Bike, check. Running gear, check. Boat, check. Dog,check....

Now that the rafting trip has been cancelled, I can catch everyone up on the rest of my training.....

Took a long weekend in Western Maryland last weekend. I needed to train while I was there - and there was rain predicted - so the kayaking would be good. I'd be there long enough to train/participate in all three tri-sports - plus, get some paddling in if possible. That made packing interesting.


When I was in grad school, I used to be able to get everything I owned into my car. Now, with all my gear, I feel like I have to take everything I own. There's an important difference there.


In the end, the rain did come and I didn't get on the bike while there. Oh well - biking has been the strongest part of my training and I'm not worried about missing some of that.


Running has improved for me. I'm not particularly enjoying it. The 70 and 80 minute runs I've been doing are rather boring but, at least, they don't hurt like they did a few weeks ago. I did an 80 min run yesterday and estimate that I ran about 7.5 miles or so - including several hills. I'm happy with that. If I do 10 min miles for the race I'll be very content.


Swimming is the last portion of training that I'm still dealing with. There's an open water swim this weekend at Sandy Point, near Annapolis - and I'm not sure what to expect. I've been studying the Total Immersion school of swimming (http://www.totalimmersion.net/) and feel like I'm not quite at the point of doing the open water swim. I'm confident I'll be ready by the race but not this weekend.


If you've spoken with me, you've heard me joke that I can't swim. Technically, that's not correct. I can swim. But the type of swimming I've traditionally done is based around whitewater - not flat water. One is geared to vision and survival - the other is about efficiency and speed.



The whitewater swim position:
- Head up, looking downstream


- Feet up to avoid entrapment


- Takes advantage of your floatation


- Keeps hands free for receiving throw rope

The triathlon (flat water) swim position:
- Head down, most of the body in the water "being tall", arms and legs are down in the water, very little vision.

Obviously, there's a little more to whitewater swimming than the goofy picture here - and more to the technique of triathlon swimming than that pic. Still, it's a very different style and I've been struggling to adapt.

That said, I am working on it. I've been more consistent swimming than running or biking. Eventually, I'll figure this out....

Whitewater rafting trip cancelled

The whitewater rafting trip on the Lower Yough for this weekend has been cancelled.

The recent rains have brought the river up to a level too high for the trip we had planned. After discussions with the outfitters, the State Park rangers that oversee the river management, and lots of time with the Weather Channel - we've decided to cancel the trip for this weekend.

For those not familiar with the Lower Yough - normal flows are around 750cfs. (cfs=cubic feet per second. 1 cfs equals about 7 1/2 gallons). Today, the Lower Yough is flowing at 7810 cfs - with rain possible there on Thursday and Friday.

The below pics are Ohiopyle Falls on the Lower Yough at 750 cfs (above) and 7000cfs (below).

Thanks to everyone for your interest in the trip and for your support in raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as I train for the the Philadelphia Triathlon as a part of LLS's Team in Training.

See you on the river.....

Let's go Rafting!!!

Go whitewater rafting to help raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!

This is an invitation to feel alive. To feel wind in your hair, water in your face, and sunshine on your back. To feel anxiety, exhilaration, joy, fortune, and peace. To experience a great whitewater river!

Sunday, May 18thThe Lower Youghiogheny RiverOhiopyle, PA (about 3 hours from DC)$75 plus $5 State Park Fee(a $25 savings off the usual cost)

Join longtime whitewater instructor Jeff McIntyre and his team of whitewater guides (one for each raft) for an exciting trip down the class 3/4 Lower Yough! Spaces are limited! All proceeds go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Contact me (at inbetweenswims-at-yahoo.com)f or more info or to reserve your space! (Please forward to anyone that may be interested)

See you on the river.....

~jeffmc

Riley's Lock Brick!

It's been awhile....

It's been awhile since I last posted. Not that I haven't been doing 'blogworthy' things but, ya know - sometimes life gets in the way.

Life has gotten in the way.

I've maintained my Tri-training for the most part. I've gone through a two week-ish period where everything was hard. Everything. And, I don't mean that finishing the run was hard or that swimming the distance was hard. Everything was hard - from the first step, stroke, or rpm. Tired, sore, unmotivated, and resistant. I still finished most of my training schedule but there was no joy in it. Zero, zilch, nada.

Lots of distractions have been present. My Board of Directors have been in town, I've been out of town, work's been kinda nuts, sleep has been evasive, yadda yadda, whine whine.

I miss my run and swim today due to meetings and afterwork plans. I only made my 'strength' workout yesterday. I'll likely bike tomorrow and, maybe, do my strength workout. The problem is that I'm beginning to understand my weaknesses in this effort - I still can't swim very well, the running has been more effort than it should be. Cycling isn't an issue but I don't take it for granted either.

Since I missed the group brick workout - a ride followed by a run - I did a a variation on one last weekend while at our cabin in western Maryland. After looking for a pool, WISP ski resort finally proved to be the answer. After an hour swim there, I transferred to my bike for a 60 min ride. That was fine except, I forgot that "ski resort = mountain." So, the ride had hills. Lots more hills than DC has.

And, I made the run the day before. I took WeezerTheDog with me a had a good run through the forests of western Maryland. Yes, that's a bear bell she's wearing in the pic. The black bears are waking up this time of year and I'd really rather not surprise them on on my run.

More soon......

Saturday's Brick pics.....

Some not-so-great shots from Saturday's bike/run combo workout in Rock Creek Park.

Enjoy.

The Team photo.....

Here we are - many of us, at least. From the honored teammate picnic a few weeks ago.....

(Thanks to Nancy Tang for the image!)

Streamline, streamline, streamline.....

REALLY didn't want to get up for swimming this morning. The 5:30am sessions at the Lab School on Thursday mornings are good to get to but difficult to wake up for.

I've had a good active week getting ready for the Philly Triathlon. Cycled into work Monday and Wednesday (about 25-30miles r/t, depending on my route), went to boxing each day, and then ran 50 min Tues and today.

I was tired. I didn't want to get up. Alarm went off and HankTheDog came in, cuddled in, and fell asleep next to me. I hate getting up from that. Still, after an argument with myself, I got up - got to the pool in time and had a productive swim.

AJ's pushing me to attend her yoga class tonight. I suppose I'll go. I usually paddle with Team River Runner on Thursday evenings but I could use the stretch.

Oh yeah...streamlining. So, basically, I can't swim. I mean, I can get by. I've swum (swam? swimmed? done swim?) some mean sections of rivers in my life. Nasty rapids, big hydraulics, crashing waves. But flat water? That's a challenge.

Here's why. Before I was born, my uncle Ronald drowned trying to save someone that had fallen into a lake. He was one of three - a twin brother and sister (my Mom). So, when I was old enough, Mom whisked me away to the Pickens County Country Club - which had the only outdoor pool in the county at the time - to learn how to swim. Or, rather, to learn how to not die. I never got much more than that. For years, I excelled at Polliwog swimming.

That brings me to my career as a whitewater paddler and instructor. I can swim rivers. And rapids. Through my training and time as a paddler, I've developed a keen skill for swimming rivers. In fact, I hold the highest certifications in search and rescue from the American Canoe Association. I've done live bait rescues, deep current wading, and body surfed big holes (not all of them intentionally!) But the whitewater swim is really different than a swim for distance. Whitewater swims are about safety and survival. Endurance swims are about efficiency and glide. So, I'm learning how to streamline in the pool. Coach Danielle was really helpful this morning - as was Coach Ivey - in giving me tips on technique and efficient motion. I'll practice it some this weekend but, for one of the first times, I felt like I was doing something right in the pool

And, that, was a pretty cool thing to experience at 5:30am.....

Go Team

A good weekend....

After a week of fighting off negativism about my knee, the weekend thrust me back into training with a nice momentum.

Even though I didn't swim on the Thursday morning workout, getting up at 5am and joining the group still kept me motivated. A good flatwater workout that evening followed by a solid lunchtime workout on Friday and I was ready for the group ride on Saturday morning.

We met at the red caboose in Vienna, VA for the ride Sat morning. I really like that we're moving around the greater DC area for our rides/runs. The change of environment breaks the monotony up well. I opted for the Level 2 ride of 70 min since my knee had been hurt. I didn't want to push too much on the first ride back. It ended up being easy - had a good conversation and slow pace going out and decided to sprint back - working at, what felt like, about 80% of my max. No problems - except for the guy (not a part of the TNT group) that trash talked me a bit on the ride back.

And, good call by the coaches to go to the Vienna Inn afterwards - a very cool place and fun time talking with Danielle, Tod, Esteban, and Brett.

Saturday night brought the annual tradition of Pie Night. That's right an entire evening dedicated exclusively to pie. Started almost 10 years ago when a group of kayakers were jones-ing for some pie similar to the homemade pie we'd get at a diner near the Lower Yough river, Pie Night was created as an off-season way to get our pie fix. AJ and Bob (Queen and King of Pie, respectively) have led the charge.

So, after baking 14 different pies from scratch, a large group gathered at Bob's newly refurbished house for the blessing and consumption of pie. A very good night.

Consequently, I missed the group swim at the Lab School the next morning. Slept in. Dreamt of pie.

AJ and I did go to Rockville that afternoon for a late swim after a lazy Sunday. I managed through it but was really tired for most of it. Whatever figment of technique I have was not present. Regardless, I made it through the 800 meter workout - albeit not very stylishly.

That brings us to Monday where I've had a good ride into work, another good lunchtime workout, and looking forward to a nice slow ride home......

Go team!

Swim Pics from Thursday morning.....