Last week Mrs. AdultOnset and I made a trip to the Florida Keys to get in some solid race training and prep work for the upcoming May Gulf Coast 70.3 race.
OK… No. We didn’t do that at all. We went to the Keys to get some warm weather and spend some time on the water with our friends who were currently hanging out at a marina on Marathon Key. But that first paragraph makes us sound more hardcore, right?
However, while down there, I did manage to find some time for a wee bit of training and learned a few things which will be very helpful in May.
First thing I learned (or reaffirmed): Running at sea level is more pleasant than at our Colorado altitudes. BUT humidity and warmth are challenges I am not used to. It was in the upper 70’s and quite humid and, frankly, I sweated my face off. Like, sweat was a steady stream off the bill of my running cap. Like, my shirt was soaked front and back, top and bottom. I did 7.5 miles and my first few miles (all at zone 2) were definitely faster than normal. However, I was approaching normal speeds by the end just due to the unaccustomed heat.
(I was going to put an animated GIF of a Raiders of the Lost Ark face melting scene here but it seemed too grisly. So use your imagination…)
What else did I learn? Swimming in the ocean makes me very buoyant. The first time was on a little snorkeling trip. We had wetsuits with short sleeves and short legs. I was pretty amazed at how well I floated in that and experimented with a few hundred yards of swimming around the reefs. Only issue was a bit of wetsuit rash on my neck.
The next day I had a chance to jump off the boat while we were anchored a off the coast and swim laps around it. No wetsuit this time. Very pleasantly surprised to find I was still quite buoyant. So, assuming waves won’t be a issue on race day, I am actually looking forward to the swim part of race day. Perhaps a bit nervous about water temps, but hey — if I have to wear a wetsuit in the ocean I will be double buoyant!
Didn’t have a chance to try anything with a bike. But did have a chance to do some kayaking. Not a great substitute for bike riding, but man, my core and obliques definitely got lit up so that was surely good for something, right?
Obligatory water pictures follow:
(Late) Adult Onset Triathlete 