The Value of a Good Pool

It wasn't until recently that I discovered how different pools can be from each other. Some pools are "faster" than others, depending on depth, drainage, etc, while others are "slower". If you go to the same pool time after time, you wouldn't know any better. So far this season, I've swum in 3 different pools during training.

Pool #1 is what I call my home base. It is a 25 yard pool at a local high school and is open year round. I go here most often because it is convenient and also has a lot of strong swimmers, so it forces me to push myself faster. However, it is also the most crowded of the three. Regardless of whether its 5 am or 6 pm, the pool is packed and I am forced to share lanes with 3, sometimes 4 others.

Pool #2 has been the "slow" pool. Pool #2 is also a 25 yard pool, but is more shallow, which makes my times slower, as I now understand. Although it is much nicer and cleaner than Pool #1, I am frustrated that my times are significantly slower when training in Pool #2. This is TT home base, as it is located 'sclosest to her and she prefers to go here, rather than Pool #1. When we swim together, we go to Pool #2.

Pool #3 is the latest addition to the pool rotation. Pool #3 is a 50 meter pool with no lap lanes. Although this can get chaotic when it is a busy time, I am finding this pool to be exponentially more beneficial to training than any 25 yard pool I have swum in. As long as people swim straight (I realize this is asking a lot), there are no incidents. However, the lack of swim lanes creates a feel of the water in a race situation. Being able to swim 50 meters straight with a little chop is a perfect simulation of what it feels like to swim in any river or lake I have swam in.

Pool #3 makes me appreciate the value of a good pool. The benefits I have gained from swimming in this pool (twice so far), have exceeded any benefit from swimming in those puny 25 yard pools. Since I don't have much access to open water swimming, Pool #3 will serve as my test lab for the rest of the season. I would imagine most people don't have easy access to open water venues as well, so I'd recommend at least giving a 50 meter pool a try to get somewhat of a "feel" for open waters.

My week in review - Week 16

Posting a bit late this week. Got caught up in the Memorial Day holiday I guess. It was intended to be a big one, with some large bike and run numbers planned. Most of the time was to be focused on big weekend workouts. The result was some big workouts, but not as much as I would have liked. I decided not to go for a swim before my big bike workout on Saturday, only to have my bike have issues after 1 loop on the trail. That left me with less swim and bike than planned. I made up for that by going on a longer run than planned. This turned into a VERY hilly 13.2 mile run. When I say hilly, I mean it. Locals are using these hills to train for Savageman, which is being considered the most challenging HIM in the world. Here are my stats for the week:

Swim: 2250 yards (Goal: 5000)
Bike: 3.5 hours (Goal: 5)
Run: 20 miles (Goal: 15)
Weight Sessions: 1 (Goal: 1)
Time: 7.5 hours (Goal: 9)

Looking into this week, my goals are to continue with some big workouts, focusing on the swim and bike. Now that the pool is open outdoors, I'd like to get some more swim workouts under my belt. The nice thing is that I am now swimming in a 50m pool that has no lane lines, which makes the swims more realistic to open water. I also need to get both my bike situations taken care of. My road bike has been having issues with flats lately and I'm wondering if there is something wrong with the wheel. My mountain bike started jumping gears toward the end of my first loop, which means there is something wrong with my rear derailleur, though I don't know exactly what it is. Suggestions on the jumping gears? I can deal with the road bike issues, since its only changing a flat, but it is very frustrating. Let me get to this weeks numbers:

Swim: 5500 yards
Bike: 4 hours
Run: 10 miles
Weight Sessions: 1
Time: 8 hours

Enjoy your week and your workouts!

Reston Sprint Tri Pictures

Here are the pictures from the professional photographer in last week's race. I'm still waiting on some pictures from my parents, although the last time they tried to take pictures of me during a race, I ended up with 3 pictures of some random guy in similar clothes. So these may be all I have to go by. Enjoy!

Exiting the Swim

Smokin the Bike

This lady tried to pass me

Then I turned into The Incredible Hulk

And cruised to the finish

Nachos + Beer = Upset Stomach While Running

Yesterday, TT and I celebrated Memorial Day a little early with a nice happy hour after work with some of her coworkers. Nothing too crazy, just a couple of us, some beers, and a BIG pile of nachos. In hindsight, we should have taken a picture, because man these things were piled high!

Fast forward to this morning at about 6 am, when I was awakened by my good friend Piper. Since I was awake, I figured hey might as well go for a run. Yea. Bad idea. This should come as no surprise to anyone, but let me give you the recap.

• Mile 1: 7:58 - Feeling good. Running in the morning is great and peaceful. Wait. Stomach starting to feel something brewing
• Mile 2: 7:40 - Ahhh. After the pit stop at McDonald's (hey it was the closest place), feeling much better
• Mile 3: 7:54 - Not so much better anymore. Feeling a bit dehydrated. Probably should have drank/eaten something this morning
• Mile 4: 7:58 - Ugh. Its all up hill from here. Wheezing begins as my lack of hydration sets in
• Mile 5: 8:02 - Almost there. Almost there. Stupid mile long hill. I hate you.
• Mile 6: 7:42 - The faster I run, the faster I can get to the bathroom. Home at last!
  

And that was my run this morning. If you do decide to go for a run after a night of nachos and beer, try to go to the bathroom as much as possible BEFORE the run. Oh yea, and make sure you drink lots of water throughout the night, otherwise you'll sound like a squealing pig as you try and run somewhere close to your goal pace.

Lesson learned.

20.5 MPH!

Woo! Check this out:

Bib Place Name Age Group Swim T1 Bike T2 Run
133 33 Lesser 25-30 08:37 2:17 35.08 1:04 24:31
100/m MPH Min/Mi
2.15 20.5 8.2


I never thought I would break 20 MPH on my bike. It just seemed impossible, at least with the bike I have. Some people believe that its not about the parts, but about the engine. While I agree to some extent, it is also about the parts. I ride an entry level road bike that I got when I first started getting into the sport. I wasn't hooked yet, so I didn't want to take the plunge into something more expensive. I figured I'd ride this steed till she broke. I am happy that I was able to break 20 MPH on her, but I know that there are limits to how far I can push this ride. Just by picking up TT's new ride compared to mine, it feels like my ride is a brick and her's is a feather. Her ride has better components, lighter wheels, etc which all contribute to the feather-like weight. She will surely be enjoying her time flying down the streets in her races this season. I know there are a lot of quick fixes I could do with my ride to make it lighter in the short term, like a new wheelset and a few parts here or there, but no reason to dump more money into something I know I am going to replace. I have decided to ride out into the sunset this year on my bike that has brought me great memories (and hopefully many more) and return next year with a mean lean racing machine of my choosing.

Despite my plan to get a new bike next year, I'm ecstatic that I hit 20.5 MPH this weekend on my current ride. What a great start to kickoff the season.

High Hopes

Ever since my race on Sunday, I can't help but be motivated by my clear progress and success in training more effectively. I like to think of it as a post-race hangover, but in a good way. The day after the race, I was left with some tightness in my body, like I had been beaten up. Sound familiar? Its a good feeling. A feeling of...success. Ahhhhh, soak it in while it lasts. A few days from now, it will be gone, and I'll be left as just another triathlete in training for another race. But today, I'm still in my post-race hangover.

While in this post-race hangover state, my thoughts seem to be a bit woozy as well. I have planned for myself the largest volume week so far. I'm looking at a lot of training hours (at least for me). Among the many things I plan to do this week, I am really looking forward to a big weekend to build my totals. Saturday, I am planning to go mountain biking at my favorite place for 2-3 hours. Sunday, I'm saving for my long run, probably in the neighborhood of 10 miles. Following my run, it'll be time for the BBQ I'm planning to have Sunday afternoon. Gotta love Memorial Day weekend and grilling!

This week, with the post-race hangover fresh in my mind, I've got the feeling that I'm invincible. Not sure if that's a good thing. I'll let you know on Monday how that works out ;)

My week in review - Week 15

What a week! One race down, many to go! Pics to come once I get them. But I've got some pics of TT from the race here. I set a new record for hours in the office plus hours training. Luckily it was a lighter week, with the race on Sunday, so I didn't have too much hard stuff planned. I worked about 70 hours in the office and put in a solid vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbkkkkkkkkkkkkkk 444444444444444444444ttttttttttttttttttt (sorry Piper just walked on the computer while I was typing. He doesn't like when I type because he isn't getting full attention)

As I was saying, I got in a solid 7 hours of training, including the race, in addition to 70 hours in the office. Felt fresh for the race. Came within 9 seconds of some hardware in the race too, which was a plus. I really feel very prepared for the upcoming races this season, so I can't wait to throw down on some more races and show what I've got. Here are the stats for the week:

Swim: 2000 yards (Goal: 3400)
Bike: 3 hours; 60 miles (Goal: 3)
Run: 11.5 miles (Goal: 6)
Weight sessions: 1 (Goal: 1)
Time: 7 hours (Goal: 6.5)

Time to get back to serious training. I've got another race in less than a month, so a few hard weeks to get ready for some longer distance races. Plan for the week is:

Swim: 5000 yards
Bike: 5 hours
Run: 15 miles
Weight sessions: 1
Time: 9 hours

That's my week ahead. Looking forward to the long Memorial Day weekend and some solid numbers! Enjoy your week and your workouts!

Race Report: Reston Sprint Triathlon

Today's race was the Reston Sprint Triathlon. While the Reston Triathlon has been a well known local event, the sprint was a newbie to the local tri circuit. This was their first year, but the experience of the organizers showed, and the race was well organized with plenty of volunteers. Before I get into the report, let me give you the stats:

Swim: 8:37 69/130 males (400 meters )
T1: 2:17
Bike: 35:08 22/130 males (12 miles)
T2: 1:04
Run: 24:31 26/130 males (5k)
Total: 1:11:35 33/130 males (33/250 overall; 4/11 20-29)

Pre-race
Woke up this morning at 5:15 and jumped right out of bed, ready for the day. Started off the day with a big bowl of oatmeal and TT and I were on our way out to Reston. One problem. As we started packing things into the car, we noticed it started to drizzle. I had just checked the radar and noticed that there was NO rain anywhere on it, so this must be a random sprinkle. As drive a bit further on the highway, we notice the rain is starting to pick up. So much that I had to put my windshield wipers on the 2nd setting. I was getting a bit worried, but had faith in weather.com (I know I shouldn't) that the day would turn out great. By the time we got to the race site, it had stopped raining and roads were starting to dry from the quick shower. It was bit cool, but not bad.

After we set up our transition areas and got body marked, we both walked over to the pool to check the water temperature. Took a swipe with my hand and it was warmer than the air, so I felt that would be great. By the time they started the race with the pros going first, the temps had warmed up about 5-10 degrees warmer, and it was great race weather. The day turned out to be a great day.

Swim - 400 meters 8:37 69/130 males (400 meters )
The swim set up was a snake swim in a 50 meter pool, so we went out and then pushed off the wall into the next lane over for each length. Once they called my number range over to the pool, we all lined up and dropped into the deep end of the pool 10 people at a time and lined onto the wall one by one. They started us off 10 seconds apart and it was very well organized I must say, despite my concerns that it wouldn't be. The water temperature however, felt much colder than it did earlier, probably because of the rise in the air temps. They gave me a countdown and I was off. The first 100 meters flew by and it was great that it was only 1 lap, instead of 2! I'm so used to swimming in a 25 yard pool, so the lack of monotony made time fly by faster. I passed a few people, but was passed by one person (in a full wetsuit though). I felt really strong on the swim and held perfect form the whole way to the finish. I hopped out of the pool, only to see TT cheering me on. She and I exchanged best wishes for each other and I was off to T1.

T1 - T1: 2:17
I had a good spot in transition, right in the middle, which was great, because the bike left at one end and the run left at the other, so being in the middle meant no long runs to either side. I got all my stuff on pretty easily except my race top, which as usual had a difficult time getting down my wet back. I future races when I wear race tops, I just need to wear the top in the swim, it will save me more time in transition than any drag it might cause in the pool. And if I am wearing my wetsuit, even better. I was all set to go running my bike to the transition exit when one of the race officials stopped me to tell me I couldn't take another step until I clicked my helmet buckle. I told him that I was planning to when I mount to save time for transition, but he made me stop. I was pissed, because I had to find an empty spot to lean my bike against while I get my helmet on. This caused me a good 5-10 seconds, which among several other should-a would-a could-a's, affected my final standings.

Bike - 12 miles 35:08 22/130 males
Since I've been racing, the bike has been my weakness. I feel completely comfortable on the bike, but its just my pace that has always suffered. When I look at my results from previous years, it was always my bike that I placed the worst in. This year my focus has been getting a lot more time in the saddle and it certainly paid off! I was hauling, at least according to my standards. On the first lap alone, I passed about 10 people. After the first lap, it was difficult to see how many people I was actually passing, since there were more people out on the bike, and this was a staggered start. All I know is that I must have passed a good 30 people on the bike course, some of which I passed twice. For the first time, I felt very strong on the bike. The end of each loop had a long climb, topped with a steeper grade as you get toward the top. Most people cracked like a walnut on the hill, because they stayed in too difficult a gear from the downhill that preceded it. I shifted early and spun my way up, picking people off left and right. That is where I did most of my damage.

T2 1:04
This was short and sweet, the way it should be. I was in, racked up, popped my shoes off, slipped on my running shoes, threw on my race belt and visor and I was on my way. Only one problem - I had started to get a stomach cramp toward the end of the bike.

Run - 5k 24:31 26/130 males
I'm not exactly why I got the stomach cramps (possibly from pushing hard on the bike?), but it really held me back in the first mile. I was really looking forward to hammering the whole course, but my stomach held me back big time. The start of the run was a big downhill into some rolling hills in tree covered paths. Very scenic, but back to the race. I just couldn't push and the gel I was planning to take at the beginning of the run was on hold, because I knew taking anything would make it worse. Basically, my stomach was the only thing missing the equation. My legs felt fine and wanted to go fast, but my stomach wouldn't let me. It wasn't until near mile 1 that the cramps went away. Once I felt good enough, I took the gel and picked up the pace. My split on mile 1 was probably in the neighborhood of 8:00 - 8:30, which is way less than my goal pace of 7:00/mile. After I started feel better, I picked it up and started passing people left and right. After the slow start to my run, my legs felt fresh and ready to hit top speed for the rest of the time. I was hitting close to 7:00/mile pace for the last 1.5-2 miles of the race maybe faster. Once I spotted someone, I'd reel them in and pass them. I sprinted the last .5 mile, which was mostly up hill, and brought it strong through the finish. The funny thing was someone tried to sprint with me. I had passed this girl with about 50 yards to go and was striding it in, but I start to hear the crowd getting louder. I turn my head and see this girl sprinting, so I had to put on my fast twitch switch and dust her for the finish. It was a fun way to end and the crowd loved it. Unfortunately, it was really difficult to tell how fast the person you were passing was, because of the staggered start. All I knew is that I felt great and finished strong.

Post race
After the race, I went to transition to pick up TT's camera to try and snap some shots of her. Fortunately, she started 30 minutes after my wave started, so i was able to see her come in on the bike. I ran with her into transition, trying to give her encouragement, and saw her off onto the run. She looked strong today and finished even stronger. It was a great day for the both of us.

After the race, we hung around for the awards. We missed them announce my age group, so I went over to look at the official results. 4th place in my age group and 33rd overall. I was really happy. Until I saw that I missed 3rd by ONLY 9 seconds! ARGH! Stupid helmet event in T1 may have cost me some hardware. Oh yea, and thank you stomach for cramping up when the rest of my body said "GO!". Obviously, you can imagine the things that have gone through my head that I should have done differently. But all I can do is be proud of my major improvement in the bike and a successful first race of the season.

PS - Be sure to congratulate TT, now that she is an official triathlete!

Its Go Time!

Well its finally here, my first tri of the season. I've done a few races so far, but this is first "real" one. I'm looking forward to getting it under my belt so I can see how all the hard work so far has paid off. TT and I went to pick up our packets and got to drive the bike course, and walk the run course. Overall, a nice rolling hill course with very few worry spots. The swim is in a beautiful 50 meter pool. After speaking with the race director this morning, he informed us that the pool temps should be around 70 tomorrow morning. Not bad for an outdoor pool operating before it officially opens. Besides, its only going to feel cold for the first 5 strokes and I'll forget about it.

So that's all I've got for now. My bags are packed and I'm ready to go!

Bike to Work Day

Today is Bike to Work Day. Although I didn't actually bike to work today (its pretty dangerous to bike to where I work, due to limited options for cyclists), I did ride out to near where I work on the trail, got my free t-shirt, picked up some free Cliff Bars, and headed back for a nice 25 mile ride this morning. This is the 2nd year in a row that I have participated by riding out and back. I know it defeats the purpose of the event, but it is a good opportunity to get a ride in and some free stuff.

I have to honest though. I had my doubts this morning about the feasibility of me going. I was in the office until 12 am last night, which means I would be compromising rest by going on the ride. Not to mention, this is the 2nd day in a row that I would be getting up early after a late night in the office and I've been stuck in the office lately more often than I've been away from it. I had to tell myself numerous times that my race this weekend is only a "C" race, so being a little tired is ok and not the end of the world.

This morning's ride was AWESOME. I need to go back and check my Polar for the stats, but I've got a good feeling that my avg pace was faster than any rides before. My previous best ride took 1 hour 20 minutes and this morning's ride took roughly 1 hour 30 minutes with the stop to pick up my shirt, eat a banana, have a bit of coffee, and pick up some freebies. All of that HAD to take more than 10 minutes. So I'll let you know when I check my monitor, but I felt great and that is equally important, especially leading into this weekend's race.

I'll take all the GOOD bike karma I can get at this point...

How Sweet It Is

You know the feeling of being in your "happy place"? The first thing I think of is in Happy Gilmore when Happy finds his happy place with beer, women, grandma, and random little people riding tricycles.

Whatever your happy place is, its good to be there whenever possible. After continuing to work into the late hours last night (till 11 pm), all I could think of was, find your happy place. While I didn't find it like Happy did, I knew that I could have some good reflections on my happy place.

While on a run this morning, I thought about some of the requirements for things that should be in my happy place. Here are some of the random thoughts that came through my mind as I pondered (mind you, this was during a workout) that would be in my happy place:

• Sunrise/sunset
• A body of water
• Bike porn to look at
  
• No wind to speak of, unless it is always a tailwind
  
• Special needs tables with my favorite endurance foods at every mile
• Endless paved trails without idiots
• Cheerleaders

Well these are just a few and they are not necessarily in any order. I'm sure if I can think up any more, I'll add them.

I think I found my happy place this morning. Of those 7 items listed, I had 5 of them on my run. Unfortunately, there were no cheerleaders to speak of, only Army personnel on their training runs. And there was also no special needs table, but beggars can't be choosers I guess. What I have learned from this is that I need to get off my butt more often in the morning to go on my runs. It is so relaxing and puts my mind at ease.

Now its back to the chaos of work, but at least I have a visual of my happy place in case I need to refer back to it!

Hardware Re-Post

Ok, let's try this again. Nobody liked my last picture. This time, I'm not saying it captures the essence of the hardware, but at least you can read it clearly. So for those complaining from the last picture, let's hope this one is better.

My weeks in review - Weeks 13- 14

Last week was a busy one...too busy to get a posting on Monday, so I passed on my week in review. Now that I have a chance, I'll recap both weeks. First, the numbers:

Week 13
Swim: 6500 yards (Goal: 6500)
Bike: 3 hours (Goal: 4)
Run: 8 miles (Goal: 6)
Weight Sessions: 1 (Goal: 2)
Time: 8 hours (Goal: 9)

Week 14
Swim: 4000 yards (Goal: 6500)
Bike: 2 hours (Goal: 4)
Run: 8 miles (Goal: 8)
Weight Sessions: 1 (Goal: 2)
Time: 6.5 hours (Goal: 9.5)

Last week was a great training week. I had a bunch of great swims, some good rides and a 5k race that I placed 1st in my age group. This past week, I ran into some obstacles. These came in the form of work. I had planned my biggest week so far, leading into a taper for this week, but unfortunately it didn't work out, as you can see by the numbers. I had a great 10k run at 7:46 mile/pace, but other than that, nothing much to report. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't get anywhere close to my plan.

This week is taper time, so I've got less volume planned. Its also looking like a busy week, so I hope I can get everything in to stay active and not completely shut down before the race on Sunday. Numbers for the week ((includes 400 yard swim, 12 mile bike, and 5k run for the race):

Swim: 3400 yards
Bike: 3 hours
Run: 6 miles
Weight sessions: 1
Time: 6.5 hours

That's all I've got. Have a great week and enjoy your workouts (and races)!

Bad Bike Karma Cometh

You could say I had it coming. It was inevitable. Good or bad. Bike karma catches up with us eventually. This time it was my turn for a taste of some bad. It all started with a little event that happened on Thursday.

This morning started off well. The plan was a 2000 yard straight swim, followed by a 40 mile bike ride. 2000 yard swim was excellent and in record time. Then I tried to pick up some good karma by stopping at mile 1 of TT's 10k race to see her off (she did great btw). Once I cheered her on, I headed out on the bike trail toward Mt Vernon to continue my workout.

Cruising along the Potomac, things were going fine. I recently got the Profile Design Aero Drink system, but the store was out of the Aero Bracket, so I had to make do with the cheapo rubber bands to hold my fluids. A bump here and bump there, no biggie. But then about 6 miles in, I hit one that popped the splash guard out, so I had to stop and get it. Then as I was going over a small bridge that is narrow 2-way traffic on the sidewalk of the bridge and encountered an issue. There were 2 guys running 2 wide ahead on the bridge, which they shouldn't have been doing in the first place. As I approached them, I yelled "On your left!". Dude all the way to the left, pulled ahead of his buddy to make room for me. Apparently, buddy didn't understand. As I'm literally passing right next to them, buddy pulls out 2 wide again, knocking me into the rock wall of the bridge. WTF! Did he not get the memo? No apology, nothing. Just a jackass. No more than a mile later, splash guard decided to jump out of its holder again. Fine. I'll just have to be careful for now to look out for big bumps and brace for it. THEN, the left arm rest of my aero bars popped off. I stopped to go get it and screwed it back on, but it looks like something snapped and I need to get a replacement part. So for now, its riding the drop bars. "Anything else feel like happening today?", I said to myself. Another mile later, POP....flat tire. My rear tire, no less. Ugh. Worst. Ride. Ever.

I peeled of the trail and started changing the tire. There were lots of nice people making sure I was ok, asking me if I needed a tube or a hand. This was actually my first time having to change a flat in the middle of a ride on a road bike. I've fixed plenty of flats on my mountain bike, which I think is much easier, and a handful of times on my road bike, just not on the ride. I once flatted 200 yards from home, so I just walked the bike home and took care of it later. After about 10 minutes, I fixed the flat, but wasn't feeling the long ride, especially with all the bad vibes coming my way before I even turned around. I decided to head on back and come home.

With a tri in exactly 1 week, let's hope the bad bike karma wrath is over and its time for some
good stuff to start happening.

One Week Early

Although its now less than 2 weeks (10 days to be exact) until my first tri of the season, I didn't plan to taper until the week of the race. Since this is a sprint distance and my body has been recovering well through the past few weeks of increased training volume, I wanted to get one more hard week in before the race.

Unfortunately, work has me tied down at the moment. Held back on both Monday and Tuesday, I was given little chance to get a workout in. Since I was in the office till 10:30 last night, I was able to get into work a little later today and hit the pool this morning for a nice swim. So at least I was able to get something in. However, I don't see much of a let up in demand at work over the next week, so its looking like my taper is starting too soon. Oh yea, I'll probably be working some of the weekend too, so I can't make up the time then either. That's life I guess.

The one positive way to look at it is that my body will be rested...

Hardware as promised

I said I'd post a picture of the hardware from my recent race. After all, couldn't I just be making this up?

Well here is the proof...if you can see the details on this crappy picture I took on my cell phone with the 5 seconds of spare time I had today. Its really hard because its a clear glass award with white writing, so its hard to see against any background. Can't say I didn't try. Enjoy!


I really hope to have some time later today to actually post some more, let alone get in a workout. Work is being busy right now....very busy...so stay tuned.

Hardware!

A short post, since I don't have much time today. Yesterday's race, although very windy and hilly, turned out to be a good one. Not only did my overall time improve by more than a minute from my time last year, but I placed in the top 10 (9th) overall and #1 in my age group (Male 20-29).

Distance: 5k
Time: 20:10
Place: 9/524, 1st in AG

I'll provide more details later with a picture of the new hardware.

Pre-Race 5k Run for Celiac Disease

Up nice and early getting ready for the 5k Run for Celiac Disease. The race is in Baltimore, so we need to be up a bit early to head over there for check in. While the race today is not a serious race schedule wise, it is an important race for TT and myself. TT is a celiac and this race is an excellent opportunity to raise money and awareness for celiac research and for us to sample lots of gluten free goodies!

And speaking of gluten free goodies, TT and I went to the Gluten Free Cooking Spree on Friday night. It was a cooking competition with chefs from some of the top restaurants in the DC area, working with doctors and members of the media to create the best gluten free dishes. We got to sample all the dishes and indulge in the many gluten free foods they had there, including lots of desserts. The dish to the right was the winning dish: Grilled snake fish with cornbread. It was good, but I thought there were some better dishes. I guess that's why I wasn't a judge!

I'll leave you with this message:

Product Review: Aquaseal Wetsuit Repair

Although I am yet to use my wetsuit this year, I have to say I am impressed with this product so far. Aquaseal is a wetsuit repair glue. The official description is "a unique urethane rubber compound providing superior adhesion, wear resistance, flexibility and waterproofing. Unaffected by heat or solvents AQUASEAL Repair Adhesive & Sealant cures to a flexible thermoset rubber product. An AQUASEAL repair can be stretched and folded yet still spring back to its original shape without any damage. The highly concentrated formula has minimal shrinkage, allowing thick repairs with only one permanent application." Blah, blah blah.

Apply it to repair any nicks or cuts you get from your races and it takes about 12-18 hours, depending on the air circulation where you wetsuit is being stored. You may also get combination products like Cotol-240 that will speed the drying process to 2 hours. The result is a smooth surface once again for your wetsuit and hopefully happy swimming.

My first race that requires a wetsuit isn't for another month and a half, so I'll have to keep you posted on how well it works in a race situation. However, use it now to get your wetsuits in shape for the upcoming season. You can pick it up online at most tri stores like TriSports and All3Sports.

Reward Yourself

With all the hard work you're doing, why not reward yourself? Just make sure to do it AFTER, your workout!