When Sharks Attack

Back when I was training for my first triathlon, I did a lot of swimming in the Pacific to get good open water swimming experience. I always had an intense fear of being attacked by a shark, especially since the area I usually swam at was known to have plenty of sharks. None of the specific known sharks in the area were dangerous, but it didn't help the fear I already had. Southern California is not know for having problems with sharks. However, all hell broke loose today at a morning triathlon swim. A man was attacked and killed about 150 yards off the coast. It's still early and there is a lot unknown causing speculation to run wild. This is an area that we often start/finish our long weekend runs at. People some times hit the water after the run to cool off. Of course, no shark would be that shallow. I have never swum here before, but it is a very popular place for surfers and the local tri club. This pretty much confirms that I will not be doing another triathlon in my life. That is, I will not be doing any more ocean swimming.

As the day progressed, it has been estimated by subject matter experts that it was likely a great white that was between 12 and 17 feet long. The bite mark radius on the guy's legs were 22". Wow! Very sad indeed. Check out the Union Tribune article. My heart and prayers go out to his family and friends as they deal with this impossible situation.

I woke up this morning with my ribs hurting. Throughout the day, they have been more sore than they were yesterday. My plan today for the run was to pick it up again and possibly doing a good tempo run. As it was over 80 today (10 degrees warmer than yesterday), my ribs were hurting and I have 20+ mile run scheduled for Sunday, I decided to take it easy. The run was nothing spectacular as I did the same route as yesterday. Even though I didn't feel that great, it was good to get out there again.

As I recently remembered that my weekend run will be on Sunday this week and likely back to normal the following week, I have another opportunity to shoot for a triple digit 7 day run period. Even though I should be focusing on speed at this point in my schedule, I may try go for big distance again, just to see if I can do it. Of course, this depends on how the ribs are recovering. It's just a thought. The following week I will be in San Francisco and I'm not sure how much running I'll be getting in. Again, good thing my next race is not my "A" race this year. If you want to learn how to train for a marathon, make sure you don't follow what I have been doing the past few weeks nor what I plan on doing the next few weeks as you approach the taper period.

---

Food Journal

---

Food

• Cinnamon Oatmeal Squares
• 2 chicken fajitas on 8" corn tortillas
• PowerBar
• Original Jamba Juice - 3G Energizer with Protein
• 1/2 Medium Bag of Popcorn
• Pita Chips with Hummus
  

Drink

• 30 oz Coffee
• 100 oz Water
• ~20 oz Coke
• 32 oz G2 Gatorade