555 and Timberman

I know....I know...I've let another 2 weeks slip by without posting.  Well, it's been a busy 2 weeks.  I've been travelling the past two weekends.  Two weeks ago, I travelled down to Cape May, New Jersey, my home town to visit my family and participate in the 5-5-5.  The 5-5-5 is an informal, grassroots event put on by my friends Chad and Terry to raise money and awareness for cancer research....and it consists of a 5 mile ocean swim, 5 mile beach cruiser bike and a 5 mile run.  It's a total blast....having done it last year (inaugural).  For me, it's a reunion of sorts...as I get to see a lot of old friends.   Although the event is not a race, and is for fun, I decided that I really wanted to focus on the swim since it would help in my Kona prep....not to mention that it kicked by butt last year.  With the strong currents, the swim isn't really 5 miles....it's probably closer to 3-3.25.  But that's still a long swim!  I swam the entire course without stopping...which was one of my goals...and finished around 6th.  It was much improved from last year.  I mounted my beach cruiser and headed out trying to catch the people in front of me.  I think I must have been spinning at around 120 rpms!  I averaged around 18+ mph for 5 miles....not too bad for a beach cruiser.  Then onto the run....typically my strongest event.  As much as this is a fun event....as many of you know, I do have an ego...so I wanted to catch the people in front.  Well, I knew this was not going to be easy based on how my legs felt....like trash.  I could barely muster low 6 minute miles....which is typically ez for me.  This is where I realized just how much the ironman hurt me....3 weeks earlier.  Unlike last year, where I finished 4th....I was able to catch everyone in front and finish tied for 1st.  Again, it was a blast.  I even ran into an old, old friend (Joe)....who I learned was doing the Timberman 70.3 the following weekend....which I was planning to attend as a spectator.

After a bunch of text messages, Joe graciously allowed me to crash in his hotel room with him at Timberman.  I was supposed to camp...which I haven't done since I was 15....and thankful that remains the last time I camped!  Although I was going up to spectate the race, I had a training agenda to keep as well.  Saturday was a 4 and a half hour ride...with a 20 minute transition run and Sunday was a long run.  These were my first long workouts since the ironman (save for the long swim the previous week).  Both went well.  I rode with Matt Pokress and we rode strong.  I could definitely feel it in my legs...but happy to get it in.  The long run went as well as expected given how my legs felt.  I've now done 7 ironman races....but this past one did the most damage (fatigue) to me.  I'm just hoping to recover while still putting in the big weeks before Kona.

I took a bunch of pictures during the Timberman 70.3:

http://picasaweb.google.com/105289519986022195493/Timberman20102?authkey=Gv1sRgCPr98OyXybKjQQ&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/105289519986022195493/Timberman20103?feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/105289519986022195493/Timberman2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCLqi4cC7md7IVA&feat=directlink