B-Fit B-Day Challenge

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow could keep me from completing the B-Fit B-Day Challenge. Whatever Mother Nature or Father Time seemed to throw at me today, I threw it right back at them. I turned 28 on February 12, so that means a 2 mile swim, 28 mile bike, and 8 mile run for the plan for the day to go for GOLD.

Seeing as it was my birthday, I took the day off to make sure I had the time to get everything done. First on tap was the bike. Since it was wet, cold, and ugly outside, I opted for a trainer ride. I gave myself 1:45 to get through the 28 miles, which should be more than enough. I set up shop, watched Jaws 2 (hey, not much is on at 8:00 am on a Tuesday morning).

Its been a while since I had seen any Jaws other than the original. I'll say that the 2nd one isn't bad. There is still plenty of suspense and since the characters are largely the same as the original (minus the kids), you get the same cast. Of course it all goes down hill with Jaw 3D and then the last one, which takes place somewhere in Jamaica or something. Nonetheless, riding the trainer is a good time to catch up on movies. Oh yea, the movie was also periodically interrupted by an occasional happy birthday cell phone call. Also, notice the effective use of the bento box...aka official remote control holder.

Once the bike portion was done, it was off to the pool for swim #1. You see, I had planned to do the entire swim all at once, but then I wouldn't be honoring the birthday tradition of being taken out for lunch. So instead, I chose to swim 1.2 miles, take a break to have lunch with Rebecca, and then continue my quest on the day. My swim took place at Washington and Lee HS during the noon swim time. Not too many people, which was nice, because I had the lane all to myself. To me, the swim was going to be the most difficult part of the day. I'm just not an experienced swimmer, so I wasn't sure how my shoulders would hold up over 2 miles. 1.2 miles went by really quickly for me, in a time of 41:32 and I was off to lunch.

Next on the agenda was the 8 mile run. I was most confident about the run, since I am in the middle of marathon training, and 8 miles is my typical Wednesday run. Only interesting thing about the run today was the weather. Now if you paid attention in the beginning of my post, the weather was not good for running. Freezing rain and sleet to be exact.

You know the old saying "bridges and overpasses freeze before roads". Well, I'll add to that, hills as well. Here I am running along, going over numerous bridges, overpasses and hills and I'm practically skating on ice at times. Check out what the ground looked like:

I started out with a conservative pace, not knowing how my legs would feel, since I had already biked 28 or so miles and swam 1.2 miles before, and with the hazardous conditions. At the turn around point, I picked the pace up a bit, while remaining cautious on all the hills, since I know I was only one step away from disaster if I slipped. I ended up finishing the run in a good time, especially considering the weather: 65:48.

After the run, I made a brief stop at the polling station to go vote, since we had primaries. Fortunately, it wasn't crowded, so I was in and out in a matter of 10 minutes. I did almost slip on the sidewalk through, walking back to my apartment.

Last up, the 2nd part of my swim. I knew this was going to feel great, since I was freezing from the run. Once I stepped back into the pool, it felt like a sauna. I swam through the remainder of my distance at a much better clip than I had swam the first part. Not sure why, but it just felt good. Oh yea, and I actually incorporated flip turns into the swim, something I rarely, if ever, do in my workouts since I am still learning to do them correctly. But, as was the case with the rest of swim, my flips were very fluid. I swam the last 100 hard and was out of the pool in a time of 26:17.

Overall, I had a fun day getting through everything. A well deserved reward for my birthday. Here are my final totals:
- Swim: 2 miles - 1:07:49
- Bike: 28 miles - 1:45
- Run: 8 miles - 1:05:48
- Total: 3:58:37