From: chrisl@stpaul.gov (Chris A Lyman)
Subject: Looking back and ahead
Organization: City of Saint Paul Public Works
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 20:43:53 GMT

It seems to be a rec.sport.triathlon tradition to post a retrospective on
the previous year and look ahead to the next.  Here's my contribution. 

I refuse to tally up my mileage for the year, but since I ran in two
marathons this year, my running mileage was 'way up.  Because of family
and social obligations, my biking mileage was down somewhat and I didn't
make it to any Masters swim meets.  Nonetheless, I was able to improve
my swimming by an average of 5-10 seconds per 100 meters and ride the
bike about 1 kph faster than last year.

Race summary:

Feb 1  - Winter Carnival Half-Marathon, St. Paul
         Brrrr!

Mar 15 - St. Patrick's Day 8K, St. Paul
         Despite slow start (this race is a zoo), came within 4 seconds of PR

Apr 25 - Big Sur Int'l Marathon, Big Sur, CA
         I left my quads on Hurricane Point. :-)

May 30 - Oakdale Biathlon
	 What is it about these duathlons that make you so hungry?

Jun 14 - Manitou Sprint Triathlon, White Bear Lake, MN
	 Worst swim of the season, awful run.  Are we having fun yet?

Jun 28 - Waconia Sprint Triathlon
	 Tactically best swim of the season, awful run.  Are we having fun
	 yet?

Jul 11 - Kaiser Roll 10K, Bloomington, MN
	 hot, humid; awful run.  Olympic marathoner Janis Klecker won the
	 10K event and almost won the 5K as well.

Jul 18 - U.S. Swim & Fitness Triathlon, Minneapolis, MN
	 Good swim, first sign of improvement on bike, decent run.  Scott
	 Molina, Colleen Cannon and others ambushed by flying Canadians!

Jul 25 - Ultimate Triathlon, Brainerd, MN
	 Good swim, ok run; nifty duel with fellow age-grouper on bike.

Aug 8  - Timberman Triathlon, Grand Rapids, MN
	 Got boxed in during swim with athletes who strayed off course, grrr!
	 Best bike of the season, decent run.

Aug 30 - Tin Man Triathlon, Menomonie, WI
	 good swim, bike hampered by high winds and comfort stops, good run.
	 Despite lower mileage, emphasis on quality helped in the hills.

Sep 19 - Fall Finale 10K
	 PR, and a 'fun' time holding off late challengers!

Oct 4  - Twin Cities Marathon
	 Blew up *real* good around mile 21; shook hands with governor
 	 of MN around mile 23.

Like many triathletes, I'm hankering to try an Ironman-distance race, but
I can't see how I'm going to find the time to put in the necessary miles
on the bike.  Maybe next year...

For now, I've greatly reduced my running mileage, but I'm including more
quality work than I did at this time last year.  I'm also incorporating
drills I learned as a ballet dancer to make me lighter on my feet, so to
speak.  My goal is to start the racing season focused less on endurance
and more on 5-8K type stamina.

Last winter, I *finally* learned how to do the butterfly with a dolphin kick.
I was a butterfly specialist in high school, but I did it with a breaststroke
kick.  I'm curious to see how well I can do at Masters meets, so I'm swimming
300-400 yards of butterfly at each workout.  When spring rolls around, I'll
taper off 'fly,' and focus more on freestyle.

As for bike, I'm doing just the minimum necessary to stay in shape.  A lot
of time on the stationary bike is spent pedalling one-legged to improve
coordination and to condition cycling-specific lower body muscles.  Sounds
like fun, huh?

-- 
Chris Lyman    /   email: chrisl@pwcs.stpaul.gov   /    my thoughts, my words
     "Dignity.  Always dignity." -- Gene Kelly in "Singin' in the Rain"
Newsgroups: rec.sport.triathlon