Like an Old Rusty Lever...

Don't worry, I am not going to do a week by week of my training, but I had to blog about my first week back into the triathlon world. It was not epic! The running was hard, the swimming felt like it was fairly new and the biking reminded me that I have not sat on a bike seat in awhile.

I guess the best way to describe this week would be like this: imagine you have an old lever that is supposed to shift back and forth with ease. Now imagine that lever all weathered and rusted. It takes a lot of effort to get hat lever to move like it did when it was a newer younger lever. So you really have to work to get that lever to move. And you do not want to give up on that lever because you know about the goodness that will flow after you release that lever. So you slowly inch that lever forward, and then backwards, until it loosens ever so slightly.  Sometimes it takes multiple sessions to get that lever loose!

Well my body is that lever if you did not catch my attempt at symbolism. Day 1 was tough and felt like I had not run since October, probably because I had not run since October. My first bike was only 7 miles, but this was 2013 post Ironman JFORD thinking "it's only 7 miles", not JFORD who hasn't been on his bike since June. My first swim was probably the easiest of the 3 disciplines, but it was nowhere close to what I remember swimming, speed wise. So it was a wake up call. I always tend to think like "2013 post Ironman JFORD" and now realize I have work to do.

One new thing to share is that I bought my 1st pair of Hoka One One and they arrived the other day. I admit they look weird, but they seem so comfortable and I can't wait to get them out on a run. I am hoping the Hoka's will help like WD-40 does on old rusty levers.

69-10,000-250-42

Yes, I will explain the title...

I just recently finished the Sharpshooter Sprint Triathlon on Friday night. It was a 437 yd swim, 11 mile bike and 1 2 mile trail run. This is one of my favorite races I do each year. I was kind of bummed with my time since I was 4 minutes slower than last year, but I know what I need to fix in order to get faster. I need to fix the same thing I have been griping about for months. My run. I had a great swim (6th fastest in my AG), a great bike (10th fastest in my AG), but another sub par run. I finished 14th in my AG, which I am happy with, but I know I could have been a few places higher. Here are a few race photos my wife took:

As I have in the past, I was issued race number 69...again. This is the 4th time I have been number 69 in an event. It is awkward to have because everyone cheers for good ol 69!

Daily Training hit a milestone this week. 10,000 hits!! Who would have thought? This blog started out as one thing and turned into something else, and I am glad that a few people actually take the time to read what I scribble. I would like to thank my mom and dad and myself for driving up the visitor count!

Branson HIM is soon coming. I have really started focusing more and more to beat this course. In July I had 3 races and still managed to bike 250 miles and run 42, which are monthly highs for me. I feel like I am on the right path from Branson and then on to the marathon in Dec, providing I stay healthy.

Congrats to three of my training buddies for their wins this weekend. Dave B, Greg H and Chris B all either won or placed in the their AG on the podium. Someday, I will get there!

Last thing, I have a FaceBook page called Daily Trainings and I would love to see people add some of their race shots to the page, so please feel free to add a picture or send it to me and I will add it for you.

Daily Trainings Bumper Stickers!

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from buildasign.com. saying that they could create a Daily Trainings sign or bumper sticker for me. Now, I thought this would be pretty cool, so I decided to keep listening and talking. They pretty much set me up to design my bumper stickers, even though I am not the most artist fellow out there. I was able to design two different stickers, and they shipped them to me the other day. One of the stickers is going to be my new heading on my blog, but I have not decided which one yet. So I am going to unveil my masterpieces !

Design # 1

Design #2

Pretty cool stuff huh? I got 100 of the stickers, so I think I am going to the local mall and just start slapping stickers on all the cars, cause you know what they say, "There is no bad publicity!" Or something like that...

Check the link on the right hand side of this blog and it will take you to the buildasign site, where you can also design your own banners or stickers. The Daily Trainings are a limited edition stickers, so let me know if ya want one and I will send it out to you...