Time Warp

Okay, as my #1 Auntie Fan keeps pointing out, I have been a complete slacker with blogging! I swear I've been in a time warp for the past month. I think there was maybe one weekend since the last time I blogged that there wasn't some kind of event going on. Let's see...:

Feb. 21st: Utah Masters Open Water Swimming Clinic
Feb. 28th: Salt Lake Track Club Winter Series 15K
March 7th: Desert Sharks Tri Club Clinic and Utah Masters Board Meeting
March 14th: Nothing!!!
March 21st: Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon
March 28th: Utah Masters Swimming State Meet

The Open Water Swimming Clinic was a success and we got rave reviews from the participants, although honestly the turnout was a little lower than I'd hoped. It made for a great coach:athlete ratio, though, and with the quality of coaches that we had on board the athletes really got way more than their money's worth! The feedback was that it was a blast and everyone learned a lot. Thanks to PowerBar, Wasatch Running Center, Rudy Project, Trigger Point Therapy, Pool 'n' Patio, and Poco Loco for helping out!

Onto the 15K: it's really not worth mentioning from a race standpoint as it was more of a training run for me. However, it ended up being a slightly amusing run because on the way out I was more engrossed in watching two airplanes fly in a very strange pattern above the airport and the Salt Lake. I kept wondering what they were up to...the best I could come up with was that something was amiss at the airport and the planes were being put into holding patterns until whatever it was got cleared up. My friend Neal came up with the theory that they were "birding" planes looking to clear the flight path areas of unwanted birds. Whatever it was, it was enough to pique my interest and distract me from the business at hand.

Desert Sharks Tri Clinic: this was FUN! I think the best part for me was that someone else was in charge and I could really relax and get into my coaching groove. My good friend Brad Gale and I paired up to take the intermediate/advanced group through some open water skills and drills that you can do in the pool. It was set up so that each participant was filmed and we reconvened after the swimming portion to review the videos and offer stroke analysis. The group was very attentive and lots of people came up to me with questions afterwards. Then I had to dash off to the Board Meeting!

Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon: I did this race last year and was determined to be better prepared this time around for the very deceptive course. However, luck was against me as the week before the race I took a nasty spill on ice while hiking with some friends and really did a number on my tailbone. Walking and sitting were both extremely uncomfortable for about 5 days and I was only able to manage two 20-minute jogs with Sherman leading up to the race. I seriously considered doing the 5-mile run instead, and even that was in question for a few days. But my backside started feeling better and I decided to run the half as a training run and otherwise enjoy a weekend in Moab. The first 11 miles in the canyon were really enjoyable...then you go under a bridge and pop up on the highway to begin the 2 mile Death March to the finish line. I hate those last two miles! It's a real letdown after all those miles between stunning red cliff walls with the Colorado River gurgling along beside you to suddenly find yourself wedged on the shoulder of a highway with cars zooming past. Not to mention it is ever so slightly uphill to the finish. Argh! Next year I'll beat that race...

Swim Meet: I've been a lot more active in the swimming arena since taking over a couple more swim practices and becoming the Utah Masters Swimming Registrar. I figure I'd better practice what I preach and set a good example by swimming in meets. This meet was a lot of fun for many reasons. First, I was in charge of check-in and it was great to meet face to face the swimmers whose registrations I have been processing over the past several months. A bonus of being more involved is that I've gotten to know a lot more people which always makes things more fun. We didn't get things organized to have a Steiner relay, but I was asked to be part of a South Davis relay and we ended up winning it! Always fun. And I swam a well-paced 500 freestyle within .07 seconds of my predicted time, and gave our Open Water Swimming Rep a run for his money! It's been a long time since I've really raced in swimming and I'd forgotten how exhilarating it can be. Woohoo!

Aside from all these weekend events, I've been fitting in some good swim/bike/run time as well. And work keeps me busy...and pottery class was keeping me busy...but now that's over and things seem to be slowing down a bit and I can focus on really ramping up the volume and intensity a bit.

Next up: Salt Lake 1/2 Marathon on April 18th...then triathlon season starts in May!