Rainy recovery

Shortly after the race ended it started raining, and for all intents and purposes it hasn't stopped. Plus it's been cool. No, strike that, it's been cold. I actually broke and turned the heat on in the house yesterday. Even wearing slippers and a sweatshirt, my fingers were going numb and my legs were cramping up. It's August for crying out loud!

Wed morning saw me at the pool for an easy swim. Chatted with several of my lifeguard buddies about the race. Then we noticed a guy in the next lane wearing the blue cap from my age group! Chatted with him a bit. He placed third in our wave. We got out of the water about the same time, he blew past me in transition, then he rocked the bike, and totally kicked ass on the run. His run time was right up there with the pros, and I think his run was the 5th fastest age grouper! I felt honoured to be in the same water as him!

He's doing Kona so he settled into a serious swim. I kind of putzed around, doing easy stroke, stretching out, working on my water feel and stroke mechanics. Did a few fast lengths just to see how it would feel. Not too bad. Spent lots of time in the dive tank stretching and working core muscles.

During the day I was browsing race photos, mine, and my buddies. Mine are nothing special to look at. I might get one of the finish line ones just because.

In the evening it almost stopped raining. I rode the hybrid up to the Chi Running class in North Glenmore Park. Easy spin, going much faster up the path than I ever remember going on that bike before. It started raining part way there, but so what. I was having fun getting used to the feel of a different bike. Susi kindly let me put the bike in her car, and the class was moved indoors because of the rain.

The chi running class is going to be good, and I think it will really help me. You see, even after a couple years of "running", I still lumber along like a dinosaur trying to get out of a shallow tar pit. My mantra for the race was "light fast feet", and it worked on the bike, and somewhat for about the first 5 K of the run. It is crystal clear that if I want to improve my tri race times, the single biggest fruit is my running form. Some of my run photos show me hunched over like a troglodyte looking for nuts and berries. No wonder I'm not going anywhere.

Last night's class talked about posture (feet, legs, spine, head, pelvis), learning to fall forward from the ankles, and what to do with your arms. We ran across the gym a bunch of times, trying to make it quieter. Then we took our shoes and socks off to try again. Amazing how much quieter it could get. My basement has a clear path at least as long as the gym. Later today will see me down there, barefoot, working on my posture, trying to run quietly. Should be fun.