Father’s Day Sprint: I’m ready!

Mike Caterini

Father’s Day Sprint Triathlon: I’m Ready!

I’m back and still on track to finish the Father’s Day Sprint Triathlon.  Last month I wrote that breaking the 1:30 hour (90 minute) goal that I set for myself in my first #dadblog will be tough.  I needed a test, so last weekend I completed a 20 km bike ride in 43 minutes, then jumped off the bike and ran 5 km in 34 minutes, for a total of 77 minutes of activity.  But this leaves only 13 minutes to complete the 750 m swim (without taking into account transition time).  Two days ago I swam 750 m in a 25 m pool in 19 minutes, immediately after completing 850 m of warmups and drills. 

The drills had tired me out for the swim time trial, so I believe that if I start out fresh I should improve my swim time.  Realistically I hope to complete the swim in 18 minutes.  Also, with the added adrenaline and absence of traffic, I hope to complete the bike in 42 minutes and the run in 33 minutes for a total activity time of 93 minutes.  Factoring in about 5 minutes of transitions and rounding up, my realistic goal is 100 minutes (1:40 hour), which is not 1:30 but still OK, and I still have the rest of the summer to improve.

Swim Help

I’ve enlisted the help of a part-time swim coach, the recently retired varsity swimming sensation, Steven, who just happens to conveniently be the boyfriend of my daughter Jessica.  He noticed that my form above the waterline is great, but I’m a mess below the waterline.  I’m not kicking enough and my knees are bending too much.  My legs are not providing adequate propulsion and also sinking, which greatly increases drag.  A good swimmer is stream-lined, presenting as small a surface area as possible in the direction of motion. From what I observe from other poor form kickers in the pool, sinking the legs can at least double the surface area in the direction of motion.

Drag force is directly proportional to surface area.  So my leg sinking is possibly doubling the force that I’m swimming against, which is a waste of precious energy.  But what is even more sinister is that drag force is also proportional to the square of swimming speed! 

To put this into perspective, I now swim at the slow rate of 2.5 min/100 m.  An increase to 2 min/100 m, which is a 25 % increase in speed, will result in an increase in drag of about 50 % which would totally exhaust me.  But here is hope! Calculations show that if I bring my legs up, I can recover that lost energy and more.  So to improve my form I’ll need to practice drills to bring my hips higher in the water and strengthen my kicking.  Drills now comprise at least a third of my workout and are a good training investment.

Weighing In

Training involves a large scientific component and has a lot to do with energy, mechanics and forces.  It’s a fascinating and expanding field of study and I’m just scratching the surface with my back of the envelope calculations.

As for the matter of my weight, I’m at a relatively svelte 202 lbs, down 5 lbs from the 207 lbs reported in my first #dadblog 4 months ago.  At this rate I won’t achieve my end of summer goal of 190 lbs.  The weight’s not dropping as fast as I would like it to, even though I’m burning 500 to 1000 more calories on most days with the extra exercise.  Apparently the body compensates and becomes more efficient as one exercises.  Also, I’m hungrier and my fondness for the sweet and liquid carbs does not help. My solution is to eat and train like an athlete and see what happens. I’ll cut out the bad food, sleep well and train regularly until September, then re-evaluate.  I’m counting on these healthy lifestyle choices to become good habits that will be second nature and difficult to break.

I’ll take it one day at a time and start tapering my training for the Father’s Day challenge.  See you in two weeks!

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