I ran for the first time in a couple weeks. It get mostly good but was tight/sore at night. I’ll give it a day or two of rest/biking and see if I can get a run in on Friday.
sheepfilms
Sweet Seals For You, Always

No title available
Not today Justin

Kaledo Art
Mike Driver
we're not kids anymore.

Discoholic 🪩
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
occasionally subtle

⁂
NASA
cherry valley forever
Today's Document

❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
No title available
Xuebing Du

JVL
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
Claire Keane

seen from Malaysia
seen from Pakistan

seen from Netherlands
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from South Korea
seen from Australia

seen from United States
seen from Türkiye

seen from Colombia

seen from Albania

seen from Germany
seen from United States

seen from Colombia
seen from United States
@triathlonzack
I ran for the first time in a couple weeks. It get mostly good but was tight/sore at night. I’ll give it a day or two of rest/biking and see if I can get a run in on Friday.
Setback with 6 weeks to go
On Friday I decided to postpone getting a loose screw removed from my foot so I wouldn’t have a setback when I need to be adding miles. On Saturday I had a different setback. I developed what appears to be Achilles tendinitis in my left foot (and a little in my right). So I need to ice and stretch and work on my form. It was so bad I had to walk/quit a 5k. Not a great sign with this little time left to train, but I’m going to rest and do what I can.
Doing morning and afternoon runs to get mileage in. Time to add some actual long runs though.
6.5 weeks to go. I’m going to have to be doing two a days from now until the race just to get the mileage in.
Finishing the 2014 Austin 70.3 Ironman
Jack & Adams Splash & Dash #1
I almost didn't go. I was struggling to find the energy ... and my goggles. The frustration of not knowing where they were was compounded by feeling bad about myself for not training enough to know where my gear was. But, just in time, I found my eyewear in a bag on the porch, grabbed a towel and headed back into rush hour traffic, getting to the "Splash & Dash" just before the cut-off for check-in.
I didn't recognize anyone except Jack and a couple J&A employees who were helping out with the race, so I felt a little alone. I slowly, unconfidently set-up a transition spot near the rocks by the entry to the lake and made my way to the water with my goggles and swim cap on. In the pre-race meeting, they told us that there are only two entry points to the water, so we better be sure we're able to swim across the lake. I hesitated for a second and then got enough confidence to go for it. It was slightly longer than I'd swum in open water before, but I knew I could just pace myself.
When they announced "3, 2, 1...go!" a smile crept across my face. I forgot how fun the start of a race can be. That rush as you jockey for position and try not to get kicked in the face. The extra motivation you get as a crowd watches you take off. It all felt great. I started with a front crawl and kept up with it through the first couple buoys. I moved to a breast stroke and was amazed how well I was able to keep up with the front crawl guys. Sure, I got passed by a number of ladies who started three minutes after us gents, but I still had a decent speed going and stayed ahead of a particularly buff looking dude, so I felt good about that.
I got out of the water and took my time drying off and getting ready for the run. It was especially rocky, so I didn't want to hurt myself, but I did run up the hill and felt pretty good starting the run. I was a bit winded from the swim, but I build speed as I ran. The guy I was proud to have beat in the swim lapped me and I was passed by a LOT of the Splash & Dashers, but it was refreshing to be out there. I finished strong and enjoyed the generous hot dog and beer spread provided. It was a great value for $15 and something I want to do every month just to keep myself sharp. I have so much training left if I want to finish the Half Ironman in October, but hopefully this will help get me back in the groove.
20 Week Half Ironman Triathlon plan. Part 1/5
Official #rookietri pics. Not bad.
2014 Rookie Tri - Feeling Like a Rookie
Body Composition Test #1
My office offers free Body Composition testing, so I went today to see where I was at before Tri season kicks off in a couple weeks. I'm hoping this is the before measurement that will be fun to look back at in August and September as I make my final preparations for my first Olympic length triathlons.
I'm not going to obsess over weight, BMI or Body fat, but it is something I want to keep an eye on as I work toward optimum performance. I'd like to go from 17.4% body fat to around 13% and get the BMI closer to 21-22 and get my waist line to around 32-33. I've got about 4 months of training to get there and now that it's swim season, I'm confident I can do it.
Didn't remember mean mugging this much, but fun pics from the Cap 10k.
Triathlon Zack's 1st Cap 10k
I've never been a runner. I dreaded it in gym class. It's my least favorite part of the triathlon. 4 miles was the most I'd ever run at one time before Friday's 5 mile, 49:15 practice run. I knew that if I wanted to be confident for September's Olympic length triathlon that ends with a 10k, I had to really up my running. Without making excuses, let's just say that did not happen this Winter or early Spring. So with sore legs from Friday's run and a scary weather forecast, I hoped for the best. The goal was finishing under an hour, but, as always, the real goal is just finishing. And making friends along the way.
Pre-Race
6:15 a.m. Wake-up Rain is pouring down so hard Caitlin is convinced it's hail. She decides this weather isn't going to mesh with the two week sickness she's suffered through and decides to do her own 10k indoors. I decide as long as the race is on, I'm going.
6:45 a.m. Shower and Gear-Up All indications are that the race is on, so I hop in the shower and gear up. Bike shorts under athletic shorts. Triathlon shirt under long sleeve running shirt. Garmin Watch with heartbeat strap. Slip on running shoes.
7 a.m. Breakfast I eat a standing breakfast. Half a banana. A mini Clif Bar. A 5-hour Energy and a strawberry margarita flavored C4 powder mix.
7:15-7:30 Bike Quick ride downtown. I park near the start of the race. I'd regret this decision later. It's not raining, but it's cold enough that my fingers get numb while tweeting.
7:40 a.m. Meet-up I find my boss, and running inspiration, Mandy and we pose for a quick pic (above) and wish each other luck. She's the one who told me it helps to dedicate each mile to someone special so that you feel inspired to keep going and don't let the person you dedicated the mile to down.
7:55 a.m-8:03 a.m. It's quite congested at the starting line, and since I went back to visit Mandy at her 13 minute mile pace group, I'm having a lot of difficulty getting to the 9 minute group I'm hopeful to run in. I end up near the back of the 10 minute mile pace group. I see a couple next to me fiddling with their iPod and ask what their first song is. They both say it's on shuffle but the woman's first song is Peter Gabriel. I'm in the wrong pace group.
Mile 1: Beyonce Dance Party for Caitlin
8:03 a.m. I didn't run to start the Cap10k. I danced. I'm going to attempt to express how ridiculous I acted, but I promise you no matter how hard I try, I'll be underselling it. Imagine 7th grade me at a Bar Mitzvah party over-selling my dance moves in between over-eating mozzarella sticks. Imagine drunk me at a wedding or on NYE when it creeps closer to midnight and my jam comes on. OK. That's the level of dance energy I had wash over me as the race started.
Packed in with the 10 and 11 minute runners, I danced my way through them. Taking exaggerated dancy slide steps, moving side to side more than forward and making myself skinny to move through tiny holes in the throng, I was something else. Once I had a little room, I was straight up dance/running. I wish someone could have seen this silliness. I felt bad cutting people off a bit, but I tried to escape the pack as respectfully as I could. While dancing. Caitlin would have been proud. #DamnIThinkIloveThatBoy #DoAnythingForThatBoy #LondonSpeedItUp #HoustonRockIt
8:07 a.m. I realize I'm out of breath and it's only 0.4 miles in. I need to pace a little better. Then the Kanye/Tame Impala mash-up comes on and I start mean mugging, pounding the pavement and making faces and finish the mile hard at 8:27.
Mile 2 Just Keep Running for Scooby
8:08-8:17 a.m. No one loves to run free more than Scooby. When he gets free, he doesn't stop after one mile. He just goes. So I powered through mile two thanks to "Barbra Streisand," "Drunk in Love," "Flaws" and thoughts of my boy Scoobs running free. I tried to keep the pace just over 9 minutes a mile. A couple decent hills, but nothing I can't power through. Scooby would have.
Mile 3 for Jack White
8:18-8:28 a.m. "Pretty Hurts" helps me up the notorious climb at Enfield as I enter the 3rd mile, but this one is dedicated to Jack. I listen to "Steady as She Goes" and "Seven Nation Army" back to back and think about how much JW exerts himself in a concert. If he can do that for an hour and a half, I can run for an hour. My pace dips a bit with the hills, but I'm at 28 minutes 3 miles in. In pain? "Don't want to hear about it. Everyone's got a story to tell from the Queen of England to the hounds of hell." Keep running.
Mile 4 Inspiration for Mandy
8:29-8:39 a.m. I think about the endless runs Mandy goes on for inspiration for mile four when it starts to get hard. She does it day after day, week after week, month after month. She does it with a smile and with inspiring quotes like the one above. I'm settling into a 9:30 pace and my legs feel tight, but otherwise fine. Jack is still playing as I enter mile 4 and he's followed up by Beyonce "Jealous" and Young the Giant's "My Body." "My body tells me no, but I won't quit, cause I want more."
Mile 5 "The Hard" for my Dad
8:40-8:49 a.m. My dad has always instilled a strong work ethic in me. "Practice makes perfect." "The harder I work, the luckier I get." "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great." I think of my dad saying all of these quotes and how great it feels to make him proud and push myself through the hard. I keep at it through Miley's "We Can't Stop" and Beyonce's "Grown Woman" I'd made good time on the front half and I keep checking my app, knowing that as long as I stay under a 10 minute mile pace, I'd get in under an hour.
Cop High Fives
By mile 5 and 6, I'm running distances I'd never run before and needed to dig deep. I go for a trick I utilized during my triathlons. I give high fives. I give them to every spectator with a free hand that isn't holding a sign, child or dog, but I really go for the cops. They smile the widest. I seek them out from about 10 steps away, make eye-contact and extend my hand and let them know I'm coming for a high five. They're usually caught off guard at first, and then very excited when they realize what's happening. It feels great and puts a little pep in my step.
Mile 6 "Mirrors" for my Mom
8:50-8:58 a.m. We lost my mom 12 years ago this month and we miss her extra hard every April when remembering the tragic final couple weeks of her life. It took a long time for me to move past being sad whenever I'd think of her to remembering her as the beautiful never ending source of light and love she deserves to be remembered as.
I ran the final mile to JT's "Mirrors." She would have really loved this one. She loved a great voice and a big production. I can picture her singing along, harmonizing to it with her incredible voice. As I run, I imagined her looking back at me and smiling as I pushed through the pain in my legs. I try not to be overcome with emotion, holding it off for a few more minutes until I finish. The 8 minute and 21 second song took me almost the entire way through my final mile.
Final 0.2 (.35) for my sister
8:59-9:03 a.m. I needed my sis in my corner for the home stretch. I imagine her saying "Crushed it!" and "Yah Brosef!" over and over like she did when I gave a toast at her wedding and it makes me smile. I don't have it in me to do a full-on sprint through the finish line, but I run hard and stride right through, never slowing down.
9:04-9:40 As I later told someone reporting on the race, I felt 60% proud, 25% sore, 10% wet, and 5% hungry after finishing. I also felt emotional. After running the last full mile for my mom, I needed to let some of it out, and found a quieter spot past the finish line and sobbed into my shirt for a few seconds. I collect myself, update Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and start the almost 2 mile walk to my bike which is nowhere near the finish line after stretching as much as I can get my dead legs to do.
9:40-10 I bike home in the pouring rain, sing/yelling along to "My Body" and more Beyonce and it feels perfect
10:00-10:15 a.m. I notices Caitlin is still doing her indoor 10k on the treadmill, so I look up #cap10k and tweet at every single person talking about the race, giving them encouragement and praise. Because that's what it's all about for me. Sharing the love. Feeling good. High fiving cops and dancing to Beyonce.
10:15 a.m I walk down to the apartment gym with Scooby and a hand made "GO CAITLIN GO :D" sign to let her know I love and support her decision to listen to her body and do her thang inside when she wasn't feeling the rain. As a wise woman once told us, "You do you, baby. You do you."
Today I'm walking like Frankenstein's monster in my #cap10k shirt, but I feel great. I know I can do the 10k. And pretty decently. I can end a tri with this distance. Hopefully even under an hour after doing a swim and bike with a smile on my face. It's a great start to tri season and I feel inspired and renewed and full of love and thankful for everyone for their support.
Triathlon Zack's 1st 10k Spotify Playlist
I'm aware this is 90% the playlist of a flamboyant man or sassy woman, but it works for me. I hope you dig it. Also, it's missing three Beyonce songs that aren't on Spotify. You should own them already.
Follow me on Twitter: Triathlon Zack I'll tweet ya back.
Final running mix set for tomorrow. Not as much Jack White as you'd think. More Beyonce than is probably necessary, but you gotta do what works for you.
Thoughts before my 1st 10K
Tomorrow I'm running my first 10K. I've never run a strictly running race of any kind. I did three triathlons of varying length last year, with the running always being my least favorite part. I'm hopeful running on fresh legs will help me get back into full training mode and let me know that I can handle the distance.
I'm doing my usual prep. Making sure I'm hydrated. Trying unsuccessfully to get enough sleep. Relieved that I can actually listen to music, so I'm finalizing my playlist (adding more Beyonce). The big difference to me is that I can have more of a singular focus.
The night before a tri, I concern myself with everything from making sure I have all of my gear, to not getting kicked in the swim, to preparing my transition, to pacing between events, to remembering how many laps for each event, etc. It's a lot to keep in your head when your body gets more and more exhausted. This will be the longest I've ever run, but it's comforting to know that I just have to worry about running. But it's still a big mental game for me. I'm hopeful I can dig deep when it gets hard in miles 3-5, focus on my breathing, let the music inspire me and finish strong. Until then...
Practice run went really well. Goal of under an hour for the 10k is within reach!
Bibs for Sundays #cap10k