Independence Day Triathlon

Independence Triathlon
Finishers Metal

I enjoyed my second sprint triathlon of the summer this morning.  It was in Tradewinds Park so the swim was in a flat water lake, the run and bike were flat (no bridges), and there were no 180 degree turns.  And I did a new personal best knocking a minute off my previous time bringing it down to 1:09:39.

Still, my time and my position were a little disappointing.  On my previous tri this summer, I was in the top half of my age group and only five minutes behind the winners.  Today, I finished in 1:09:39 (versus 1:10:33 last month) which put me 161st out of 367 which put me just into the first half of the people.  But it only earned me a 12th out of 18 in my category and I was a full 17 minutes off the winning time.

My group, males age 56-60, was weirdly fast. Maybe it's because there was no International Distance so all the more intense athletes dropped down into the sprint. This might be it but it doesn't explain why my specific age group was so fast.  For instance, with my time of 1:09, if I was in the younger 50-54 age group, I would have been 10th out of 27, well into the top half versus well into the bottom half in my actual group.  But then, if I was 61-65, 1:09 would have gotten me a 6th out of 10. And I would have had the same position (6th out of 10) if I was 65-69.  So it seems that it was the old men in general who were extremely fast.  The winner in my age group (a Clay Wilson) was 16th in the overall race and finished in under 53 minutes which is very impressive, arguably elite.

2014 Independence Day Triathlon (.25s-10b-3r) Race Results for John Edelson Male 55-59 on 07/04/2014
	Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run	Total
Time	0:08:53	1:39	0:30:55	1:48	0:26:25	01:09:39.50
Pace/Speed	0:35:32		19.4		08:48
Cat Place	9/18	12/18	15/18	15/18	11/18	12/18
Cat %	53	35	18	18	41	35
Sex Place	116/232	130/232	143/232	182/232	119/232	121/232
Sex %	50	44	39	22	49	48
OA Place	167/368	207/368	184/368	289/368	162/368	161/368
OA %	55	44	50	22	56	56
Click here for Full Results

List of John's Triathlons

1:09:39  July 4th, 2014     Independence Day Tradewinds Park M 55-59

1:10:33  June 8th, 2014   Mack Cycle Key Biscayne - M 56-60

1:22:15 July 22nd, 2012   Mack Cycle Key Biscayne - M 51-55

1:17:53  August 19 , 2012   Mack Cycle Key Biscayne - M 51-55

1:24:18  2005   Tri Fort Lauderdale 2005. This was along the beach and in Birch state park
There's also a tri from 2005 to be found...I can't remember if it was in Key Biscayne or up near Del Ray.

Relevant Links:

Triathlon posts on this blog

http://www.athlinks.com/   - A collection of all my times on registered races

When my son started running

Daniellas Run (the one I did with Kate and David)

Made it Out of the Water!

A Time for New Beginnings. How about a Tri Sprint?

I've been back in town for two weeks now and there's a lot to blog about. One item is I'm determined to get back in shape so I signed up for a local triathlon in August (Mack Cycle and Fitness Key Biscayne Triathlon Trilogy #3 ).  Then, early this week, someone asked me why I didn't go do the one this weekend to warm up ( Mack Cycle and Fitness Key Biscayne Triathlon Trilogy #2).  So I'm going to give it a try!

I mean, how hard can it be? I'm only doing the sprint. It's Swim ¼ Mile, Bike 10 Miles, Run 3.1 Miles.  So I practiced all week and I went shopping, I  bought a new helmut,  some energy chewies and suckies, a tri belt, tri shorts, and six bottles of bright red Gatorade (G series).  

At a moment like this, I like to remind myself of some advice: " Few things are as easy or as hard as they seem!"  Right, which way am I over-estimating this time? Here's the challenges from a very personal perspective.

1.  Sleeping and eating.   I'm more worried about showing uo on time and well rested than I am about the event. I have found that I don't like eating lots of carbs. They upset my stomach.  Should I carb-load tonight (and risk having an upset stomach) or just have a small salad and steak (and not get whatever benefit one gets from pasta and bread)? And, since I have to get there early, how early can I go to bed and actually get to sleep?  What can I do to be sure that I sleep when I go to bed early rather than tossing and turning? And what do I eat for breakfast?

2. Getting out of bed. I figure I need to get up at 4:30! Eat and shower. Out the door by 5 so that I'm parked and preparing by 6. This is scary and easy to mess up.

3. Logistics. This requires lots of things: shoes, bike, pump, number, socks, belt, goggles, sun glasses, permit, towel, bike!   etc. I'm not great with logistics (as evidence by how often I show up in class without a belt). Can I get it together for a 5am departure? Can I get to someplace in Miami on time and not get lost (that would be a first for me) and then get everything from the car to wherever without losing it.

4. Swimming. OK, I don't expect to drown or to win.  Biking. Everyone always passes me on a bike. Running. I like to run but not after I've biked.

But, I look at it this way. I'm doing a sprint, how hard can it be? Anyone who is really tough is going a longer distance, right?

Triathlon Key Biscayne August 19th, 2012

I did a second tri sprint this past weekend and made progress.

First of all, I brought a cousin of my wife's who is a photographer so the quality of the pictures is greatly improved.

Secondly, my time improved but the biggest improvement was in my first transition. Basically, after the last race, a few people took pity on me and offered me some basic guidance.  I learned that you are not supposed to wear socks (takes too long to put them on!) and that with elastic laces, you don't have tie and double knot your shoes. These two insights helped me knock 1.3 minutes off my schedule.

Beyond that, I knocked 1.7 minutes off my bike time but it's still pretty slow. I added clips to by pedals so that I could both push and pull and it seemed to help.   Also, btw, it's not just about the equipment. I also trained.

My run time also improved but only by a fraction of a minute.  I'm a little disappointed here because unlike the previous tri, I actually ran the whole time this time but I guess, to get there, I must have generally dropped by pace.

And, in case anyone cares, here's the specifics of my times and the full race results:


Total Time: 01:17:53.00 

 Swim Time: 9:35

T1 Time: 3:46
Bike Time: 35:15
T2 Time: 1:12
Run Time: 28:5
Overall Place: 205 out of 410
Overall Percentile: 50
Gender Place: 150 out of 264
Gender Percentile: 43
Category Place: 13 out of 22
Category Percentile: 43
Series Points Earned: 101.5807

Swim Details: 
Time: 9:35
Pace: 38:20
Overall Place: 215
Percentile: 48
Gender Place: 157
Gender Percentile: 41
Category Place: 13
Category Percentile: 43

Transition 1 Details: 
Time: 3:46
Overall Place: 165
Percentile: 60
Gender Place: 111

john edelson

Gender Percentile: 58
Category Place: 8
Category Percentile: 67

Bike Details: 
Time: 35:15
Speed: 16.68085
Overall Place: 273
Percentile: 33
Gender Place: 199
Gender Percentile: 25
Category Place: 17
Category Percentile: 24

Transition 2 Details: 
Time: 1:12
Overall Place: 115
Percentile: 72
Gender Place: 75
Gender Percentile: 72
Category Place: 6
Category Percentile: 76

Run Details:
Time: 28:5
Pace: 9:3
Overall Place: 185
Percentile: 55
Gender Place: 130
Gender Percentile: 51
Category Place: 10
Category Percentile: 57


BTW, I finished between Paul and Tim with an even 7 minute spacing.  There's another tri coming up Sept 9th which I might enter. And a special thanks for the help with photography, have you seen my post on the Kodak Instamatic?

My Bucket List Confession

John Edelson on the podium at last!

I ran another tri this weekend.

 And it's time to admit that I don't have much of a bucket list. Many of the items on there are really pretty silly. I had always wanted to earn a black belt (check!). I wanted to score a goal in a college soccer game (not checked, not going to be). I wanted to start and run a company (done!). And after a race, I've always wanted to be put on a podium.  Well, this past weekend, at the second of the Key Biscayne MACK Sprint Triathalons, I earned a medal for third place which got me onto the podium. So CHECK!

Disclosure, in my age gender category, males 55-59, there were only five competitors this Sunday.  But I beat two of them (plus all the guys that didn't show up) so as far as I'm concerned, it counts!  I placed in a trithalon! Here's my time.

My analysis of the time: pretty good.

Overall I moved well. I was the fastest in swimming, very competitive on the bike, and I dragged a bit on the run.  My transitions improved but were a little slow still. This is my third sprint triathlon this year. 

2014 Times:

7/20/2014    1:09 Key Biscayne

 7/4/2014     1:09  Tradewinds Park which means no hill on the bike and flat water swim)

6/8/2014  1:10  Key Biscayne 

 I probably swam too hard since although my time was good, I had a series of panic attacks in the water when I thought I might have to stop and ask for help.  Part of the problem is that I took a swimming lesson where they totally changed my breathing (it turns out I'm not supposed to hold my breath! Who knew?) and also my stroke (arms aren't supposed to be straight) so I was trying a new stroke which I had only practiced twice.  So this might have overly tired me out.

Transitions.  Still pretty weak.  I'm going to try elastic laces on my running shoes next time and put some talc powder in my bike shoes and have a shoe horn on hand. I seem to have spent a lot of time trying to get my foot into the shoes and then getting the strap into the brace.  With talc and a shoe horn, I can probably slide my foot into something that is already loosely attached. 

So what's on the agenda?

1. I've laid off the trianing a bit (which was never that organized and intense) and this week I'm back to taking the local boxing class.

2.  I'm looking for more local triathlons or 5Ks. 

http://www.bocaratonroadrunners.com/run-calendar/

3. I'll miss the next Mack tri since I'll be in Alaska.

4. But I'll back in September!

Making Good Progress

 I'm making some progress towards getting back in tri shape. I won't be on any podiums but I might this summer be in shape to actually do another sprint.

 I've focused entirely on my jogging.  I try to do my walk for 1.5 miles, jog1.5 miles routine at least once a week.  Sometimes twice. It leaves my legs very stiff the following day so I shouldn't really do it the day before any tennis because I'll just be useless on the courts. 

I've been slowly working my times down so that now I'm under 10 minute miles. By under, I mean 9:55. Still, it's progress.  Here's my numbers from this week. Soon, I'll get back to biking and swimming. My strategy is not to focus on making a good time. it's simply to be in good enough shape so I'm sure that I can actually swim the quarter mile, bike the 20K, and jog the 5K without drowning, crashing, or walking, respectively.

PS - I'm still working on my rubiks cube in plank plan but while I haven't really regressed, I haven't progressed very much either. Here's the status on March 2022, here's the original plan on cubing in plank.

My Stand Up Desk

Stand Up Desk

Those who know me often ask about my back.

The answer is, my back is much better but it's an ongoing battle to manage and care for it.

One part of this is that I am careful not to sit for more than an hour at a time. If I'm working, I just stand-up and keep working with my nifty stand-up desk.

This year, my back is sore but no problems. Of course, it's only March.  I've skied and biked and swam a lot.  I'm hoping to go do tri sprints again this summer but this means that I need to start running again. I've run about a mile and a half three times this year and each one took a lot more than I expected and left me pretty sore for most of a week.

My last real back spasm was in Sept 2015 when, feeling pretty good in the morning, I did some squats but for some reason, I did it while holding my little dog over and in front of my head. This turns out to be really stressful on the back and it triggered a pretty bad spasm. That spasm was the day of the SOFL Edcamp which I managed to get thru by using the back brace and some drugs.

A bigger spasm was in March 2015 when Carmen was in Cuba. I triggered it by playing way too much tennis on a Sunday and then, when I tried to do situps  on Tuesday am,  my back when into a full spasm making it almost impossible to get off the floor or move. This one took about two weeks in the back brace before I could move again.

So that's the status, I'm writing this both to promote the standing desk and also, I'm trying to keep better records about my back status. So, to help me keep track, I'm listing the previous posts on this topic.

Previous posts related to ergonomics and desks and back problems:

BB at 57 - Status Report  - May 2015

Staying Fit Over Fifty, Recent Challenges - Nov 2013

Breaking the Cycle of Chronic Back Problems March 2013

By Back Strategy - Sept 2011

BBat50 is on the comeback trail! April 2011

Resolving Nagging Back Problems - March 2011

Training for training - Jan 2009

More Back Problems - Nov 2008

My desk ergonomics - The details - Nov 2008

BB at 57 - Status Report

Me Skiing in Good Health
Jan 2015

Last summer, 2014, I had a strong healthy season.

 I ran a 5K in the spring and was working out with a boxfit aerobics class. I did three sprint Triathalons (2 tris in Key Biscayne, one tri in Boca on Independence day)in the summer (even made it onto the podium once), and tried spending a little time in a boxing ring (one of which got recorded).

So summer 2014 for me was a peak. It didn't last. In the fall, I traveled for 3 weeks which was cool. I went to Greece & Israel. Then I worked and traveled a lot to DC over the winter for family reasons. This adds up to a lot of time NOT spent staying in shape.  In January, I travelled some more but did get a week of skiing with my son (Steamboat Springs, C).

 By Feb 2015, I was clearly  out of shape and had put on almost ten pounds from the previous summer so when my wife took off for two weeks to Cuba, I thought it was a chance for me to focus on my fitness and eating and to really get back in shape. Instead, the first day she was gone, I overdid it by playing several sets of tennis (I hadn't played in a year) and triggered a nasty set of back spasms which left me barely able to shuffle around for ten days. Uhg.

At the start of March, I tried to establish a program back towards good health. This is almost exactly where I was two years ago when my back problems got really bad. That time, I spent six months slowly building before I could work out hard again.  So now, I'm back to do the boring back-building exercises a few times a week, visiting Nicole (Focus Studios)  two times a week to rebuild my intrinsics and improve general core fitness, and very judiciously adding new levels of intensity and new activities. Mostly, I road bike and swim.  I've tried running two times so far and both times, I concluded that it was premature.

My great fear is that I might be entering a new normal. In Feb 2013, I attended my last martial arts class since my hip made each kick into a potential back injury. My concern is that people are now suggesting that I might have to rethink running, jump rope, and even shadow boxing as too hard on my back, given its propensity to spasm.

 

Triathlon Results

This morning's Key Biscayne triathlon was great.  The rain, while we were swimming,  kept the sun from beating down on us although it did make our shoes and socks and bikes wet and soggy. And the headwinds didn't really help dry us out as much as I would have liked. The winds were odd in that no matter which way we ran, they were always headwinds!

 I met Dani and Paul there. Dani finished third in her category. Paul didn't pass me until the biking but I was basically pleased to finish.

 I was 12th out of 17th in my chosen category of males, 50-54.  However, it was chosen in the sense that I qualify for, and could have entered, as a Over 40 Clydesdale (for those of you not up on the lingo, this means kindof heavy. The cut off is 185 which I sadly easily meet. There are also 200 and 225 Clydesdale categories). As a Clydesdale over 40, my time would have placed me closer to the top!  Should I enter as a Clydesdale next time?  Or should I just bide my time until next year when, if I could get the same time, I would have also placed second. I got through my transitions fine but am not really in shape for a tri, even a sprint.  But, in three weeks (next time out), I intend to be. Watch out. 

 Here's my results (which showed up in an email when I was still having breakfast afterwards).  After analyzing them, it turns out that my biking is slow.  My swimming and running (even though I walked a little) were pretty good. And my first transition was slow but by second one (since I don't change shoes) was wicked fast. 

CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING
THE 2012 Mack Cycle Key Biscayne Triathlon Trilogy #2 (.25s-10b-3.1r)

Full Results are available at: http://www.multirace.com/TriResultsDetailed.asp?RaceID=570&p=1&c=1&a=1&r=1

John Edelson as if he won sometime

 Total Time: 01:22:15.99.  Overall Place: 225 out of 421

Swim Time: 10:41. 170th out of 421 in swimming
T1 Time: 5:3. 286th. What was I doing?
Bike Time: 36:57.  304th.  yick!
T2 Time: 1:7.  90th.  
Run Time: 28:28.  187th.  
Gender Place: 170 out of 280
Category Place: 12 out of 17
Category Percentile: 31
Series Points Earned: 100.0395

Race pictures:

Race completion certificate: 

Swim Details: 
Time: 10:41.  Overall Place: 170
Pace: 42:44
Percentile: 60
Gender Place: 133
Gender Percentile: 53
Category Place: 8
Category Percentile: 56

Transition 1 Details: 
Time: 5:3.   Overall Place: 286
Percentile: 32
Gender Place: 198
Gender Percentile: 29
Category Place: 15
Category Percentile: 12

Bike Details: 
Time: 36:57.  Overall Place: 304
Speed: 15.9134
Percentile: 28
Gender Place: 227
Gender Percentile: 19
Category Place: 16
Category Percentile: 6

Transition 2 Details: 
Time: 1:7    Overall Place: 90
Percentile: 79
Gender Place: 63
Gender Percentile: 78
Category Place: 4
Category Percentile: 81

Run Details: 

Time: 28:28.  187th. 

Pace: 9:10

Overall Place: 

Percentile: 56

Gender Place: 137

Gender Percentile: 51

Category Place: 9

Category Percentile: 50

Previous Race Results for John Edelson.  BTW, the internet is amazing! I just googled my name and triathlon since I wondered what my results were last time I ran this (in Key Biscayne 2005)!.(Also here).  I seem to have run a 1:16 that day.  

The net also reveals my time in the Ft Lauderdale triathlon in September of 2005. 1:24.  

I also see that in 2004, I ran the MLK 5K in Ft Lauderdale and ended at 23:24.

4

21

23

John Edelson

M

45

-

23:24

07:31

 Diamonds in the Park 5K, Davie, FL, September 20, 1998 (of which I have no memory):
9 JOHNEDELSON 40      FT. LAUDERDALE    24:41     7:57

 23rd ANNUAL SEVEN MILE BRIDGE RUN APRIL 24, 2004 25 223 JOHN EDELSON 46 POMPANO BEACH 54:18 8:00

These aren't all my runs in recent history. I've done Daniella's Run several times but I also run with the kids on that one so my times aren't really my own.

Well, I run with the kids that I can still run with (David is too fast for me to keep up with).

 I ran the Miami ING Half Marathon one year with Eddie Walker (2005? 2006?).

And way back when, in the mid 80s, I ran some races in DC and Boston including tagging along on the Boston Marathon in 1986 (3:20 is what I remember).

UPDATE.
More recently, there was the Independence Day Triathalon in 2014 when I finally got on a podium.

There's the Key Biscayne Triathanlon of 2012.

And the Mack 2014 July 2014 Tri which triggered a Bucket List Confession.

I was just looking online for my times and I found a site called http://www.athlinks.com/ which has a number of my times from the last decade in one place (update from 2014 Feb 2nd, day of Miami Marathon). Here it is:

John Edelson Race Results