Run Tampa

I'll Tri Again Next Month

I was marked and ready, pleased at the pleasant air temp, when I heard the announcement. Due to high winds causing rough waters, race officials had cancelled the swim portion of the St. Anthony's Triathlon for the first time ever. The problem was that the kayaks race officials use to monitor the swim were unable to maneuver; also, the currents were so strong that the buoys were not staying in place. Sounded pretty bad out there. Only the professional athletes would be allowed to do the swim portion.
I would say most participants were relieved because the swim seems to be the part of triathlons more people dread. I, on the other hand, was extremely disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I agree that the conditions were unsafe, and I'm sure race officials did the prudent thing; in fact, it sounded like they had no choice. Still, it meant I wouldn't/couldn't do a tri today, and to make it worse, those high winds would also make the bike leg, by far my weakest leg, a challenge.
I wasn't in good spirits, anyway, after sleeping less than three hours, so I decided to pack it in. In 30 years of racing, that's the first time I've ever gone to a race and then decided not to do it, but that's my prerogative. It was the right decision for me Sunday.
I'll continue my training to prepare for the Madeira Beach Triathlon in a few weeks. No worries.

Decided to Try a Tri Again: St. Anthony's Here I Come

This is it. St. Anthony’s is just around the corner – or, for me – just across the bay. Am I ready? I’m certainly not as ready as I could be, but I’ll be okay. I have competed in the Olympic distance before, albeit a few years back, try 23. Yes, I competed in a dozen or so triathlons back in the mid 80’s. My brother, Milt Bedingfield, one of Tampa’s earliest triathletes, probably the first one, was doing the Ironman Hawaii every year back then, nine times in all, and he inspired me. Milt’s busy raising five kids now, but mine are all grown up, so I’ve decided to try a tri again.

I think I did my last Olympic distance – although they didn’t call it that back then – in 1986. Yes, I am that old. So what? I still love to run, and I still love to swim. And, unfortunately, I still hate to bike.

I’ve been doing plenty of running over the last few months, including three halfs, so I’m comfortable with that.

Swimming? Well, that’s actually my strongest event. I haven’t been swimming much, but I have been in the water several times recently, each time putting in a mile or more. And distance events were my forte in high school. Plus, I’ve intensified my weight training lately; so I’m ready enough for the swim.

So, it comes down to the bike. Ouch! I just don’t like to bike. I think it’s just that awkward – for me – position. I just don’t have the back for it. Still, I have put in a few sessions over the last few weeks. And most of the time I did bricks, a bike ride followed immediately by a run. My friend Frank Helfrich highly recommends them, and I have to admit that running after biking has gotten much easier as a result.  

I guess I’m ready enough. I bought a cute new tri suit – skin suit – I think they call it, and I’ve rented a wetsuit. That’s not so cool, but I didn’t want to buy one just for this one race. Now I still need to purchase some tri glide. Not sure what exactly that is, but I understand I’ll need it to gracefully exit my wetsuit.

Yes, I’m ready. If I enjoy the race, then I’ll sign up for the Madeira Beach Tri in a few weeks. That one is a shorty, a true sprint.

I have to say that even though my triathlon training has not been intense, I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in my running as a result of the increased cross training, and I love that. I hope to see some of you out there. I’ll be wearing my RunTampa.com shirt after the race, and I’ll be looking tired but happy for sure :)

You Have Got to Get Out the Door Part 2

 - by Bill Davison, The Running Center, runcenter@aol.com

If you are going to engage in aerobic exercise four days a week and do some type of weight resistance training two days a week, you are going to need a good pair of shoes that fit properly and match your foot type. Remember to get stability shoes if you are rolling in (pronating) and neutral shoes if you are rolling out (supinating) or have a high arch. If you have a very flat foot or are a larger person, you might look for motion control shoes that will give you extra support and will not break down.

You will also need some technical apparel that will make you feel comfortable while you are training. Look for moisture management items such as cool max, dry lete or dry release to mention a few. Most people prefer loose fitting apparel so it will allow the body to move about more freely.

One item that can be invaluable as a training tool is a heart rate monitor. You can get one that comes with a GPS system or just purchase the heart rate monitor by itself. Two brands that are very popular are GPS systems by Garmin and heart rate monitors by Polar. Make sure your heart rate monitor gives you a higher and lower zone reading. Both should give you very good info on the beat of your heart and how it is relating to your running. Polar heart rate monitors even give you the distance between each heart beat. Both Garmin and Polar offer nice information packages so you can down load the data to their web site to help you maintain a very sophisticated log.

The “Grateful Dead” in “Fire on the Mountain” tell the distance runner to get out the door; we should all heed their advice.

You Have Got to Get Out the Door

 - by Bill Davison, The Running Center, runcenter@aol.com

A good number of people started this year by running a Gasparilla event or possibly a Disney event. Many people focus the entire year on one of these events and then don’t do any other running events the rest of the year. The human body needs the proper diet and ongoing exercise or it thinks it is going into hibernation and starts gaining weight. So you have to show up either at more of the local races or start getting out the door to do your daily exercising. We advocate attending as many of our local races as you feel you can handle. The local 5k races allow you to set a goal for a completion time and you can compete against yourself.

The general wisdom of exercising on a regular basis recommends four days a week of aerobic exercise. You need to maintain your heart rate in the 60% to 80% zone of your maximum (one standard used is 220 minus your age is your maximum heart rate) for 30 minutes and you need to do some type of weight resistance training two days a week. This schedule should be maintained for the rest of your life. Next time, we’ll talk about running clothes and shoes.