, as well as stretching quite a bit more than normal before bed.
Apart from the other two, my running has felt really good. I’m not the fastest person in the world, by any means, however, since my interview with Christopher McDougall, I have been re-inspired to look for the joy in my running, and I have found it. That said, I am curious to see what happens if I push my pace…hmm…
The swim start is in the Hudson River (yes, it’s not the cleanest, but it’s what we’ve got!), at West 98th Street. From there it is a straight shot downstream to about West 79th Street. The Hudson is a river which, around Manhattan, does have tides. I have checked the tidal clocks for that day and if I’m correct, my wave SHOULD start on either a very slightly outgoing tide, or a dead calm tide, both of which are fine by me!
The bike (from the NYC Tri website) exits Riverside Park at 79th Street. Athletes enter the northbound entrance of the Henry Hudson Highway, staying in the right lane. Athletes will continue on a moderately hilly course north out of Manhattan, over the Hudson River Bridge, and exit onto the Mosholu Parkway. The course proceeds south on the Mosholu and U-turns at Gunhill Road in the Bronx. Participants will proceed back to the Henry Hudson Parkway and ride south in the Northbound Lane to 57th street where another u-turn will be completed and cyclists will head north and exit the Henry Hudson Parkway at 79th street and proceed back to the transition area. All bicycle traffic will utilize the normally northbound roadway which will be totally closed to vehicular traffic.
The run (also from the NYC Tri website) will exit Riverside Park at 72nd Street and run into Central Park. Runners turn left when entering Central Park and run in a clockwise direction around the northern loop of Central Park. The Finish line is on Dead Road, just west of the band shell on the 72nd Street Transverse in Central Park.
I will, of course, have as much pre and post (and during thatnks to my wife) video and such that I can. I’ll also try to get my video up in a somewhat timely manner (sorry Ari and the Achilles 5 miler, it’s coming!). If you’re in the Big Apple and need something to do, why not come by! Email me and we can figure out a place to meet!
Brain Surgery Frees Runner, but Raises Barriers
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Running with the Pack Episode 49 (with me!!)
2009 Patriot Triathlon Official Results
Rio de Jinero Marathon (GO RAPHAEL!!!)
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Xterra Wetsuits (50% off until the end of June!!!!)
Patriot Triathlon (Go Shrekilocks!!!)
Dreamfar Triathlon Team (Thanks guys!!)
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As you may or may not know, next weekend, June 20th I am doing the swim leg in the relay team Shrekilocks in the Patriot Triathlon. It is a half-Ironman distance event that will be taking place in East Freetown, MA.
Over the past few days I have been bumping up my timed distance in the pool. The swim distance is 1.2 miles, which is about 1930 meters. Yesterday, I did 1000 meters in about 14 minutes, which is over half the distance. So, if I even split the swim (go the same time in the second half), that would put me at right about 28 minutes. If I go that time, it would put me very close to last year’s fastest swim time of 27:58.
Here are some of the variables in this:
So, all of those things in mind, I will see by the beginning of next week what my rough, full time will be. I am very excited to be a part of this team, made up of my brother-in-law (run) and a good friend (bike). Not to put any expectations on us, but I think we have a reasonable shot at being in the top 3 for relays!!
Check back for updates!!
Running Aimlessly Around the Countryside
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De Soto Cool Gear (scroll down the page)
Soldier passes away in Country Music Half Marathon
Wildflower Triathlon (Bobby Cockrill)
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SUCKS!!
Swimming with a cold sucks!
I am an excellent swimmer, but no matter your proficiency or experience level as a swimmer, breathing is paramount. Usually when I breathe when swimming it is a combination nose-mouth breath. This is because it is the most relaxed, efficient way to breathe without “tanking up” in your chest. This is also a byproduct of me being an opera singer.
However, try doing that with a cold!! Not only is most of your face numb from being rubbed raw with tissues (and yes, I have the lotion ones), but the inside of your oro and naso-pharynx (look it up) is swollen and closed down in ways that seem to change every other second! All this combines into a lovely experience trying to get in a good workout while not drowning!
WOW!!! So, I haven’t been lifting much lately at all. I have mainly been focusing on endurance training, for obvious reasons. Yesterday though, I decided to get back in the weight room and hit it fairly hard.
I awoke this morning to some amazing pain. As I’ve said before I kind of like that kind of soreness because it lets me know that I getting things done. The plan, I think will be to lift at least three days a week, swim three days a week and combine that with the marathon training that I’ll be continuing. Mind you, I am NOT making an ‘in stone’ workout schedule, because the last time I tried that I about died.
Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying Episode 20 of the podcast!! Again, please feel free to email me and to leave comments on Itunes!
Richmond Sprint Tiathlon (Link to stats is on the page)
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Running in the Center of the Universe
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Strong Island Results (To see full results, just click “Get Results”. To see MY results, search for bib #32.)
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Strong Island Rookie Triathlon
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Since I did my first triathlon a few weeks ago, I have become addicted. Yes, it was a singularly painful event, but it was such a rush. Now that I am back in NYC and I am looking back on the event, I have done some analysis of what I can do in and out of the race to make myself better. The first of these things is slimming down a bit.
Right now I weigh about between 207 and 210 lbs.. Ideally I would like to get down to about 185-190. However, as you may or may not know, I a fairly muscular guy and I refuse to lose mass, so my goal is to make the mass I have or will gain, more lean. This will take stress off of my legs and joints and make every event I participate in that much easier, even the Richmond Marathon. Here is the rough outline of the workout I will adopt beginning today:
Monday: A.M. 2 hour bike ride down the west side bike path (this always takes about 2 hrs.)
P.M. 1 hour lifting; 1 hour treadmill run (this will change to road running once I get back into it.)
Tuesday: A.M. 2 hour ride, down to 70th St. and then to Central Park to do “The Loop” no fewer than 4 times.
P.M. Swim, no fewer than 1400 meters (building 100 m a week.)
Wednesday: A.M. West side ride.
P.M. 1 hour “light” lifting; 1 hour treadmill run.
Thursday: Off
Friday: A.M. Central Park ride.
P.M. Swim (1400+.)
Saturday: Saturday Morning Clown Ride (to Nyack, NY and back, approx. 55 mi.)
Sunday: “Hard” lift; 1 hour treadmill run.
I am sure this will change, based on how my body reacts. I will also fine-tune it to get the most out of each workout. Check back in the coming days for details of the workout. I will try to do a post on each portion that includes all the nitty gritty.
Here are the details:
First; about 3 days before the race I was riding a bike to the store. The bike has SPD pedals, but I was wearing flip flops because it was just to the store and back. Somewhere along the way the pedal rolled and I cut my the high part of my heel (almost near the bottom of my achilles). No real damage, but there went any hope of not wearing socks.
Days before:
I kept up regular, but lesser workouts up until the Friday before the race (race was on sunday). During the day on Saturday, I went to the check in/clinic they had for the event. Got to take a look at the course and so on. On Saturday night I had a big plate of penne with pears in a gorgonzola cream sauce. Went to bed at 10 pm.
Race day:
I woke up at 5 am, had two eggs with cheese and a banana. I wanted to be checked in and in the transition area by 6:15, but made it at about 6:20. I had plenty of time to set up my transition area just right. I was wearing a one piece tri suit by TYR, and a Zoot Fuzion, full wetsuit (which I will never do again, I’ll explain later). I had two bottles of water set to hose the sand off my feet and everything ended up working out just right.
The start:
The day was overcast, so not so hot and the water was about 62 (f-ing cold). I was in the 3rd wave, which I think was the biggest (34-14 y/o). I got near the front of the group.
The swim:
Had a clean start and got into the mix right away catching multiple feet hands and elbows to my face and other parts. I am sure I also returned the favor. It took me about 5 minutes to pull out in front of the big pack. There was one guy that just took off and ended up out of the water about 30 seconds ahead of me. I pulled way out and I think I was third out of the water for my wave. The reason I will never wear a full sleeve wetsuit again is that it created resistance to my stroke. I had to work harder to get my arms out of the water and this ended up killing my breath. And let me tell you, I am feeling it today.
Coming into the breakers was fine. I caught a couple nice wave that gave me a great push, but I also caught one that broke under my legs and almost flipped me. Once i was standing, I had about 20 yards of water to run out of, which was SOO hard. Once out of that, I had about 75 yards to go to the transition. The real problem was that the entire run up the beach really was UP the beach. By the time I hit the boardwalk into T1 I was in so much pain. I got to my area ok, took a drink of FRS and got my socks and shoes and helmet, etc. on. I then tried to get on my bike before they reminded me that I had to run out of the transition. All in all, I think I was in the transition for about 45 seconds to a minute.
The bike:
I was riding a Cannondale R5 with Look Keo Sprint pedals. It is a road bike and not a tri-bike per se, but it did a great job, and since I train on my own road bike anyway, it is what I am used to. I did rather well on the bike and I believe I only lost about 4 places to guys that were definitely seasoned triathletes and riding $5,000+ tri-bikes. I took advantage of drafting and using it even passed one of the guys that had passed me. I made it into the transition very well and got my cycling shoes off and my running shoes/hat/glasses on in about 30 seconds.
The run:
I was using Yankz for my shoe laces so I saved a lot of time with that and the fact that I had socks on made my shoes go on even faster. The run was a 2 mile course, that was on a lot of boardwalk, which was nice and easy on the legs. However, running is by FAR my weak point and I lost probably about ten or so places to guys that were crazy fast. At mile one there was a set of about 5 stairs that burned like hell. Just beyond that was a water station. It was at that water station that I discovered the bad side of drinking water from a cup while running (I choked). I also dumped the remainder of my water on my head, forgetting the fact that I had a Nike Dri-fit hat on and it would push away any water that hit it! Oh well. The final 30 yards included a hill (up) which sucked and then a nice sidewalk.
My official time was 52:48 and I finished 6th in my age group. I am not sure about my overall place, but I will let you know once they post that info (if they post that info). Overall, I was extremely pleased with my performance. I need to work on my running, no doubt, but I hung in there and it felt awesome to finish.
So, as I spoke about on my last podcast episode, I’m back! So is nipple chaffing!
The problem I run into is that I get going, only intending on going for a short-ish run and that turns into me going for close to an hour…hence the nipple chaffing. I am now keeping a stick of Body Glide in my gym bag constantly to hopefully alleviate this problem.
Anyway, in less than 48 hours I will be driving across the US from NYC to Logan, Utah with my wife and my dog in three days. The problem is that I have to get in my workouts!! My goal is to run every day once we arrive at our destination (1 night Moline, IL; 2nd night, somewhere in Wyoming) given that it’s not too cold and that I can motivate myself to even THINK about running after having driven for 15 hours+.
On top of that, it will be three days that I am out of the pool and not able to swim. This is important because, as I said, I have the Redondo Beach Triathlon on June 8th. ANOTHER problem is that, the morning after we arrive in Utah, I fly to San Diego to lend my moral (and if needs be, physical) support to Bobby as he runs in the San Diego Marathon. As soon as my plane lands, I am heading to the hotel and then to the race course to run, with Bobby, however much of the race he has left.
SOOOOO…..focus. I have to be focused and intent on my goals. Off we go!
THE ARGYLE AVENGER!!
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Spinning, in case you don’t know, is basically a class where everyone is on an exercise bike. Sounds kind of wimpy right? WRONG!
I went to my first spin class yesterday and WOW was it fun. Firstly, I have rarely sweated like that. I was dripping within 10 minutes of the class starting. Second, if you are a biker at all and are kinda bummed out by cold, wet weather then you should definitely check out spinning. It is a great replacement for the true road and a good instructor will give you a quite realistic feel with increases in resistance representing hills and such.
When I woke up this morning, however, I expected my legs to be like jello, but they were surprisingly fine! The real problem, which I noticed as soon as I even thought about moving, was my back! It wasn’t an injury type of pain, but merely soreness, which as you know I love!
Anyway, today is a swim day, so off I go!
I really do love being sore. I love it, that is, as long as it is a result of a nice, solid workout. Today however my feet are a bit sore. I think it’s because of the new running shoes that I just bought. They are Nike Zoom Jasari+. They really are extremely light and flexible, but for whatever reason my feet are killing me! The shoes I had before this were Nike Air Zoom Moire and I adore them. They were like wearing slippers. I have a feeling that I may have to return my new shoes and get a pair of the Moire’s, oh well!
Anyway, aside from that, today was a swimming day for me and a good break for my feet. It’s amazing how much swimming helps with every aspect of exercise! Running presents basically no cardio or breath challenge to me because of the work I put in in the pool. However, up to now, I haven’t run as much as a marathon, so I’m sure I WILL indeed hit a cardiopulmonary wall at some point.
Tomorrow, I am aiming for a 4 mile run. I’ll let you know!
Thanks so much for visiting my site! My name is Brandon Wood and I am the social media manager and a customer service rep for Newton Running. This site and podcast follow my adventures on the way to competing in and training for all kinds of endurance events, especially triathlon and running. Click the "About Me" tab for more info!
Who: This contest is open to anyone and everyone in the U.S. and Canada (also APO)! Tell your friends!
What: Stuffitts! I have spoken about these simple yet awesome shoe savers in the past. Click here to read more about them. I cannot say enough how great they are!
When: Starting NOW! This is an ongoing contest that will be every month, or until every person on the planet has nice, fresh smelling shoes!
Why: Because Stuffitts are awesome! The folks at Stuffitts are being SUPER generous and I also want to give you guys something that I think is a great addition to any athletes arsenal!
How: On the last podcast episode post of each month (example: Episode 99 on June 28 HERE) entrants should leave a comment (however long you'd like). On the following week's show (the first show of each month) I will draw, by random number generator, one winner! That's it!
Good luck!
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