Last week was a lot of fun. I was out in San Diego for Thanksgiving and had an opportunity to get a close up look at the cold hard facts that face me at the SuperFrog Triathlon. The SuperFrog is a 1/2 Ironman distance race (1.2 mi swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) that takes place on April 11, 2010. The race is sponsored by the NAVY SEAL’s and is notorious for being very difficult. It will also be my first race of this distance.
On Thanksgiving I rode about 20 miles of the course and then went running on the beach for about 3.8 miles. The bike is going to be very fast and the biggest danger is going out too hard and not leaving anything left for the run. I did the 20 miles in just over 45 mins, so that gives you an idea of how fast it is. The run on the beach is brutal. Running on the hardpacked sand is kind of nice. It would be a great surface to run on if it was flat. Unfortunately, the waves create an angled surface. Mile after mile of uneven surface is going to be hard to train for and will probably make for a tough day.
On Friday I decided to hit the ocean and got pounded. The surf was huge and the tide was out. I could not make it out far enough to get beyond the breakers. I had sections of the swim when the waves calmed down that were fine, but I spent a lot of time fighting the surf. As I came out of the water, a Navy guy informed me that there would be a big wave competition tomorrow and that he thought I was pretty brave (interpretation – stupid) for going out in the water. After that I went on another 20 miler on the bike course. It was a pretty exhausting workout and again pointed out to me that the SuperFrog is going to be a tough race.
I took Saturday off and went for a 5 mile jog on Sunday before I helped my little brother install a pull-up bar. He’s starting P90X to get ready for the upcoming Lacrosse season. His team won the California CIF Championship last year and they are looking to repeat.
One of the biggest challenges for me is going to be the cold. The ocean will be very cold in April. I have a new wetsuit that will cover that. I’m really concerned about the bike. Over the next few months I’m going to have to work on some different ideas on how to keep warm on the bike. If you have any thoughts, let me know.
I’m taking it a bit easy this week. I’m fighting a mild cold and next week the official schedule kicks off for the SuperFrog training plan. I’m also doing the Phoenix Rock n’ Roll 1/2 Marathon in January, but I’m not specifically training for that race (aside from the running done as a part of my triathlon training). I’m just going to do my best there and forget the rest.
Next week shapes up something like this:
Monday – P90X Chest & Back or One on One 30/15 and ARX
Tuesday – 50 minute run
Wednesday – Low intensity 1,400 yard swim mixing in various drills and reps
Thursday – Bike to work (between 40 and 55 miles)
Friday – P90X Core Synergistics or One on One Core Ball Sandwich
Saturday – Run drills 10 x 100m sprints followed by a 4 mile run
Sunday – High intensity 1,400 yard swim with drills
Yep, no rest day next week. I will also be working on my nutrition and trying to really nail that down. Nutrition is going to be increasingly important over the next few months. If I’m going to survive between 5 and 6 hours on the beach doing this race, I’m going to need to have that 100% in line.
And so it begins…
