Now I’m not just a triathlete but also a Pacific Northwest Triathlete as todays super sprint was wet through all three disciplines. I woke up at 6 hearing the rain against the windows but it wasn’t really pouring down so wasn’t much of an issue.

Going into this short sprint where the swim was the normal sprint distance of 400m but only 9.2 miles bike and 1.6 miles run I had one goal and that was to feel comfortable in the swim. The water was a little warmer, just above 60, so no problem to loose the neoprene cap which made me feel less strangled. The swim felt really good with a nice rhythm from the start and I never felt the panic that hit me last time. This time I did get in the water before the race and swam a few minutes which made it possible to adjust the wetsuit and other stuff and I really felt comfortable. Official timing isn’t posted yet but my watch said about 6.30 which is about 2 minutes faster than in Lake Sammamish Triathlon.

Transitions was a little slower and tougher this time with the rain but I felt pretty good getting on the bike , my watch is messed up right now so didn’t get any speed and cadence but I was only passed by a couple of riders before I had to stop to fix my chain and a dozen or so swooshed by me. Chain pops off when I switch gears in front and I ‘ve tried to adjust the front derailleur my self but I better take it to Mr. Crampys and have them help me. I had a couple of guys around me the whole bike ride and I think we pushed each other as a group to go faster which was fun. My legs felt really heavy at times and I don’t think it was such a good idea to run 8 miles on Thursday .. I’m not in that good of a shape yet but I might just blame that on age now that I am 39 my body recovers slower.

I knew the run was really short so wanted to keep the temp up quite a bit but this is where I told my self … You are stupid !! You should not run 8 miles two days before a race!! You are not ready for that!! .. I settled into a slower pace and my friends from the bike cheered me on when I started to loose tempo. Thanks guys! I stopped my clock at 49 min when I crossed the finish line where I also realized that I should register with Brian instead of Brjann cause the announcer just went .. Nr 743…………brjn

All in all a great day and a really nice event.

Official result: 13th overall out of about 230 and 3rd in my age group.. this doesn’t include the “elite” who did Tri and Tri again, ie did the course twice. hm.. the two guys I had in front of me in the age group were the two I joined after they passed me when my chain “dropped off”…

Link to all results

Place Name Bib No Age Gender: 13 Brjann Brekkan 743 39 M

Swim 0.25 mile: Rnk Time Pace 13 6:38.9 26:32

T1: Rnk Time 23 1:31.1

Bike 9.2 miles : Rnk Time Pace 23 28:21.4 19.5

T2: Rnk Time 26 0:44.0

Run 1.6 miles : Rnk, Time Pace 34 12:15.1 7:39

Final Time 49:30.5

Brjann

After months of waiting and training I finally did my first multi sport event today. I say sort of athlete as I was little over an hour behind the real athletes in the race but I accomplished what I had hoped: to finish! I have been a bit off training in the last few weeks after my sprained ankle so it was a push to sign up for the long race but I might as well try.

Didn’t start to good yesterday when I took the bike down from its roof hook and it discovered it had a flat..  I changed a flat last weekend and I suspected there is something in the tire so off to buy a tire and some tubes.

Beautiful, amazing drive to Enumclaw this morning at 530 AM as the close I got the bigger the majestic snow covered Mt Rainier became even if I was a bit worried as the external temperature was just above freezing…

Very sunny but cold start at 8am and I dressed a bit warm as half way into the first 5.2 mile run I was really warm. Finished the first run in about 45 min and got on the bike for 2 times 14.4 miles and I was passed over and over again by these “real” athletes with their $10K triathlon and time-trial bikes. I felt like a tourist on a Sunday afternoon bike ride to the Redhook Brewery but as we got closer to the half way point where the 2 mile hill climb was I actually started to catch up to the field and then my calves went on vacation… cramps cramps cramps… even on the ending mile long 30 miles per hour down hill I had cramps.

Down the hill and then back on it again since the long race was back on that same bike ride again… it really hurt going up that hill again. I have to do something about my nutrition.

1 hour and 45 minutes after getting on the bike I parked it in transition to get back on the road for the last 3.9 mile run and pain continues as my quads keep cramping up at 1 mile  but I realize that it hurts less to run than to walk.

When I got to the finish line at about 3 hours and 18 minutes the prize ceremony for the real athletes just finished but I was welcomed at the finish line with water and a big high five by Charlotte’s personal trainer and the multi sport guru who finished 10th in the race.

Summary of the day: I accomplished my goal to finish the race and now I am off to train harder to get ready for the first sprint and then an olympic triathlon in June.

Update Monday 3 May: Race Result… I was 108 out of 128 so not last and just have to cut about 1 minute per mile on the runs and increase my average speed on the bike with 2-3 miles per hour to be among the top 50%. 

All in all I am happy I just managed to finish the race and I now know what it takes so I just need to work harder. 

I am almost ready for a threesome

Brjann

Last weekend started out great with hill climb run on Saturday and plan was to do 10 miles on Sunday but the trails in Bridle Trails were muddy and in an attempt to jump over some mud and horse s..t I rolled my ankle. Feared for the worst after falling and rolling over on the trail a few times but got up and limped back to the car. It was actually not that bad and after 2-3 days of completely staying off it and taking it really easy for a week I now can walk without any pain so decided to join the team for the first outdoor bike ride of the season

The ride yesterday in the windy and rainy just above freezing Redmond and Woodinville went really well. Easy 22 miles on Sammamish River trail with a nice ride up Hollywood Hill in Woodinville. Coach Cody let me know that it was a good hill to practice your seated climb and I almost made it without getting out of the saddle but going back down was scary at +30mph in the rain.

Riding along the Sammamish river with world-famous St. Michelle Winery and being tempted to stop for refreshments at Redhook Ale brewery is quite nice and I can’t wait for the weather to clear up so I can do the ride again in the sun and perhaps get my girls on their bikes for a ride to Redhook for lunch at least.

Because of the sprained ankle I have to cancel my half marathon in 2 weeks but there are more races to come so doesn’t bother me that much. Next week is all bike and swim before I head down to Las Vegas for a work conference where I hope to get back to running a little bit.

Passing on your left!

Brjann

Spring is in the air … well not really since we have had some snow and really cold weather over here for a week now but in Swedish “springa” is to run. My running has been going quite well in the last few weeks so I signed up for Lake Sammamish half marathon on 26 March. Checked in with my coach and she was a bit surprised but helped me set up a program to add another mile per week to my weekend long run so I will have done at least 11 miles before the race.

She asked me to make sure I back off a bit the last few days before the race which won’t be a problem as I will be in Las Vegas the week before delivering 4 presentations at Microsoft Management Summit. I wonder how long the strip is as I might just run it up and down a few times during the week.

I did get my new bike last weekend but with the cold weather and slippery roads I haven’t been able to take it out for a real ride yet. It just sits there waiting for me to put my tight biking shorts, a colorful shirt and my helmet on. I have promised my daughters that I would never ever go outdoors without wearing normal shorts on top of the biking shorts …I have 2-3 kg left until the 85 kg I want to be when the races start so I wonder what they will say when they see me in my triathlon race one-piece suite.

/Brjann

This last week has been busy for a beginner triathlete ..  I decided what events I will be doing and established a weekly training schedule for the first part of the season together with one of the coaches. The bigger news is that I ordered a bike and I will post pictures more info when I get it early next week.. the link points to a generic page but my bike has some other components and tires.

I plan on doing these triathlon events and maybe a couple of 10k+ running races

May 1^st – Mt.Rainier Duathlon

May 30^th – Mont Lake Park Sprint TRI

June 11^th – Moses Lake Sprint TRI

Not decided what events I will do in June/July

Aug 27^th – Lake Sammamish Sprint TRI

Sept 10^th – Lake Stephens OLYMPIC TRI

Sept 25 – Black Diamond TRI (Sprint or Olympic)

/Brjann

Oops, it has been 2 weeks since my last post.. last week was a bit shorter as we went to Whistler three days but I managed to 4 training sessions including a nice swim session based on an old 2500m program from Kroons swimming team in Uppsala with one of my favorite drills: 8*25m 3-5-7 stroke breathing. This drill is in the middle of the program and you do 25m where you breathe every 3 stroke then 25m  breathing on every 5th … Really nice way to get long powerful strokes and forces you to keep your form in the water. There is one more drill that I can recommend as well and that is to do 8*25 on time and you count your strokes with the goal that every 25m is faster and less arm strokes. 16 strokes is the best I can do right now. I also did strength training, a interval run and a little bit of biking before heading up to Whistler. 

Whistler was a bit wet with rain even high up on the mountain but Johanna, Sofia and I had two days of good skiiing. Charlotte’s fractured foot didn’t like the skiing – she is a really hero for trying but it didn’t work – and Caroline got sick after the first day so C and C didn’t have a great vacation.

This past week I have done 2 strength classes, a 10K run at decent tempo and then today we had triathlon team spinning class – most fun 1200 calories in 1.5 hours I have ever burned

I want to reach out and thanks all of my friends who have given me hints and ideas on what type of heart rate monitor to buy – today I decided to go for the Garmin FR60 with running pod, hrm strap and the bike kit as this watch is something I will use every day in my training without feeling like I am carrying a computer. Really looking forward to starting tracking my training in more detail and learning more about my body and what limits I should be stretching.

Tracking your training? I use Funbeat. Är du medlem på Funbeat? Jag loggar all träning så lägg till mig på kompis listan.
Swedish: http://www.funbeat.se/person/overview.aspx?PersonID=185213 
English: http://www.funbeat.net/person/overview.aspx?PersonID=185213

Best news of the week: I am not prioritizing loosing weight (Nov 2008: 115kg – Jan 2011 89.5kg) but all this training showed up when I did my yearly check up at the doctor this week and my numbers are much better now. Still a bit high blood sugar but everything else is really really good and doctor was confident the blood sugar will drop even more. 

Legs are sore but will go for 5k run tomorrow in my new running tights as I have to get my Vitamin D levels up and there are rumors about chances of sunshine in Redmond

Brjann