Totals for the week: Swim 6700 yards, bike 137m, and run 32m. Longest distance ever on the run! No injuries, but very sore quads.
Overall, a real good week of training. Went fairly easy Tues-Thurs with various workouts. The real challenge started Friday. Friday afternoon, I was intimidated by the whole weekend ahead of me, but managed to get it all done! Except the strength workouts. One day I'll get those in too. I tried not to think about the whole weekend and just focused on one workout at a time. Seemed to work. Will do same during race. Sort of like eating an elephant one bite at a time.
Fri: swam 4200 yards straight. This was my second time to swim this distance, but I knocked off about 2 minutes from last time. Swam it in about 1:30:00. I was feeling pretty good throughout the swim. Kept telling myself to slow down and pace so I would not fade at the end. Finished on a strong note. Then ran 5m after on the treadmill. No doubt about it, swimming breast stroke really taxes my legs. It was not a good run. Ran slow pace but did it anyway.
Sat: Split my bike into two separate rides. Rode 40m outside on North Trace with Becky, Jeff, Chris, and John. I pulled most of the way to River Bend and back. Jeff did some runs on his own. He's pretty fast! Way to go Jeff! By the time we got back to Craft Center, my toes were numb, so I decided to finish the day on my trainer at home. After 10m on my trainer, I was about to fall asleep so I drank a coke, which really seemed to help. Finished 72m on the trainer for 112m on the day at 16.3 mph avg. Don't know how to translate speed on a trainer versus speed outside, but it is what it is. Went to a missions meeting Sat night with the wife. I was so hungry I could have eaten a shoe! Good thing we got there late so others wouldn't see how much I ate. I couldn't eat enough! Nearly fell asleep during the talk.
Sun: Ran 17m. Felt pretty beat up afterward. I was tired all day. Took one nap in the am and another after lunch before the run. Felt ok through about 12m, then began to struggle. I was about to quit around 15-1/2m when I saw Denise and Carmen. They encouraged me to keep going so I made it the full 17m. Yea! Thanks ladies! Felt pretty beat up after and lousy Sun nite. Feeling better today, although my quads are still plenty sore.
In each event, whether swim, bike, or run, I hit these distance "walls" and feel lousy afterward. For example, my run "wall" used to be 6m, then 8m, then 10m, now it's 12m. I can run comfortably up to 12m, then start to struggle badly. Just have to keep running to push that wall out further. Same thing on the swim. My swim wall use to be 2000 yards, then 2500, then 3000, now it's 4200. On the bike, it was 15m, then 20m, now it's about 60m-80m. So not surprisingly, the more I swim, bike, and run, the better I get at each. Maybe it will all come together some day.
Seven weeks left to IMAZ! So I have about 4 more weeks of heavy stuff, followed by 3 weeks of taper, or so. Already looking forward to the taper. At this point, I feel pretty good about my swim and bike. As for the run, I'll just do the best I can to finish, learn from it, and get better for IMAZ in Nov.
Cheers...
Monday, February 25, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
TGIF?
Remember when we used to think, "Thank God, it's Friday!" or TGIF? Well, Fridays have a different meaning in my world these days.
By this time of the week, I'm pretty tired from the nightly routine of swim, bike, run, and lift, that is if I ever lifted. I got in a habit of taking off Thursday nights so I would be rested for the weekend, but managed to do the bike workout last night. So here I am, Friday afternoon, with a long weekend ahead of me and I'm already tired. Not good. Here is the schedule: Fri night: swim 2.4m and run 5m (which I neglected to do this am because of laziness and a rain storm). Sat am: bike 112m (my longest bike yet) and finish the weeks strength routines. Then I'm supposed to head to a Missions meeting Sat night. I'll be comatose by then so I can sleep through the talk. Sunday: run 17m (my longest run yet). If I can get through this weekend unscathed and without injury, then I will build up a huge amount of confidence and mental discipline heading into the last few weeks of intense IM training before the taper. I'll just have to take it like a race, one lap, one pedal, one step at a time.
I have had trouble getting into a training routine through the winter. Part of it is the dark and cold weather outside. Part of it is I have had to "climb the mountain" so to speak of increasing my training volume. Although cautioned against it, I'm already looking ahead to IMAZ in Nov. Whatever my time is at IMAZ in April, I will improve upon it in Nov. Here's why: (1) The weather should be much better so I can stay consistent and get outside more often. (2) My training volume will already be "up there" so I can just keep going, after taking a few weeks off of course, (3) I can focus more on speed than distance. So far, I have been focusing on just getting my distance up there, (4) I should be able to train with some other folks around here, and (5) a little friendly peer pressure doesn't hurt either. Some will be training for CDA, Louisville, Florida, or IMAZ in Nov. Regardless, it will be fun to ride with some folks for a change. Riding by one's self through the outer reaches of Madison County can get boring. So far, I have managed to fight it though.
I found some IM videos on Youtube.com, which I have been watching every night. They get me pumped up and excited about this race! I want to put together my own video too. But it's all about the music. We'll see how it goes. While I want to take both my kids for the full family effect of the race, I also don't want to take them because I don't want any distractions and need to get proper rest for my race. Sorry boys, you may have to sit this one out. Maybe another race, another time. This one is too BIG for me to mess up!
Now after posting what I plan to do for this weekend, we'll see how well I do when I write back on Monday. So far, I have not yet completed all the workouts in a single week that my coach has given me. Sorry Coach K! I have completed most of them though. Missed only one or two long workouts and a couple of short ones during the week. Mainly, I have not done the strength work that is necessary. Each week I tell myself I will "do it"only to come up short, or way short, again and again. I think I have a pretty good routine to follow now. I just have to do it and do it consistently!!!
Oh yeah, I ordered my wet suit this week! It should be here next week so I can do a few polar bear swims before heading to Tempe. Yea! Nothing like a little hypothermia to you ready for a race!
Can't wait to write "Thank God, it's Monday!" Monday is a recovery day! Yea!
Cheers!
By this time of the week, I'm pretty tired from the nightly routine of swim, bike, run, and lift, that is if I ever lifted. I got in a habit of taking off Thursday nights so I would be rested for the weekend, but managed to do the bike workout last night. So here I am, Friday afternoon, with a long weekend ahead of me and I'm already tired. Not good. Here is the schedule: Fri night: swim 2.4m and run 5m (which I neglected to do this am because of laziness and a rain storm). Sat am: bike 112m (my longest bike yet) and finish the weeks strength routines. Then I'm supposed to head to a Missions meeting Sat night. I'll be comatose by then so I can sleep through the talk. Sunday: run 17m (my longest run yet). If I can get through this weekend unscathed and without injury, then I will build up a huge amount of confidence and mental discipline heading into the last few weeks of intense IM training before the taper. I'll just have to take it like a race, one lap, one pedal, one step at a time.
I have had trouble getting into a training routine through the winter. Part of it is the dark and cold weather outside. Part of it is I have had to "climb the mountain" so to speak of increasing my training volume. Although cautioned against it, I'm already looking ahead to IMAZ in Nov. Whatever my time is at IMAZ in April, I will improve upon it in Nov. Here's why: (1) The weather should be much better so I can stay consistent and get outside more often. (2) My training volume will already be "up there" so I can just keep going, after taking a few weeks off of course, (3) I can focus more on speed than distance. So far, I have been focusing on just getting my distance up there, (4) I should be able to train with some other folks around here, and (5) a little friendly peer pressure doesn't hurt either. Some will be training for CDA, Louisville, Florida, or IMAZ in Nov. Regardless, it will be fun to ride with some folks for a change. Riding by one's self through the outer reaches of Madison County can get boring. So far, I have managed to fight it though.
I found some IM videos on Youtube.com, which I have been watching every night. They get me pumped up and excited about this race! I want to put together my own video too. But it's all about the music. We'll see how it goes. While I want to take both my kids for the full family effect of the race, I also don't want to take them because I don't want any distractions and need to get proper rest for my race. Sorry boys, you may have to sit this one out. Maybe another race, another time. This one is too BIG for me to mess up!
Now after posting what I plan to do for this weekend, we'll see how well I do when I write back on Monday. So far, I have not yet completed all the workouts in a single week that my coach has given me. Sorry Coach K! I have completed most of them though. Missed only one or two long workouts and a couple of short ones during the week. Mainly, I have not done the strength work that is necessary. Each week I tell myself I will "do it"only to come up short, or way short, again and again. I think I have a pretty good routine to follow now. I just have to do it and do it consistently!!!
Oh yeah, I ordered my wet suit this week! It should be here next week so I can do a few polar bear swims before heading to Tempe. Yea! Nothing like a little hypothermia to you ready for a race!
Can't wait to write "Thank God, it's Monday!" Monday is a recovery day! Yea!
Cheers!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Why Tri...(Revised 2/25)?
I just returned from a business trip out west and struck up a conversation with the lady sitting next to me on the plane. She was returning from a competition with her college gymnastics team. Somehow, the conversation shifted to me doing triathlons and I mentioned that I had finished 3 half Ironman triathlons and was preparing for my first full Ironman this April. She asked, "How do you feel afterward?" I replied, "Completely exhausted. Beat up from head to toe. Like someone took me to the woodshed out back and beat me with a baseball bat, front and back." "Then why do you do it?" she asked.
Good question. So why do I do this, especially if it hurts so bad, takes so much time, and cost so much money?
Well, it started about two years ago. It was Oct '05 and I was turning 45. My older son was into his terrible teens. (The terrible 2's are cute/funny compared to the terrible teens. Just wait!) I went from being his best friend to "Darth Vader Daddy" overnight. Still don't know why. Five years later and no change in sight either. My wife was hauling my younger son to all of his activities every night. Why do we sign up our kids for every conceivable acitivity on earth? What happened to the days when kids just played at home? Anyway, so there I sat, night after night, on the couch, watching ESPN, eating another lucious bowl of cereal, which I had prepared all by myself. Look out Emeril!
Finally, one day in the office I nearly screamed at the top of my lungs! I was about to go nuts! (Some would say AMEN to that!) I had nothing to do and no one to do it with. So I decided, out of the clear blue yonder, that I would run a marathon. I was not a runner per se, but had at least run off and on over the years. Had done one 10k about 20 years earlier and that was it. So I downloaded a marathon training program, bought some new running shoes, hired a personal trainer, and off I went. I gave myself one year to train for a marathon. I was going slow but steady. Somewhere along the way, my personal trainer (Chuck) suggested that I do a triathlon. He said it would be good cross training and the swim and bike training would be lower impact on my body than running. "Are you crazy?" I said. "Read my lips! I can't swim! Not at all. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Not happening! Can we get back to training for a marathon?"
Naturally, I soon developed IT Band problems, had to get Physical Therapy, and could not run for the next 3 months. (Middle age creeps up fast and is not real nice about it.) So I reluctantly decided to try swimming. Thankfully, no one was around to witness this debacle. I swam one lap, 25 yards, and nearly died! This was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life! Harder than football, basketball, running, cheerleading (another story) or weight lifting! Thankfully, I was the only one in the pool. I stayed at one end, fussing at myself for even trying this. "This is stupid!" I said out loud. "I'm too old for this!" "I'll find something else to do even if it means playing checkers!" Then I swam another lap. Then a couple more laps. Afterward, I was completely exhausted and probably had not swum 10 laps total, with a rest between each one!
The best decision I made was to hire a swim coach. I figured that I could flail away at the water for years with no progress, or pay someone to teach me how to swim correctly. I took lessons for the next 3 months and got ecstatic at each small measure of success along the way! I remember when I actually swam my first 1/3 mile, 600 yards without stopping. You would have thought I had swum the English channel! I emailed my coach (a 17 time All American swimmer in college) about my enormous success! She must have held back the laughter when I said I swam 600 yards straight, not even a good warm up for her. But she was encouraging. So I kept going.
Free style always tired me out quickly, so I learned to rotate my strokes between free style, back stroke, and breast stroke. By the time I got to my first triathlon in May '06, I had to swim 200 yards (8 laps), bike 8m and run 2m. Wooo Hoooo! It was a staggered start in a pool. After about 5 strokes, I panicked and switched to breast stroke to finish. My next tri was in June '06, my first open water swim with a wave start. After about 10 strokes and drinking plenty of nasty lake water, I switched back to breast stroke and have stayed with it ever since. I noticed that I was keeping up with most of the other folks doing free style. Many of them swam in a zig zag manner wasting time and energy. Some stopped to rest at the bouys or turned over on their back to rest while I just puttered by them. So off I went, breast stroke and all. I wasn't trying to win, just finish. Besides, free style makes me dizzy. If you have ever had vertigo, then you understand.
By Oct '06 I had signed up for my first half Ironman triathlon, only 5 months after my first begginer tri. When I told a few people about signing up for this some said, "No way! Gary, you are NOT ready for this distance! It took me X years to move up to this distance. You need to wait, take your time, and work your way up. Maybe in another year or two you can do a half IM, but not now." I never said anything but just smiled and sat back quietly. All the while I wanted to say, "Thank you. I guarantee you that I will finish this thing. Book it!" All I need is for someone to tell me I can't do something, then I proceed to do just that. I can't take credit for it though. It's just a gift. Go ask my wife! So in Oct '06, I flew to Tempe, AZ and completed the Soma Half Ironman. Not a world record pace mind you, but I finished and beat my goal. So I was happy and that is all that mattered. The rest of the world can just, well, you get the picture...
Back to the original question: So why do I do this? (After giving this more thought during my 10m run last night, I thought it best to revise my answer. So here goes.) Why do I continue to train, race, hurt, and repeat this cycle? It's hard to explain really. I guess I'm addicted, obsessed, possessed, or whatever adjective you want to use to describe it. I tried to hunt, golf, or fish (the 3 major religions in Mississippi). None of them took. Too boring. I get bored easily and needed a challenge. Triathlon provides me with a never ending challenge to go further and faster! One can never master all the elements of swim, bike, run, nutrition, strength training and flexibility. Every now and then, it provides a rush that feels great and is worth the pain at the end. Plus, I've met a lot of great people in the process. It gives me a social outlet, a physical training regimen, and mental discipline. It also provides me with an escape from the reality, or monotony, of every day life. It has helped me overcome so many mental barriers that I could not begin to list them all. How else could you get a middle aged male couch potato to lose 20 pounds, give up eating red meat, pizza, shave his legs (a bloody experience), wear a Speedo for swim training (not a pretty sight), get up at 4:00 am on Sat for a 10m run to beat the oppressive Mississippi summer heat, bike 100m on a trainer in the den, etc...
So why do I tri? I do triathlons for 3 basic reasons: 1) the RUSH!, 2) the EDGE!, and 3) the HUMILITY/GRATITUDE of the sport! The Rush I get at times during races is fantastic! It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's worth all the blood, sweat, and tears I put into this. For example, during my best single race, the Disney Triathlon (Olympic) in Sept '06, the bike portion of the race was my best ever! I left T1 on a tear, not thinking about pacing myself. I just took off as fast as I could go. Race conditions that day were perfect! A flat, fast course, no wind, heat, or hills. For the first time, I began to pass other people instead of everybody passing me. As I passed people, it felt like I took their energy away and filled my tank more and more. I was going 20+ mph, which is fast for me. I decided to see how long I could keep it up and surprised myself by keeping it a long way. I finished the bike portion at an average pace of 19.5 mph! I have never biked that fast before or since! It was a true adrenaline rush! I felt God's presence to the point where I thought I would bust wide open! I also felt it during the bike at the Longhorn 1/2 Ironman in Oct '07. I was on my new GURU tri bike and feeling it. There was one long down hill where I got up to 42 mph! I was flying! Then I came to the point where I thought "Oh my God! I'm about to die!" That's when I prayed "Lord, please help me not to kill myself by wrecking and sliding 200 yards on the asphalt. I'll never do this again!" (Of course, He and I both knew that I would. But He protected me anyway.) There is a brief moment between feeling the Rush and feeling the Edge, which brings me to the second point. I don't consider myself an "adrenaline junky," although maybe I'm becoming one. But I want to push myself as far as humanly possible, without going over the edge.
I just returned from a snow skiing trip to Montana. I'm a novice snow skiier but was learning quickly. There comes a moment when I'm in a groove going down hill, cutting back and forth, where it feels awesome, the Rush is present and it feels great! Then I cross over the line of feeling the Rush to feeling the Edge. The Edge is right on the precipice of feeling ecstatic to looking for a place to crash. I want to feel the Edge, but not the crash. It's that split second in time where the Rush is escalated just a little bit more, beyond what I can manage, and yet seem to manage somehow, at least hopefully, most of the time. I'm not on a death wish. It's just that feeling of going all out and doing my best and knowing I gave it my all. I almost felt it at the end of the Longhorn half IM. But after the race, I felt like I could have given a little bit more. I want to finish a race, any race, any distance, knowing that I through caution to the wind, gave it everything I possibly could, and have nothing left at the end at all but to collapse and be totally spent. However, I don't want to be hauled off on a stretcher with an oxygen bag taped to me like another guy at Longhorn. I'm not gunning for that experience.
Finally, there is the humility and gratitude I get from racing. The highlight of my worst race occured before the race started, at least for me. Before the race, one of the race officials asked me to help a physically challenged man enter the Gulf of Mexico for the swim portion of the race. I was so thankful that he asked me to do this and thankful that I was about to do the race with all my limbs in tact and functioning whereas this man could not walk on his own. Perhaps I should have gone on home after this part of the race. Perhaps my worst race was actually my best!
Good question. So why do I do this, especially if it hurts so bad, takes so much time, and cost so much money?
Well, it started about two years ago. It was Oct '05 and I was turning 45. My older son was into his terrible teens. (The terrible 2's are cute/funny compared to the terrible teens. Just wait!) I went from being his best friend to "Darth Vader Daddy" overnight. Still don't know why. Five years later and no change in sight either. My wife was hauling my younger son to all of his activities every night. Why do we sign up our kids for every conceivable acitivity on earth? What happened to the days when kids just played at home? Anyway, so there I sat, night after night, on the couch, watching ESPN, eating another lucious bowl of cereal, which I had prepared all by myself. Look out Emeril!
Finally, one day in the office I nearly screamed at the top of my lungs! I was about to go nuts! (Some would say AMEN to that!) I had nothing to do and no one to do it with. So I decided, out of the clear blue yonder, that I would run a marathon. I was not a runner per se, but had at least run off and on over the years. Had done one 10k about 20 years earlier and that was it. So I downloaded a marathon training program, bought some new running shoes, hired a personal trainer, and off I went. I gave myself one year to train for a marathon. I was going slow but steady. Somewhere along the way, my personal trainer (Chuck) suggested that I do a triathlon. He said it would be good cross training and the swim and bike training would be lower impact on my body than running. "Are you crazy?" I said. "Read my lips! I can't swim! Not at all. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Not happening! Can we get back to training for a marathon?"
Naturally, I soon developed IT Band problems, had to get Physical Therapy, and could not run for the next 3 months. (Middle age creeps up fast and is not real nice about it.) So I reluctantly decided to try swimming. Thankfully, no one was around to witness this debacle. I swam one lap, 25 yards, and nearly died! This was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life! Harder than football, basketball, running, cheerleading (another story) or weight lifting! Thankfully, I was the only one in the pool. I stayed at one end, fussing at myself for even trying this. "This is stupid!" I said out loud. "I'm too old for this!" "I'll find something else to do even if it means playing checkers!" Then I swam another lap. Then a couple more laps. Afterward, I was completely exhausted and probably had not swum 10 laps total, with a rest between each one!
The best decision I made was to hire a swim coach. I figured that I could flail away at the water for years with no progress, or pay someone to teach me how to swim correctly. I took lessons for the next 3 months and got ecstatic at each small measure of success along the way! I remember when I actually swam my first 1/3 mile, 600 yards without stopping. You would have thought I had swum the English channel! I emailed my coach (a 17 time All American swimmer in college) about my enormous success! She must have held back the laughter when I said I swam 600 yards straight, not even a good warm up for her. But she was encouraging. So I kept going.
Free style always tired me out quickly, so I learned to rotate my strokes between free style, back stroke, and breast stroke. By the time I got to my first triathlon in May '06, I had to swim 200 yards (8 laps), bike 8m and run 2m. Wooo Hoooo! It was a staggered start in a pool. After about 5 strokes, I panicked and switched to breast stroke to finish. My next tri was in June '06, my first open water swim with a wave start. After about 10 strokes and drinking plenty of nasty lake water, I switched back to breast stroke and have stayed with it ever since. I noticed that I was keeping up with most of the other folks doing free style. Many of them swam in a zig zag manner wasting time and energy. Some stopped to rest at the bouys or turned over on their back to rest while I just puttered by them. So off I went, breast stroke and all. I wasn't trying to win, just finish. Besides, free style makes me dizzy. If you have ever had vertigo, then you understand.
By Oct '06 I had signed up for my first half Ironman triathlon, only 5 months after my first begginer tri. When I told a few people about signing up for this some said, "No way! Gary, you are NOT ready for this distance! It took me X years to move up to this distance. You need to wait, take your time, and work your way up. Maybe in another year or two you can do a half IM, but not now." I never said anything but just smiled and sat back quietly. All the while I wanted to say, "Thank you. I guarantee you that I will finish this thing. Book it!" All I need is for someone to tell me I can't do something, then I proceed to do just that. I can't take credit for it though. It's just a gift. Go ask my wife! So in Oct '06, I flew to Tempe, AZ and completed the Soma Half Ironman. Not a world record pace mind you, but I finished and beat my goal. So I was happy and that is all that mattered. The rest of the world can just, well, you get the picture...
Back to the original question: So why do I do this? (After giving this more thought during my 10m run last night, I thought it best to revise my answer. So here goes.) Why do I continue to train, race, hurt, and repeat this cycle? It's hard to explain really. I guess I'm addicted, obsessed, possessed, or whatever adjective you want to use to describe it. I tried to hunt, golf, or fish (the 3 major religions in Mississippi). None of them took. Too boring. I get bored easily and needed a challenge. Triathlon provides me with a never ending challenge to go further and faster! One can never master all the elements of swim, bike, run, nutrition, strength training and flexibility. Every now and then, it provides a rush that feels great and is worth the pain at the end. Plus, I've met a lot of great people in the process. It gives me a social outlet, a physical training regimen, and mental discipline. It also provides me with an escape from the reality, or monotony, of every day life. It has helped me overcome so many mental barriers that I could not begin to list them all. How else could you get a middle aged male couch potato to lose 20 pounds, give up eating red meat, pizza, shave his legs (a bloody experience), wear a Speedo for swim training (not a pretty sight), get up at 4:00 am on Sat for a 10m run to beat the oppressive Mississippi summer heat, bike 100m on a trainer in the den, etc...
So why do I tri? I do triathlons for 3 basic reasons: 1) the RUSH!, 2) the EDGE!, and 3) the HUMILITY/GRATITUDE of the sport! The Rush I get at times during races is fantastic! It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's worth all the blood, sweat, and tears I put into this. For example, during my best single race, the Disney Triathlon (Olympic) in Sept '06, the bike portion of the race was my best ever! I left T1 on a tear, not thinking about pacing myself. I just took off as fast as I could go. Race conditions that day were perfect! A flat, fast course, no wind, heat, or hills. For the first time, I began to pass other people instead of everybody passing me. As I passed people, it felt like I took their energy away and filled my tank more and more. I was going 20+ mph, which is fast for me. I decided to see how long I could keep it up and surprised myself by keeping it a long way. I finished the bike portion at an average pace of 19.5 mph! I have never biked that fast before or since! It was a true adrenaline rush! I felt God's presence to the point where I thought I would bust wide open! I also felt it during the bike at the Longhorn 1/2 Ironman in Oct '07. I was on my new GURU tri bike and feeling it. There was one long down hill where I got up to 42 mph! I was flying! Then I came to the point where I thought "Oh my God! I'm about to die!" That's when I prayed "Lord, please help me not to kill myself by wrecking and sliding 200 yards on the asphalt. I'll never do this again!" (Of course, He and I both knew that I would. But He protected me anyway.) There is a brief moment between feeling the Rush and feeling the Edge, which brings me to the second point. I don't consider myself an "adrenaline junky," although maybe I'm becoming one. But I want to push myself as far as humanly possible, without going over the edge.
I just returned from a snow skiing trip to Montana. I'm a novice snow skiier but was learning quickly. There comes a moment when I'm in a groove going down hill, cutting back and forth, where it feels awesome, the Rush is present and it feels great! Then I cross over the line of feeling the Rush to feeling the Edge. The Edge is right on the precipice of feeling ecstatic to looking for a place to crash. I want to feel the Edge, but not the crash. It's that split second in time where the Rush is escalated just a little bit more, beyond what I can manage, and yet seem to manage somehow, at least hopefully, most of the time. I'm not on a death wish. It's just that feeling of going all out and doing my best and knowing I gave it my all. I almost felt it at the end of the Longhorn half IM. But after the race, I felt like I could have given a little bit more. I want to finish a race, any race, any distance, knowing that I through caution to the wind, gave it everything I possibly could, and have nothing left at the end at all but to collapse and be totally spent. However, I don't want to be hauled off on a stretcher with an oxygen bag taped to me like another guy at Longhorn. I'm not gunning for that experience.
Finally, there is the humility and gratitude I get from racing. The highlight of my worst race occured before the race started, at least for me. Before the race, one of the race officials asked me to help a physically challenged man enter the Gulf of Mexico for the swim portion of the race. I was so thankful that he asked me to do this and thankful that I was about to do the race with all my limbs in tact and functioning whereas this man could not walk on his own. Perhaps I should have gone on home after this part of the race. Perhaps my worst race was actually my best!
IMAZ - 8 weeks
Totals for the week: Swim 2500 yards, Bike 110 miles, Run 0 miles.
Not a good week of training. Thankfully, this was a recovery week. Training was hindered by an out of state business trip and contracting bronchitis along the way. I missed a 7m run, a second swim workout, and my long run for the week, which was supposed to be 17m. At least I got in 2 bike workouts. My long bike was supposed to be 110m, but I cut it short at 80m. Imagine that, a "short" 80m bike ride? Ha! I could have finished the other 30m, but it would have been ugly and probably hurt my recovery from the bronchitis. The ongoing challenge is to know when to push through fatigue, tiredness, soreness, sickness, etc... and when to stop. Managing volume versus intensity is another challenge. I have accepted that every workout is not going to be a PR. Sometimes, you just have to do it to get the miles in, even if the pace is not what was expected.
Swim: did one recovery swim of 2500 yards. My recovery times now are what my fast times used to be. So at least my swim has improved somewhat. Unfortunately, this is the shortest part of the race.
Bike: Did a 30m bike on Wed night. My heart and legs were not into it though. Too much family drama going on for me to concentrate. Did ok on the workout anyway, but not as well as I could have. Biked 80m Sunday on my trainer. It was beautiful outside, but since I was getting a late start, I stayed on the trainer. Many people say they hate riding on a trainer. I've grown to like it ok. It removes many elements (weather, cars, dogs, hills, etc...) but makes it too easy to quit when I get tired. When you are 20m out from home, you have to ride home anyway. Can't quit. Watched lots of old movies and Ironman DVD's though.
Run: no run this week. The bronchitis zapped me.
So this next week is really critical for my training. All weeks are critical, but with only 8 weeks left and me not being ready for the race, I can't slip up now. No room for error and lots of room for improvement. This is one of the main reasons why I signed up for IMAZ in Nov too. I wanted to know that I had a second chance in case something or anything hindered my training or performance for IMAZ April.
At the moment, I feel pretty good about getting through the swim and bike in the times I set for myself. But I am a long way off from being ready for the run. At this point, it looks like a run/walk effort of some sort.
Not a good week of training. Thankfully, this was a recovery week. Training was hindered by an out of state business trip and contracting bronchitis along the way. I missed a 7m run, a second swim workout, and my long run for the week, which was supposed to be 17m. At least I got in 2 bike workouts. My long bike was supposed to be 110m, but I cut it short at 80m. Imagine that, a "short" 80m bike ride? Ha! I could have finished the other 30m, but it would have been ugly and probably hurt my recovery from the bronchitis. The ongoing challenge is to know when to push through fatigue, tiredness, soreness, sickness, etc... and when to stop. Managing volume versus intensity is another challenge. I have accepted that every workout is not going to be a PR. Sometimes, you just have to do it to get the miles in, even if the pace is not what was expected.
Swim: did one recovery swim of 2500 yards. My recovery times now are what my fast times used to be. So at least my swim has improved somewhat. Unfortunately, this is the shortest part of the race.
Bike: Did a 30m bike on Wed night. My heart and legs were not into it though. Too much family drama going on for me to concentrate. Did ok on the workout anyway, but not as well as I could have. Biked 80m Sunday on my trainer. It was beautiful outside, but since I was getting a late start, I stayed on the trainer. Many people say they hate riding on a trainer. I've grown to like it ok. It removes many elements (weather, cars, dogs, hills, etc...) but makes it too easy to quit when I get tired. When you are 20m out from home, you have to ride home anyway. Can't quit. Watched lots of old movies and Ironman DVD's though.
Run: no run this week. The bronchitis zapped me.
So this next week is really critical for my training. All weeks are critical, but with only 8 weeks left and me not being ready for the race, I can't slip up now. No room for error and lots of room for improvement. This is one of the main reasons why I signed up for IMAZ in Nov too. I wanted to know that I had a second chance in case something or anything hindered my training or performance for IMAZ April.
At the moment, I feel pretty good about getting through the swim and bike in the times I set for myself. But I am a long way off from being ready for the run. At this point, it looks like a run/walk effort of some sort.
Monday, February 11, 2008
IMAZ - 9 weeks
Totals for the week: Swim 11,300 yards (a), Bike 159 miles (a), Run 22 miles.
(a) Furthest weekly totals ever!
Altogether, a good week of training, with a great close on Sunday!
Swim: Started out sluggish. Tues swim was ok for distance, but I seemed to have lost some zip. Worked harder on Thurs swim and finished strong with 2 mile swim in 1:18 on Sat am, about a 2:10/100 pace. Feeling pretty good about my swim again. Just need to keep working on form/technique.
Bike: Trying to push harder on my weeknight rides on my trainer. Been training in the 16's for a while. So I pushed it up to the 17's. It's doable. Don't know how this will translate to speed outside, but we will soon find out. I moved the miles from what I was supposed to do Thurs night to Sat. Not the smartest thing I have ever done, as was pointed out to me. I was supposed to bike 60m, but went 91m instead. This was after a 2m swim. I rode through Madison County (more hills) for the first 44m, then went north on the Trace (fewer hills) for the other half. I was ready to quit at 60m, but had to finish. Anyway, I finally got home at 91m, but it was ugly (15.3 mph). Have to start somewhere though.
Run: Ran easy on Wed and Fri night. Ran real well Sunday afternoon after my bike ride.
Sunday: This turned out to be one of those special days, the ones I LIVE for and keep me going. Since I swam 2m and biked 91m on Sat, I really didn't expect much at all. I met Jim and Rick for a "quick" 25m ride through Pocohontas (rolling hills). When we started, my legs were like jelly, numb and limp. But after a few minutes, I could start feeling them again and began to pick up speed. I was finally able to keep up with a couple of faster guys for a change. Either one of them could have dropped me like a hot brick if they wanted, but I was able to keep up pretty well most of the time, except for a couple of hills. Thanks for letting me ride guys! And thanks for the encouraging words!
After the bike ride, I went home for a 10m run as part of my brick workout. I normally run about a 10:00/mile pace without the hard 25m bike ride or the long Sat workout prior. So I was thinking maybe a 10:30/m pace would be good. I started out slow to let my legs loosen up. At 1m, I was at 10:05. Not bad, I thought. Then I began to feel myself picking up speed. Not good! I'll go out too fast and crash on the way in! Then I thought, this is why we train. I can't go faster until I begin to train faster. So I "let the dogs run" as they say. My cumulative average pace began to fall. Under 10:00/m. Under 9:55/m. Under 9:45/m. Wait! This is crazy! I can't hold this pace for 10m! Well, I decided to hold it as long as I could and off I went. I was feeling so good that I didn't stop at my usual water hole at 5m. I didn't want to lose my groove/rythym, so I kept going. Was feeling so good that I skipped my second water hole too. So I ended up running the full 10m at a 9:39/m pace without a single stop. This, after a hard 25m bike and a looooonnnnngg 91m bike on Sat.
This was by far, one of my best days ever! My best day was probably the Disney Tri back in Sept '06, but this was a close second! Thank you Lord! I can't explain this to be anything other than God's blessing on me this day, because I'm simply not able to go this far or this fast.
Hope I can perform this well at IMAZ! If I do, it will be a great experience!
(a) Furthest weekly totals ever!
Altogether, a good week of training, with a great close on Sunday!
Swim: Started out sluggish. Tues swim was ok for distance, but I seemed to have lost some zip. Worked harder on Thurs swim and finished strong with 2 mile swim in 1:18 on Sat am, about a 2:10/100 pace. Feeling pretty good about my swim again. Just need to keep working on form/technique.
Bike: Trying to push harder on my weeknight rides on my trainer. Been training in the 16's for a while. So I pushed it up to the 17's. It's doable. Don't know how this will translate to speed outside, but we will soon find out. I moved the miles from what I was supposed to do Thurs night to Sat. Not the smartest thing I have ever done, as was pointed out to me. I was supposed to bike 60m, but went 91m instead. This was after a 2m swim. I rode through Madison County (more hills) for the first 44m, then went north on the Trace (fewer hills) for the other half. I was ready to quit at 60m, but had to finish. Anyway, I finally got home at 91m, but it was ugly (15.3 mph). Have to start somewhere though.
Run: Ran easy on Wed and Fri night. Ran real well Sunday afternoon after my bike ride.
Sunday: This turned out to be one of those special days, the ones I LIVE for and keep me going. Since I swam 2m and biked 91m on Sat, I really didn't expect much at all. I met Jim and Rick for a "quick" 25m ride through Pocohontas (rolling hills). When we started, my legs were like jelly, numb and limp. But after a few minutes, I could start feeling them again and began to pick up speed. I was finally able to keep up with a couple of faster guys for a change. Either one of them could have dropped me like a hot brick if they wanted, but I was able to keep up pretty well most of the time, except for a couple of hills. Thanks for letting me ride guys! And thanks for the encouraging words!
After the bike ride, I went home for a 10m run as part of my brick workout. I normally run about a 10:00/mile pace without the hard 25m bike ride or the long Sat workout prior. So I was thinking maybe a 10:30/m pace would be good. I started out slow to let my legs loosen up. At 1m, I was at 10:05. Not bad, I thought. Then I began to feel myself picking up speed. Not good! I'll go out too fast and crash on the way in! Then I thought, this is why we train. I can't go faster until I begin to train faster. So I "let the dogs run" as they say. My cumulative average pace began to fall. Under 10:00/m. Under 9:55/m. Under 9:45/m. Wait! This is crazy! I can't hold this pace for 10m! Well, I decided to hold it as long as I could and off I went. I was feeling so good that I didn't stop at my usual water hole at 5m. I didn't want to lose my groove/rythym, so I kept going. Was feeling so good that I skipped my second water hole too. So I ended up running the full 10m at a 9:39/m pace without a single stop. This, after a hard 25m bike and a looooonnnnngg 91m bike on Sat.
This was by far, one of my best days ever! My best day was probably the Disney Tri back in Sept '06, but this was a close second! Thank you Lord! I can't explain this to be anything other than God's blessing on me this day, because I'm simply not able to go this far or this fast.
Hope I can perform this well at IMAZ! If I do, it will be a great experience!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
And so it begins...
Actually, training for Ironman Arizona (IMAZ, April '08) began back in Oct '07 right after the Longhorn Half IM in Austin, TX. This will be my first full Ironman. Creating a blog has been on my "to do" list for quite sometime. So my blog begins today. Will update it weekly and will load some pics soon too.
I hired a tri coach and swim coach and was in a good training rythym through Dec but got out of synch in Jan. The first week was a recovery week, then a snow skiing trip to Montana (Yea!), then I pulled a ham string, ouch! But now it is Feb and I'm focused on doing all the workouts, one day at a time. Only 8 weeks to go until taper!
My swim was coming along fine, but lost some zip after a pulled hammy. Swam my first 2.4m on Jan 19 in 1:32:43, about 2:12/100 pace. Not my best time, but ok given it was my first attempt at 2.4m. I figure I can get this down to 1:30. With wet suit on race day, I should be in the 1:25-1:30 range, which is ok for a middle aged breast stroker who swam his first 25 yards in Jan '06 and nearly died. (More on breast stroking another day.)
My bike is the my weakest event of the three, but getting better. It's all relative I suppose. I've been passed by everyone imaginable: men, women, older, younger, taller, shorter, bigger, smaller. They don't discriminate and pass me at will. I feel like a fence post out there but I keep cheering them on as they pass me. Did my first century on Feb 2 in 6:11, about 16.1 mph, on a trainer in my den. Took two movies and a basketball game to get me through it. Still too cold to bike outside, even in Mississippi, but warming up soon. Not sure how speed on a trainer translates to speed outside but we are about to find out. I hope to bike in 7 hours at IMAZ, around 16 mph.
As for the run, I get pretty bushed after the swim and bike. Have done 3 half IM's, all with dismal run performances. Bonked on all 3. So I will work on it and do my best here. Have never run a full marathon before but have done 3 half marathons, all just south of 10:00/mile. But given that this will occur after the swim and bike, I hope to do this in 5 hours, or so. It's the "or so" part that concerns me. Depends on the 4 H's (heat, humidity, hills, and headwinds). And nutrition. IMAZ is known for its headwinds but at least the course is relatively flat. By the way, I did my first half IM in Tempe, so I am familiar with the course and elements.
Nevertheless, adding up the times of swim 1.50 (2:09/100), bike 7.00 (16 mph) , and run 5.00 (11:27/m) gives me a 13:30 at IMAZ, which is in a perfect world and somewhat ambitious. Throw in a 6 hour run (13:45/m) and it becomes 14:30. So maybe I'll finish around 13:30-14:30. Anyway, it's a start. Whatever I do in April, I hope to improve in Nov '08 when I return to Tempe for my second shot at IMAZ. So yes, I signed up for IMAZ twice this year. I figured since I was already in full IM training mode, I might as well keep it up through the end of this year and improve upon my first IM. I know it's nuts, but what else am I going to do with my time? Besides, the weather will be much better for training through spring and summer versus the winter.
We'll see how it goes. Any training tips, especially in the area of nutrition (daily or race day) would be greatly appreciated. Or just say hello!
Later!!!
I hired a tri coach and swim coach and was in a good training rythym through Dec but got out of synch in Jan. The first week was a recovery week, then a snow skiing trip to Montana (Yea!), then I pulled a ham string, ouch! But now it is Feb and I'm focused on doing all the workouts, one day at a time. Only 8 weeks to go until taper!
My swim was coming along fine, but lost some zip after a pulled hammy. Swam my first 2.4m on Jan 19 in 1:32:43, about 2:12/100 pace. Not my best time, but ok given it was my first attempt at 2.4m. I figure I can get this down to 1:30. With wet suit on race day, I should be in the 1:25-1:30 range, which is ok for a middle aged breast stroker who swam his first 25 yards in Jan '06 and nearly died. (More on breast stroking another day.)
My bike is the my weakest event of the three, but getting better. It's all relative I suppose. I've been passed by everyone imaginable: men, women, older, younger, taller, shorter, bigger, smaller. They don't discriminate and pass me at will. I feel like a fence post out there but I keep cheering them on as they pass me. Did my first century on Feb 2 in 6:11, about 16.1 mph, on a trainer in my den. Took two movies and a basketball game to get me through it. Still too cold to bike outside, even in Mississippi, but warming up soon. Not sure how speed on a trainer translates to speed outside but we are about to find out. I hope to bike in 7 hours at IMAZ, around 16 mph.
As for the run, I get pretty bushed after the swim and bike. Have done 3 half IM's, all with dismal run performances. Bonked on all 3. So I will work on it and do my best here. Have never run a full marathon before but have done 3 half marathons, all just south of 10:00/mile. But given that this will occur after the swim and bike, I hope to do this in 5 hours, or so. It's the "or so" part that concerns me. Depends on the 4 H's (heat, humidity, hills, and headwinds). And nutrition. IMAZ is known for its headwinds but at least the course is relatively flat. By the way, I did my first half IM in Tempe, so I am familiar with the course and elements.
Nevertheless, adding up the times of swim 1.50 (2:09/100), bike 7.00 (16 mph) , and run 5.00 (11:27/m) gives me a 13:30 at IMAZ, which is in a perfect world and somewhat ambitious. Throw in a 6 hour run (13:45/m) and it becomes 14:30. So maybe I'll finish around 13:30-14:30. Anyway, it's a start. Whatever I do in April, I hope to improve in Nov '08 when I return to Tempe for my second shot at IMAZ. So yes, I signed up for IMAZ twice this year. I figured since I was already in full IM training mode, I might as well keep it up through the end of this year and improve upon my first IM. I know it's nuts, but what else am I going to do with my time? Besides, the weather will be much better for training through spring and summer versus the winter.
We'll see how it goes. Any training tips, especially in the area of nutrition (daily or race day) would be greatly appreciated. Or just say hello!
Later!!!
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