Category: Triathlon

25 Random Things About Me

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I got tagged in Facebook to do one of these lists.  I really enjoyed reading some of my colleagues and some of my old friends from high school so i thought i’d put one together.

The rules are that once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged or however many you want. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.

Here are my items:

1. I don’t like fruit (with the exception of apples) and i’m happy that my sister’s the same way. It makes me feel less strange.

2. I tend to get around. I’ve been to 49 states and hope to get to the final one, Mississippi, sometime soon.  Since college, I’ve lived in Virginia, New York, Washington DC, Boston (sort of), and now Los Angeles.

3. I have no toenails on my 2 little toes.

4. I was born in NY, then moved to CA, then moved to Texas before i finished my youth in Minnesota.

5. I grew up in Minnesota.  When i moved east in 1996, i felt like a Midwesterner.  I then lived on the east coast for 11 years.  When i moved to California last year, i felt like an Easterner.  After a few years here, who knows who i’ll be.

6. i’ve never broken a bone. I attribute this to my love of milk.

7. I love the extended Lewis Family clan and feel so fortunate that i have such great cousins, aunts and uncles.

8. When i was younger I used to dress up like a ninja and wonder around in the woods with my brother.

Continue reading “25 Random Things About Me” →

Putting myself through pain: part 2

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I ran The Nation’s Triathlon this weekend.  A fun event for those watching and a painful, but rewarding event for those like me who are dumb

We started on the waterfront in Georgetown at 7am on Saturday. The fire boats in the Potomac were spraying water all over at the beginning. I’ve never seem them before – i must say i think they look pretty cool.  The water was really warm (75 degrees) and not that disgusting.  It felt just like a regular lake.

Just so you know how far it is. I entered right by that “Swim Exit” sign and swam to the bridge (in the distance) and back. Yeah, that’s right. To the bridge and back. Also notice how everyone else had a wet suit which makes it easier to swim. That would have been nice, but i like to think of it as cheating (only b/c i don’t have one).

Continue reading “Putting myself through pain: part 2” →

This would explain why i sleep so much

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Ever since i started my triathlon training, i’ve been going to bed earlier and earlier. I thought it was because i’m just getting old (turning 30 in 2 weeks), but today the NY Times has informed me that it is because i’m now an “endurance athlete” and these athletes require much more sleep than regular people. There’s a scientific reason for this….

One possibility, Dr. Chediak said, is that cytokines — hormones that signal the immune system — are making these athletes sleep so much.

Exercise, Dr. Chediak said, prompts muscles to release two cytokines, interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha, that make people drowsy and prolong the time they remain sleeping. In fact, those cytokines also are released when people have a cold or infection, which is why people sleep so much when they are ill.

It turns out that the single most important factor for increasing the release of those two cytokines is increasing the duration and intensity of exercise, Dr. Chediak said. And, he noted, that’s what is happening when endurance athletes train. “A sprint will not get you as great an effect,” he said.

Go ahead and read the entire article HERE  if you’re interested.

Triathlon: Mission Accomplished

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As i wrote a month ago, i signed to do my first triathlon which happened this past weekend. Here’s how it went:

The Beginning: “Damn that bouy is far” (Objective: 1 mile swim)

The swim started with a bang and all the other swimmers left me in the dust. First off, we had to swim 100 yards just to get to the starting line! I knew i would need all the energy i had so i was pretty upset about this fact. Also, I was somewhat intimidated by the choppy open water and the madness of all the serious guys. The only advice i got from anyone was, “don’t get too close to the buoy or you’ll get pinched in between it by other swimmers.” Thanks dude. Anyway, the race started and I immediately found myself all alone – in last place! This made matters worse as i tried to catch up and just tired myself out. The 2nd buoy (1/2 mile) seemed to take forever to get to and i will confess that my trusty sidestroke was pulled out more times than i had wanted. But after the 1/2 mile marker, i hit a groove – especially in my breathing. It seemed that i wasn’t exhaling under water and once i realized this i was able to cruise. Nevertheless, i was by far the last guy out of the bay and a good 15 minutes behind every other male and probably 20 minutes behind all the females

Bike Leg: “This shit ain’t no joke” (objective: 27 mile bike)

760700469_347c0ac36b.jpgThe bike started off good. I got a little rest in after the swim and pounded some gatorade. The course was rumored to be “highly technical.” I had no idea what that meant, but i found out quickly at mile 2. At that point, i hit my first hill and my entire right calf cramped (this is understandable considering i had never riden my bike on a hill. I repeat never) Also it seemed that my gears didn’t work. These two happened on mile 2 and I dismounted, walked and stretched. I then got on Commodore Williams and decided to do the rest of course without shifting and using only my left leg. After all, i didn’t want to get a DNF on my first time out. I’m not that guy. Back on the bike, after only a few minutes i realized that my gears weren’t actually broken, i was just already on the lowest gear there is. This was both a great and horrible realization as you can imagine. But i continued on. Left-leg-only riding went well until about mile 15 and then the left leg started cramping. So i decided to use both for a while gingerly. It should also be said that around this point a super-hot woman came out of nowhere and decided to ride in front of me (not drafting, but about 20 yards) for about 8 miles. She was truly an angel (granted, i could have been delirious) and following her got me in the groove. The last 15 miles of the course, i was doing at around 20 mph and by the time i hit the “big hill” i was hauling ass. I climbed that bitch and got back to transition in good shape Continue reading “Triathlon: Mission Accomplished” →

Triathlons: The Beginning

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DSC01072This morning i took out my new bike (named: Commodore Williams) for his debut ride and did 20 miles around Hains Point. It was pretty damn fun. So fun, in fact that i just registered for my first triathlon which will take place on July 7. The distance: 1 mile swim, 27 mile bike, 5 mile run. So to recap, i don’t ever swim, i just rode today for the first time, and i have exactly 1 month to figure out how to do both really well. I find myself identifying more and more with the Hains Point Awakening statue (pic on the left). Whatever, bring it. Thankfully, i have a great adviser and jockstrap (i.e. athletic supporter) in Liz to guide me through it. (Also, did you know that they’re moving The Awakening statue soon? Wtf!)

A man was out jogging in the forest one day when a frog called out to him and said, “If you kiss me I’ll turn into a beautiful princess.” He bent over, picked up the frog, and put it in his pocket.

The frog spoke up again and said, “If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will tell everyone how smart and brave you are and how you are my hero.” The man took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it, and returned it to his pocket.

The frog spoke up again and said, “If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I’ll stay with you for a year and do ANYTHING you want.” Again the man took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it, and put it back into his pocket.

Finally the frog asked, “What’s the matter? I’ve told you I’m a beautiful princess, that I’ll stay with you for a year and do anything you want. Why won’t you kiss me?”

The man replied, “Look, I’m a Triathlete. I don’t have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog is cool.”

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