Where We Are

Only 12 days to go until the big event. Basta is remarkably unstressed about it. "I just want to get it over with," he says. He's tired of the constant grind of training and figures he is as fast as he's going to ever be.

That's not entirely true. This is his first year of triathlon. From what I've read, it takes the adult onset athlete four years of dedicated training to reach their full potential. If Basta were to continue training like this and participating in events, he'd have faster times three years from now.

But it remains to be seen if that's what he wants. He really likes the health and fitness that he has now. He's not so sure he wants to train like this forever. We shall see.

I walked the pool as he swam the other day. It's pretty obvious we've reached the peak of what I can do for him here. He needs a real swimming coach if he's going to improve any further. He's rolling beautifully and smoothly. His arm stroke is good and no longer crosses his centerline. He swims without shoulder pain now. But he lost a lot by not being able to swim for two months. He's not pulling as hard as he could, probably still tentative about injuring his shoulder. He is slow. We're focusing more on relaxed, effortless swimming than we are on speed. You don't win triathlon in the water, after all. But still, he should be an average swimmer, not a slow swimmer.

His biggest problem in the water is that he has such low bodyfat. He sinks. Rather than floating effortlessly, he has to work to stay afloat. Thus he kicks a bit more than a fatter, more buoyant person would, and he doesn't glide well. If he tries to do a long & lovely glide, he sinks. I think a proper swim coach could teach him how to press his chest and balance his legs better, but I can't. He insists that this is as good as it gets and I'm not knowledgeable enough to know if that's true. A real swim coach would. If he wants to continue in this sport we'll have to find one. Go to a good swim clinic, at least.

We met with the triathlon club for an ocean swim the other night. Basta swam a mile with them. He came out of the water last, but not by far. Some people only swam half a mile, so they don't count. The ones who did a mile are all veteran triathletes. It didn't help that he got seasick out there, either. It's funny how a good swell rocking you around will indeed make you seasick when swimming. We will add a sliver or two of pickled ginger to his pre-ocean swim routine to help keep that at bay next time.

He said he felt good out there, otherwise. Water temp wasn't too cold. He was sighting well enough. He feels he doesn't need any more ocean time to be ready for the event. Ok. A couple more pool swims and he is set. We are anticipating a 50-minute 1.2 mile swim on race day.

Then there's the bike. The club ride on Saturday continues to be a big hit with him. He looks forward to it, enjoys the people, and gets pushed. He rode with the fastest group yesterday. He could keep up with them on the flats but they dropped him on the hills. The bike is where he can and will see the most dramatic improvements over the years, if he keeps this up. Given that the bike is the longest part of any triathlon, it pays the most dividends to be good at it. Clubs rides, Computrainer, TITS (time in the saddle), he'll get there. For now, for this event, we're optimistically thinking a 3:15 time for the 56 mile ride.

And, finally, the run. He may well be at his peak with his running. He can sustain a 7:45 pace for a Half Marathon. He's running injury- and largely pain-free. The guys who podium in his age group are faster, but this is a very good pace. He will be able to pass a faster biker who has a slower run pace with this.

If he does a smart triathlon. If he doesn't blow all of his energy in the swim so that he tanks on the bike. If he doesn’t push too hard on the bike so that he has nothing left for the run. If he doesn't start out the run too fast so that he can't sustain the pace through the finish. If he handles his nutrition properly throughout. Getting to the finish line as fast as possible requires patience and the ability to hold yourself in check for the vast majority of the event. Then the ability to let it all out and leave nothing in reserve at the end. The timing of all of that takes a great deal of skill and experience. This, his first Half Ironman, will be a tremendous learning experience for him.

We'd be happy with a sub-2:00 run. Add 10 minutes or so (we hope less) for two transitions, and we have a forecast of a 6:15 finish time. If he'd gotten that time last year, he'd have placed 41st out of 71 in his age group. It continues to amaze me at how competitive his age group is. His goal at the start of this was to do a sub-6:30 time, so he's right on the money there.

12 days to go.