Wow, running is dangerous!!!

I just finished my longest run of my new season. One hour and fifty eight seconds. That's not really a big deal, nor is it the point of this post. The point of this post is to relay a message of caution.

Just because a pedestrian has the right of way when crossing a street from the sidewalk does not mean that the person trying to beat traffic to take a left hand turn is going to wait for you.

So there I was, just cruising along rocking out with my new ipod when is come to a cross street. I can see that there is a car waiting to turn left, and a large truck coming towards me that is turning right. I see that the large truck is moving over to get out of the way of the line of cars behind him before he makes his turn. The driver of this large truck sees me and makes eye contact as he slows down. Good to go. So I continue across the street right? Wrong!!! The earlier mentioned car thought that he would try to shoot out across the road to beat the line of cars. Small problem here. As he hits the gas I am directly in front of his bumper. All I could do to avoid being crushed was jump to the side and slam my hand down of the hood of his car for balance. The driver of the car had the nerve to suggest that it was my fault by giving my the one finger wave and then pointing at the truck as if the truck was going to hit me. He then took off across traffic cutting off other cars as he crossed to take his ever important left turn.

No damage done, thankfully. I just goes to show that some drivers don't care who has the right of way. Some drivers really don't pay attention. I actually think that the driver didn't see me until I slammed my hand on his hood.

Moral of the story: Be careful out there people. Other people don't always pay attention to what's going on around them.

Ahh... Christmas Time

That's right, it's that time of year agian. I enjoy Christmas, but it kind of gets out of hand around here. We have six, that's right, six Christmas celebrations to attend. Wow. For the next month we will be jumping around from place to place to ensure that none of the family is left out. I tend to get a little stressed out this time of year.

On a more fun side, my wife and I share the same problem. We can't ever wait for Christmas to open our presents to each other. So last night we opened some.

Results: My wife got a 6mp digital camera. This will also benefit me as I will now be able to post a lot more photos.

I got a new ipod nano. This will also benifit my wife as she now gets control of my old mp3 player.

Also, on another Christmas note you should check out a great new site called TRIJUICE.COM for some last minute gift ideas for the favorite traithlete in your life.

One last note on myself. I have slowly began my training. I feels good to get after it agian. Right now I don't have time for much, but after the holidays it will be full speed ahead.

A New Beginning

Now that Thanksgiving is over, and I have gained the mandatory holiday weight, it is time to start training again. I am still working with three structured work outs a week, but now it is going to be a little more run focused. So, my structured days will be solid run workouts and my fun days (2-3 a week) will consist of riding the trainer, swimming, and lifting.

I have decided to run a half marathon in the end of January. It won't be fast, be I feel like I need some intermediate goals in order to remain focused for the next seven months leading up to Ironman Zurich. So for now, my schduel will look somethin like this:

Monday: 45-60 minute easy run, easy swimming/lifting

Tuesday: 45-60 minute easy spin

Wednesday: Speed workout, and easy swim or lifting session

Thurday: Off

Friday: 60-90 minute long run

Saturday: Off

Sunday: Easy swim, lift, or spin session

I know this schedule is only a rough outline and I am not going to be upset when I miss sessions or have to change the routine. But, this should get me a good start towards a solid base, and with any luck I can remain injury free and carry this fitness over to the summer.

The New Look...

I came to the conclusion that my old blog was very boring in appearance. So, I changed my look. The new look makes it appear as though I would know what I am doing. That's not to say that the content won't put you to sleep. So, I'll issue the following.

Warning:
Do not read this blog while driving, operating heavy machinery, or trying to please your partner!

To do so could result in serious injury, death, or sleeping on the couch.

I have now started the slow rebuild of my base fitness. I am taking it really easy. I have three structered workouts each week with some additional random trips to the gym if I am bored. It is going to be a long build up to Ironman Zurich and I want to be sure that I am ready, but I also don't want to be too aggressive early on and face burn out or injury. So, for now it's easy, easy, easy.

Don't touch my car...

I think that most people will agree that in the course of training you will encounter some strange and even unfriendly people. I've known people to be cursed out, flipped off, swerved at, or even threatened to be run over and turned into speed bumps. As triathletes or cyclist we also have to remember to respect those around us.

I saw this commercial and I thought it was pretty funny. I have actually seen cyclists do this to cars in downtown areas before, but I am yet to see this type of reaction from a driver.

Training season begins...

The off season is now over. I've had roughly two months of down time from traing and I feel great. I started off the new season with a couple of short slow runs. I think I forget how much I like running when I don't have to push myself and I canjust go out to enjoy it. The weather here has been unreal. I ran last night in shorts and a t-shirt. It's the second week in November, I am supposed to be in tights and a jacket by now. I won't complain, and I will try to get out and enjoy it while it's here. I will have more on the weather and training soon.

With all the chaos and trash talking that surrounds election time I just had to post this video. Jonny Cash, "One on the Right".

Enjoy!!!



Happy Trails Fellow Superstars!

Earth quakes and music.

Ok, first and only disc golf tournament of the season is over. I had an absolutely terrible day on the course. It didn't help that it had snowed about 2 inches over night and was cold and very windy. I was still a good time. I got to meet up with an old college buddy and even got to throw the second round with him. As always, he beat me. I can always beat him when we play casual rounds, but I don't think that I have beat him in a tournament yet. Oh well, maybe next year.

While I was off playing in the snow my wife was in Hawaii being woken up by an earthquake. She is on Oahu visiting her sister. She said the quake woke her up around seven. She thought it was thunder at first and then reallized that it had lasted way too long to be thunder. Her sister was at work and she was hime with her brother in law and the two little ones. They went upstairs to try and find out if there was a tsunami warning, but there was no power. They just hung out upstairs until they got the radio to work and found out there would be no tsunami. I tried to get through to her all day. All circuits are busy was the only response I got. She finally got through to me around 8:00pm MN time. I wasn't really worried, but there is always that unknown fear. Especially when you can't reach someone and they are on an island thousands of miles away.

On a happier note, I have been spending some quality time with my guitars. I have been spending a lot of time just learning scales and new positons, but also a lot of time just jamming. Making things fit as I go. I've been listening to a lot more Dead lately, and Jerry's guitar style is way cool. He seems to lag or be a little late, and then bam he nails it. It seems to add a certian tension to his playing. Jerry Garcia playing "Deep Elem Blues".

Rules, What Rules?

This post is not meant to sound angry or cause a fight, but I think this is an important issue that can have a very negative impact on the future of the sport of triathlon. After reading a recent post by TRIMAMA about music and IPods on race courses I thought I should throw this out there.

How important are the rules to you? Have you been passed by a peloton in a non-drafting race? Do the people that break the rules feel the same sense of accomplishment as those that follow the rules? What will happen to the furture of multisport if there are greater numbers of people that feel the rules do not apply to them?

What happened to the Spirit of the Sport?

Music Season

So, now that the tri off season is in full swing, I have shifted my training to from swim, bike, run to guitar, giutar, guitar. Hopefully with some climbing mixed in during the fall and winter months. Instead of spending my 2 hours a day on my bike or in the pool I am spending 2 hours a day in my music room beating on my guitars. It will take a while to get the touch back after not playing very much the last year or so, but it feels really good to just sit down and play. Here is a picture of my baby. It's a 2002 Martin D-42.

I started playing in 2001 with one of my dad's old guitars. It was a 1975 Alverez Dove. A beautiful copy of the vintage Gibson Dove, but it had better tone than any Gibson Dove I have played. Anyway, the Martin was the firts guitar that I ever bought. I figured that if I was going to do it, I should do it right. Since picking up this guitar I have played many other high end guitars, and I am yet to find one that can match this one for full range tone.

Here's so more good guitar pickin'. I can't play this style at all, but it sounds so cool. Again, Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins pickin' Jerry's Breakdown.

Off Season

So now that my off season is fully under way I will be changing the tone of my blog a little. I will still post any and all tri info and tips that I encounter but I will also be posting a lot more on many of my other hobbies and interests. You can expect to see some random ramblings on the world of climbing and mountaineering along with some music and video posts.

So, to start the off season off right, here is a great clip to end the summer on. A little "Summertime" by Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins. Also, to any musicians out there, check out Chet's way cool fretless guitar.

Rain, Rain Photos

I finally got some pictures to upload. I tried yesterday, and appanrently sent a bunch of photos out into cyber land never to be found.












The Wife and the dogs ready to begin the night trek.












Jackson Daniels and Gemini Beam looking very stoic while we try to dry out from a wet morning.












Jackson the water dog. Lake Superior is cold and rough, but that didn't stop him.












The falls at Temperance River.












The Wife and the Racer in Canal Park Duluth, MN.

Rain, Rain...

So it was off to the north shore of Lake Superior for a weekend of backpacking and climbing. At least that was the plan when we left the house. It all started with the drive up. Road construction added a little over an hour to our already 4 hour journey to the begining of our hiking. We finally reached the parking lot around midnight and began preparing for a short hike to sleep out in the open on top of a large rock dome.


The walk in was beautiful. It was about 65 degrees and windy. There was a slight fog in the air which gave a very eerie appearance with our headlights shining ahead. We made it to our destination in a little less that an hour and began to look for a flat place to sleep for the night.

The sky was incredible. There was a small cresent moon with some clouds meandering across the sky. The stars were extremely bright. I forget how amazing the stars are when you get that far away from a major city.

We finally got to sleep around 2:30am. I never really sleep all that good when I am out in the open. I usually wake up and look around a lot to make sure that if there is something ready to eat me I at least see it before it happens. I woke up about 7:00 am to rain falling on my face. It was just a slight drizzle, so I just pulled the ground cloth I was lying on over my sleeping bag and went back to sleep. I woke up at 8:00 am to find my bag totally wet. Apparently my ground cloth is no longer water proof.

The rain caused us to change our plans for the day. So we decided that we would hike out and stay at Temerance River State park instead of staying in the woods when we would not be able to climb anyways. After hiking out in the rain we were able to check into the park and set up a tent. Very soon after that we were off to the store for some soothing barley based beverages. Lake Superior Brewing Co. is my friend. Limited release IPA and Sir Duluth Stout can help you to cope with the changing plans and the shotty weather.

Sunday also got rained out. We decided to pack it up and head for home. the rain let up for a while so we stopped at a marina to walk around and let the dogs swim for a while. I you have ever tried to go for a swim in Lake Superior you know what cold water feels like. I wish I could swim with the blind determination of my yellow lab. The best part of the afternoon was my wife decding that she was going to swim with the dog. She was going to race him to the stick. Well, I through the stick and she didn't go. We were standing on the large marina dock. Anyone want to guess what happened next? Yep, I pushed her in. Whe came up with a rather suprised look on her face and began panic swimming to the shore. She stopped when it was about waist deep and played with our lab for a while, telling me that the water was not that bad. Ya right, her lips were blue. We tried really hard to get our husky to swim, but he just wasn't having it. So, does anyone want to guess what happened. Yep, I threw him in too. He was more pissed off about the deal than my wife.

All things turned out good. We finished our weekend get a way with the traditional stop at Little Angies Cantina in Canal Park for food and a drink before the long ride home. All in all it was a good triop even though there was not chance to climb.

I can't get any photos to load, so I will try to add some pics later.

Where the Buffalo Roam

Ok, so they don't actually roam, they are fenced in. But, we saw buffalo. We have just returned from a camping and climbing trip to Blue Mounds State Park and it was great. The weather could have cooperated a little better, but we made it through. We had to sit out some climbing due to on and off rain, but that gave us some time to explore the rest of the park. The climbing we did get in was really fun. The rock down there is very different from the rock I have climbed in the rest of MN. It is very smooth with very little friction, and the cracks offer little help to those people, myself included, that can not crack climb very well. All in all, the climbing was good, and I even made it up 5.10a route that had an evil hand crack crux at the end. After finally getting on the rock for the first time this summer I am now itching to get out more. Hopefully I will be able to get in a few good days later this fall.

Now the ride home was another story. Have you ever tried riding home in a car for four hours with two large dogs that have been playing in the mud, grass, weeds, and whatever else they got into. WOW. We had to roll with the windows down the entire ride home. The dogs were ripe. My wife will have some serious work to do to get that smell out of her car.

So, now it is back to the daily grind of work. I am going to try and start my 5k training this week in hopes of running some good times later this fall. It will be nice to have shorter workouts, but the plan I am looking at has a silly amount of speed work with it. Looks like I will be spending some quality time on the track this fall.

A look back at Steelhead 70.3

I have finally got around to posting some photos from the Steelhead 70.3. I know, I'm only behind by about a month.













A pre-race look at the start pier 1.2 miles away.












Swim exit, feeling good.












The finishing chute, not feeling so good.















Post race, really not feeling very well.












Post race beverage. Feeling a little better now!

After looking at these pictures again, I begin to realize how much fun this race really was. The emotional swings that I went through on that day were huge. I went from being on top of the world, to tears of pain, to tears of joy, and some tears that I can't really explain. It was a great journey to get to this race. I am really looking forward to the journey to Ironman Zurich and taking in all of the feelings and experiences along the way.

The Return

Holy Crap, I can't even remember my last post. So here comes a quick update on the Racer's world. After taking a long two weeks off of real training I haved returned. I had what I consider, for me, to be a breakthrough speed work out late last week. I thought that I had lost all of my speed, but I was wrong, I just forgot how to use it. This workout came at the gym on a tread mill of all places. Oh, I forgot to mention, I am now a proud member of Gold's Gym. There will be no more chasing lap swims from school to school to get in a work out. Anyways, back to the speed work. Easy warm up followed by a six minute mile that felt really easy followed by four quarter mile repeats with a quarter mile jog recovery between. Nothing special right? Well, I did the first two 1/4's at 5:15 pace no sweat. The third was at 5:04 pace and the last at 4:50 pace. It's been years since I ran quarters like that. I forgot that I could run that fast. I forgot what it feels like to run that fast. It feels good. I am starting to think that it is more my frame of mind that has been holding back my speed than my actual fitness or ability to run fast. I have been focusing on such long endurance that I have forgoten how to run short distances.

So, after coming to this conclusion I have decided not to race another half iron this fall. But instead I am going to try some short races and try to run some fast times in a few road races. I would really like to run a 5K sub 18min. Don't know if I am there yet, but by late fall I may be close.

I was trying to begin the planning for Ironman Zurich training for next year and I began to think that a step away for pure tri training for a few months will help keep me focused when the time comes to put in 20+ hours a week swim, bike, run. I still plan on keeping up with all three disciplines, but I think that I am going to focus on the run, and keep the swim and the bike as my relaxation days. This plan may change, I am not very decisinve these days!

Racer out!

Help Me!!!

So after starting up training after the week of rest I thought I felt great. Wrong... I have no power at all on the bike, and I feel like I completely forgot how to run. Anyone know what's going one? Do I need more rest, or should I tough it out?

Rest and Recovery

A week of rest is Great! I just finished a full week of recovery after the 70.3 and I feel great. I only did one real workout last week with a bunch of sesions to just stretch. The one ride I did take was with the club and I actually felt pretty good. I didn't have any sore muscles, but I also didn't have any power in my legs at all. It felt good to be on my bike when it is set up for road riding rather than triathlon. I took off the aero bars and put my road saddle and seat post back on. Oh, did I mention that was the first thing that I did on the Monday after the race. I think I was a little burnt out on riding with my aero bars. I am really looking forward to doing some long rides in a road setup.

So now the training resumes. I don't really have a solid plan put together for the late summer and fall yet, but I also don't have any races planned yet. I think that I am going to work on run speed for about a month and try and do some road races later in the fall, but I'm not sure yet. I also want to shift some of my time to training for rock climbing. I have really missed climbing the last two years, so I am going to make sure I put some time aside for that in the fall. My fingers have become really weak, so it will take some time to get them into shape for climbing.

It feels good to have my goal race done. I can finally relax and enjoy some of the things I've had to pass on for the last few months.

70.3 vs Marathon

OK, so I have finished my planned racing season and I am still wanting to sign up for fome races. The big question is, do I enter another half iron or do I train for a late season marathon to prep for Ironman Zurich? I would be considering doing the Square Lake half or the Walker North Country marathon.

Or, should I go all in and do both? They are about a month apart.

What to do, what to do?

Steelhead 70.3 Race Report

So, it is finally done. I have completed my first half iron race and I feel pretty good about it.

Swim
The swim start was nuts. It was a jump off the pier start. I happened to big in the largest wave in the race, so you can imagine what it is like jumping off a pier with about 300 or so other racers. There were bodies flying everywhere, actually it was really cool, I loved the start. The swim went really well for me, being that the swim is for sure my weak point. It was all flying elbows and feet for the first half mile or so, or at least that is what I thought. I pulled my head up to sight, expecting to be about half way down the straight line course, linly to see the final buoy. Great, swim leg was done before I knew it. Coming out of the water was different. It was up hill in the sand, with stairs and about a quarter mile run to T1. Overall, the swim rocked.
Swim: 33:23 1:44/100
T1 3:57

After taking my time in T1 I was off on the bike. The bike course was great. It was a lot of small rolling hills, with only one real climb. I was hauling ass and it felt great, and my heart rate was right where I wanted it. The bike was fun, with a lot of high speed sections and rolling hills, with great shade. It's rare to have good shade on bike course. My only complaint with the bike course was the lack of draft marshalls. I saw so many people drafting it was sick. I kind of had a mental breakdown around mile 40-45 when I was passed by a Tour de France size peleton. There was about 30-40 riders, riding two to three wide and wheel to wheel. What the... Many of these riders were not even riding in their aero bars, they were sitting up talking to ach other and enjoing the draft. I was so pissed, the last 12 miles or so I just wanted to be off of my bike. Other than the lack of draft marshalls the bike course was great, it was the most enjoyable ride I have had in a race. Of course that only lasted until I was passed by the Tour!!!
Bike: 2:27:28 22.8MPH
T2: 1:38

After taking my time in T2 I was off. This seemed a little weird, this is the longest T2 time I have ever had, and the only time I have put on socks. I even took the time to wipe off the sand that was still on my feet from the run to T1. As usual, it took me about a mile or so to get my legs under me and get into my rythm. For the first four miles I was on my dersired pace, 8:00/mile and feeling tired but still pretty strong. I soon started to really feel the heat and humidity. I am not sure what the temp was while I was running, but I would guess that it was at least 87F with pretty high humidity. Did I mention that there is no shade on the run? At mile five things took a sharp turn towards the worse. My quads on both legs began cramping up with every stride. By mile six I was beginning to go into survival mode. I decided to start walking through the aid stations around mile seven to see if I could get anything back in my legs. It didn't really help, I could start back running on pace for about a quarter mile before I was full on hurting again. The final three miles were a very slow and painful mix of shuffle and walk shuffle and walk. I have never blown up like that on a run before. It was by far the most painful run I have ever had.
Run: 2:06:22 9:39/Mile
Total: 5:12:47

My original goal was to break 5:15, so I did that. But, I really felt that on the bike I had set my self up to go sub 5 hours, but that may have been a little fast for my legs. After the race, I sat down and tried to take off my shoes. Wow, now both of my legs, top to bottom went into one large cramp. I felt pretty bad that I could not even take off my own shoes without help.

Overall, I am happy with the race. I would have like to had a better run but that's OK. I have my first half Ironman in the books and I enjoyed it. Even though I walked during the race I feel like I gave it all I had on that day. Pics will be coming soon.

My mission was to race my way.

Mission Accomplished!!!

"Pre" race jitters!

Two days to go until the Steelhead 70.3. I have spent a lot of time the last couple of days surfing the web for inspiration and relaxation. I found some great clips of Prefontaine. This man was unreal.



"To give anything less than your best is to sacrafice the Gift."
-Steve Prefontaine

I really need some sleep!

I hate the taper before a big race. I feel like I have no energy, and I am always tired. But, I can't sleep. I haven't had a goods nights sleep in about a week. I feel like I am just more and more worn out each day. It does seem that the heat wave has broke a little, so I am hoping that will help some. All of my workouts during my taper have been cut a little short. I am being very cautious with the heat, I don't want to do any extra damage to myself this close to a race.

I just keep trying to remind myself that I have done the work. I have reviewed my training log and looked at the volume of work I have put in thus far. I also keep remiding myself that I am doing this because I want to. So I'm not sure why all of the stress is getting to me so badly. I have my last pool session tonight, so I am going to try and make it really relaxing and try to clear my head a little.

There has also been the added stress of trying to plan out the traveling to the with my mother. She has to have everything planned out to thevery last detail. This really stresses me out. What ever happened to just getting in the car and going?

Travel Plan:
Leave Thursday around 5:00 pm
Arrive at hotel late, sometime around 1:00 am

Friday:
Early morning swim in Lake Michigan.
Drive bike course.
Bike the run course
Packet pick up.
Course talks.
Check bike into transition area.

Saturday:
Up at 4:00.
Breakfast.
5:00 am, leave for race site.
5:30 am, final bike check and transiton area prep.
5:45 am, easy bike warm up followed by some easy running with strides.
6:30 am, be at swim start for warm up.
7:06 am, Boom!!!

Nervous Yet?

So, after yet another very disappointing ride on Wed. I am left feeling very nervous for the Steelhead 70.3. I know that I can perform better that I have for the last two weeks. I just can't ragain the mental focus. I am really hoping it is just nerves and come race day I will be ready to launch when the gun goes off.

I did however, have a great swim last night. Not hard, not long, not real fast, just a great swim. After my hard sets were done I did some breathing excercises. I would swim one length on the pool on one breath. It was pretty cool, I just focused on swimming really slow and smooth. When you are not breathing you can really hear your stroke. I tried to move through the water as silently as possible. After a couple of reps. they started getting easier and more fluid. It was great, this is the first time in a long while that I have felt completely relaxed and in control during my training.

All hope is not lost. I just need to be relaxed and stay in control.

So, let's review what I know.

I know I have put in the time. I know that I am physically ready. I know that when I get there I will be there to race. I know I will have rough spots, mentally and physically, during the race. I know there will be pain and suffering. I know I will finish strong. I know it will feel incredible to cross the line.

Taper.

So, my two week taper has officially started. Which is great because I am beat. I did a 55 mile ride on Saturday that kicked my ass. More mentatlly than physically though. I started out into the wind and workded hard for the first hour and twenty minutes, looking forward to the trun around. Well, I should know better than that by now. I don't get tailwinds on the way home, ever! By the time I hit my turnaround point the wind had of course shiffted to a cross wind and the mid-day temps were high. I stopped to refuel at a gas station in Darwin, MN. This town may help to prove Darwin's evolutional theory. I'm pretty sure I saw the missing link coming out of the liquor store.

I was all ready to remount and take off when I realized that my rear tire was completely flat. This is pretty much where I lost all motivation and what ever mental energy I had left for the day. I took great care changing this particular flat because I was twenty six miles from home, my wife was out of town and I had no one else to call. Oh, did I mention that I only had one CO2 cartridge and one tube. I had to get it right the first time. I took my tire all the way off and examined every little cut in the tire. I found four different pieces of glass and a staple. By the time I finished fixing my flat I was ready for a nap. I really did not want to ride anymore. This was one of those days that if my wife was home I would have called for a ride.

Finally, I was off for home. This was the worst piece of riding I can remember this year. I could not get comfortable on my saddle, my legs had no snap, my neck hurt, and it was hot. Oh, wait, I can't complain about anything until I get run over by my own team car.

Ride Complete: 55.2 miles 19.8avg/mph

Quit Whining!

Ok, this makes me look pretty silly when I feel the need to mention injuries such as blisters on my feet. I'll try not to whine about anything untill I get run over by my team car.

Guts!

Steve Prefontaine once said something to the effect of, "I don't race to see who is the fastest, I race to see who has more guts!". Well, my 70.3 is now only a few short weeks away and I am coming to the realization that it is going to hurt. Not just a little, I'm talking about major suffering. I have some experience with discomfort for long periods of time. Long unsuccessful summit attempts in the Cascades, death march hikes with extremely heavy packs, long slogs through chest deep snow in the mountains. I know a little bit about discomfort. But the closer I get to race day the more I hear that little voice in the back of my head telling me this is really going to hurt.

Now, I know that I could show up on race day and cruise through the race, not push, and finish feeling strong. I've put in the hours to do that. But, I have missed out on many others parts of my life due to my training. I don't regret any of it, yet. But if I go there and race and don't push my body over the edge I may be a little upset with myself. Ok, I'll be pissed.

I have been saying all along that I wont' push hard on the bike because I don't want to suffer through the run, and I want to finish strong and not in death march fashion. That's not right! I know, deep down inside, that when the guns goes off it's go time. The more I think about it the more I find that I want it to hurt and I want to suffer. I didn't miss out on a summer of disc golf, rock climbing, hanging out having cocktails with my wife, and couch surfing to just show up and go through the motions.

My out look has changed from just wanting to finish to wanting to see if I have the guts to do it my way! My goal is still to fisnish, but I now realize that I may be in a death march, I may be crawling!!! I will only be truely happy with my finish if I do it my way.

Heat Wave

Well, so much for my two solid weeks of intensity and volume. With the heat of last week and this weekend many of my sessions had to be shortened. It has been very frustrating. I have felt really good and I have wanted to push harder and farther, but common sense has called me off a bit. Yesterday was supposed to be a long ride. Didn't really happen that way! It really felt just like a jungle. The heat and humidity made the air thick, and the sweat rolling into my eyes really sucked. I'm no sure that it is possible to keep up on hydration in condtions like that. So, long story longer, I cut the ride really short.

One other thing that I found is that I need to continue to do pool workouts. The open water swimming has helped with my sighting and comfort swimming in my wetsuit, but I have suffered a drop off in speed. Last Thursday I did my first pool workout in about three weeks. WOW was I slow. I wasn't tired or having a hard time doing the work, I just didn't have the speed in the water. Not that I really had any speed to start with, but I can't afford to lose any more. So I am going to focus on pool workouts only for the next two weeks, then during my tapper when I am swimming less intense workouts I will hit the lakes again. Hopefully I can regain a little bit of the speed and efficiency that I had earlier in the season.

On a positive note, I think that my feet have just about healed. After the race blisters and the burn blisters I think they should be good to go now. I finally went out a bought new training shoes that were far overdue. I had over 400 miles on my old ones. Today will be my first run in the new trainers, so I am hoping that they will work out. You can never really tell just by trying them on. If there are going to be problems they usually don't show up for quit a few miles, and then it's too late.

All in all, injuries, heat, and short workouts aside, I think that my training is going pretty well. One can always say I wish I did this or I wish I did that. Of course I have many of those statements, but overall, I think I am ready for the Steelhead 70.3.

ZURICH, ZURICH, ZURICH!!!

Insult to Injury

So, I start out by ripping up my feet at Timberman. OK, live and learn right? Apparently I didn't learn. Yesterday I went to the beach to do my swim workout. I had to park a loooong ways away, and after changing I realized that I had forgotten my sandles. So, what does the genius do? I can barefoot this no problem. Yep, good idea boss! Walked to the beach no problem. As I started swimming my feet really started to hurt as I was kicking. I thought that is was just due to all the healing blisters and cuts on the sides of my feet. It was driving me nuts, and I just couldn't take it anymore, so I cut the swim short. Meanwhile, my wife had shown up to watch, so I had her give me a ride back to my car. The pain was getting worse. I felt like I had shards of glass stuck in my heels. Finally, I got home and washed my feet to inspect the damage. Two large blisters, one on the bottom of each heel. What the $%&*!!! The path did not feel hot, it was cloudy and the temp was pretty mild.

Lesson.

Feet are not very sensitive to feeling the presence of heat. But, they are very sensitive to the effects caused by the presence of heat. Live and learn, right?

So, I can only hope that these will heal quickly and not have an impact on my training. These next two weeks are the finishing touches on the volume and intensity training before I begin a taper for the Steelhead. I guess the only thing to be learned from this is to take care of your feet. Whether you have a foot fetish or not, you can't do much training if you can't walk on your feet.

ZURICH, ZURICH, ZURICH!!!

Race report: I Didn't Sink!

Timberman is now in the books. This was my first Oly/International course, and I think that it was the most enjoyable race I have had yet.

Pre-race: This was kind of a mess. It had been raining in the morning so the course and transition were really wet. By the time we got our race packs and body markings done I was running out of time for a good warm up. I managed to cram in a short run on the golf course and a quick spin on the bike. Now the bathroom problem. I had about ten minutes before my wave was going to start and I had to go, now. Problem was the extreme lines for all the porta pots out side. So, off I went into the woods in a dead sprint. Now, can I get into my wetsuit before the start?

Swim: Made it into my suit managing to put yet another small hole in the leg in the wiggle process. Now the fear started to set in. As I looked out at the last buoy and turn around point, trying not to think about the waves that I would have to fight on the way out, I wondered if I was going to be able to finish the swim. Good news, I started swimming and it felt easy. It was by no means fast, but I felt good the entire way. I did however, drink a lot of water due to the choppy conditions. By far the most enjoyable open water swim I have ever had. No panic feeling or shortness of breath. I came out of the water with a smile and didn't feel like I was going to pass out. After looking at my time, the swim course is short for sure.
Swim: 1500 meters 23:21 1:20/100

T1: 1:36 I had a major fight with my wet suit today. Got stuck on both ankles. It felt like a Chinese finger trap for my feet.

Bike: I just wanted to build into the bike and maintain the same pace and heart rate that I am planning for the Steelhead 70.3 in August. It worked out great. The first and easier of the two laps was done before I knew it. The second lap had some great hills and a brutal false flat. I was spinning up at about 11mph. Feel the burn!!! The entire ride felt comfortable. I like this whole thing with using a race as a long training day, and not racing the clock or other people. It hurts a lot less.
Bike: 24 miles 1:06:27 21.7 mph

T2: :54secs. This really should have been much faster but I forgot a gel and went back for it. Oops!

Run: I have now learned that just because I can run without socks in training does not mean that I can race without socks when I am going to be dumping water over my head. The run was a nice comfortable pace, I didn't push at all. I just maintained my half iron heart rate and cruised through it. Bad news is that having wet feet and no socks absolutely ruined my feet. Oh well, live an learn. I was going to take some pictures and post them, but I think people got enough bad feet on Tri-Geek Dreams. I will spare you my ruined feet.
Run: 6mile 43:14 7:13/mile

Total: 2:15:30

This was by far my most enjoyable Tri yet. It felt really good to be fresh the entire race. Other than my fear of the swim, which is now gone, the idea of 70.3 pacing vs. full on racing really helped keep my race day stress level down. I think that I will try to use more races like this in the future for training and experience. It is really fun to go and race until you drop some times, but it is also really nice to enjoy the entire race without the extra pain and suffering. This race has also given me a lot more confidence in my preparation for the 70.3. I will be ready.

ZURICH, ZURICH, ZURICH

Timberman

So, this weekend is the Timeberman Triathlon in Grand Rapids, MN. The picture is from last year when I did the sprint there. I was really suffering at that point, very hot and very hilly. This year I am taking on the Olympic distance for the first time. If I make it out of the water I should be in good shape to finish. The swim does concern me a little. I am considerably far behind on my swim training in preparation for the Steelhead 70.3 in August. I feel pretty confident on the bike, and the run will come together before then, but I may have to learn the elementry back stroke to survive the swim. Good news is, wetsuits are allowed, so I can always use the controlled float method to get through the swim. It could be a really long mile if that takes place.

Training actually worked out pretty good leading up to this race. Last week was really long hours with some high intensity worked in. This week was a planned recovery week, so it is kind of like having a mini taper before Timeberman. After this weekend, I have two more high volume, high intesity weeks before I begin a two week taper for the 70.3. Yes, I am getting nervous. Yes, I am questioning my fitness. Yes, the swim does concern me a little. I just plan on showing up and letting it ride on the course. If I crash and burn along the way I will chalk it up as a great learning experience.

One step closer to Zurich!!!

The Deed is Done!

Monday July 2, 2006 I officially signed up for Ironman Zurich. Wow. I almost passed out when I hit the pay button on the computer. I suddenly felt really excited, really scared, and really sick to my stomach. It looked like about a half a dozen other club members have signed up already, with what sounds like many more to come.

Also on this long holiday weekend, I did manage to get in some training. Some went good, some went not so good. First the good. I had a great open water swim on Saturday. Water was beautiful, lake was calm, and I was swimming straight. There was another random guy swimming in the same area and he could not swim strainght for anything. He went about five feet left for every twenty feet he went forward. My wife and I had to be on constant look out while we were swimming. He would be way off to the side, and then suddenly we had to take evasive action to avoid a head on with this guy. Now, on to the bad. Hit a long ride on Sunday in the heat. Managed to roll through almost fifty miles. By the last five miles or so I was so ready to be off of my saddle. I could not stay in one position on it for more than a few revs before I would have to either change my position or stand up out of the saddle all together. Not real happy with this ride.

I am trying to keep a positive mind however. I sat back and looked at what I had done in the week leading up to this, and it is no wonder by body is beat. I don't have any really sore muscels, but my body just feels generally worn out. The rest of this week is recovery, followed by a race on Saturday, which is my first Oly. Then, the next two weeks will be really hard with lots of hours. Followed by a two week taper before the Steelhead 70.3.

But the best news of all: ZURICH, ZURICH, ZURICH!!!
It is officially on the books.

Bad News for The Tour de France

It seems that no one can keep them selves clean!!! What is going on in cycling that anyone would even think that they can get away with doping!!! It really makes these cyclists look stupid and sets up a bad reputation for the sport. But, innocent until proven guilty, right?
Tour Doping Scandal

Sink or Swim!

I think I'm going to sink. I missed yet another swim session this morning. Not because I wasn't awake, I just plain old could not make myself go. I am really having a hard time doing my swim training alone. I never used to bother me, but lately it has completely killed my motivaiton. I have decided that I WILL swim Saturday morning in the lake regardless of how I fell or what the weather is like. The only thing that will stop my swim will be lightning. With only one week until my first Oly. I am feeling pretty good about the bike and run, but terrified of the swim. OK, maybe not terrified, but not at all confident. I think I will survive as long as the water is cool enough to allow me to use a wetsuit. If not, I may have issues.

On a better note, today is Friday and I don't have to work until Wednesday. So, I plan on taking advantage of tonight being that it is the last night that I can drink before my half iron in August. That's right, no alcohol for a month. So look out people there will be a hungover swimmer tomorrow. And they say I can't swim straight!!!

I think I'm getting The Fear.

I'm not sure what is going on. just when I think I have things fairly under control I totally lose it. Last night I was totally pumped to do a long hard ride with the Red and Black Army and follow it with a solid run. I felt terrible on the bike. The Fear started rolling in. Can I do a half iron in six weeks and survive? All these bad thoughts and images started flying through my head. As we rode along I found myself thinking "Can I hold this pace for 56 miles?". Doesn't fell like it. How am I going to do a full iron man next year? I'm scared!!!

I followed this confidence killing ride with an hour run. I went at an easy pace and just tried to focus on the job at hand. An hour of running gave me some time to try and sort through some of the fear and questions that have suddenly given my the smack down. I think I need to throw out my time goals for the half and just go and finish the thing and see what happens. I think the thing that scares me most is absolutley blowing up on the run and having to walk. I don't want to suffer through the run. Death march runs suck!

I need help with mental training. Not many people read this, so if you are here and have any words of wisdow that can help to ovecome The Fear, please pass them on to me.

The Day Draws Near.

July 3rd, 2006 online registration for Ironman Zurich 2007 opens. It is time to firm up the commitment and put the plans into motion. It is a year away and still the nerves are starting to tingle. I am starting to formulate a training plan for next year when I have not yet completed my races for this year. I have no idea what the next year will bring. I know that I have the support of a wonderful family, an amazing wife, and the inspiration from fellow competitots in the GWTC (or the Red and Black Army). It is going to be an incredible journey!!!

Inspiration

I think that I got what I needed this weekend. Some relaxation, family time, and a huge helping of inspiration. After spending the entire day with my family in a boat on Saturday I needed to get out and run. I felt flat. I questioned what I was doing. For some reason the fire was buring dim.

Sunday turned all of this around. I went to watch the Waconia Triathlon. This was only the second tri that I have attended and not raced. It is a great relaxing change. GW had a huge showing and everyone was looking strong in the choppy waters of Lake Waconia. The best part of the race is hearing everyones race stories and training goals after the race. That is where all of the inspiration comes from.

Later in the evening my wife and I went to a tri geek party to watch the World Cup and talk and dream about upcoming races. Again, this was inspirational. One of the club members recently complteted the RAAM. Talk about amazing. Riding a tandem all the way across America in just over eight days. WOW!!! We also watched Ironmanlive.com to track the progress of another club member at Iroman Coeur d'Alene. Amazing race in 91 degree heat.

I got up this morning and felt different about my training. I didn't mind getting out of bed to go to the pool. I really enjoyed my workout. For me, in this sport, it just takes a little inspiration from fellow tri geeks to get the fire stoked.

Self Control

I finally did it. I went to a group ride and said I was going to take it easy, and I really did. I've had so many days where I go to the group ride and say this and then ride my self right into the ground. Not this time. I took it nice and easy, talking with other riders and convincing more people that they need to go with us to Zurich in 2007. I rode my pace. I rode fast when I wanted and backed off when I wanted. I pushed some hills and I let people fly by me on some hills. Felt good for the entire ride and most of all I had fun. I followed the ride with a run that was just over 3.5 miles. Went at a pretty good pace with one other person. Her and I talked most of the way which made our pace seem easy. We finished with a 7:39/mile pace for the run. After a quick stretch I headed to the bar where my wife was waiting with the rest of the crew. We had 9 people there that are going to do Zurich. I think that number will grow as we get closer to registraiton time.

The more racing, training, and socializng that I do with this crew the more I realize that each person brings something different to the sport. Regardless of ability, speed, experience, age, or gender each person gives me inspiration and motivation to work towards my goals. It is great to be surrounded by some many positive people.

Zurich, Zurich, Zurich!!!

Did I Win?

Well, i think that I may have beat it today. At least the mental aspect of my training that has been knocing me around for a while now. I had a break through run today. Started out just watching my HR and keeping it at 150, then I looked at my pace. Wow, 7:45/mile at 150. It didn't seem right. On my last couple of runs that have beat me down, 150 was about a 8:20/mile. What changed? Well, I just got over some seriously stressful issues in my life, and like a switch, my performance and attitude has changed. I coninued on my run and reached mile 7 and decided to put the hammer down. I told myself that it didn't hurt... that bad. Mile 8 was at 6:45 and it was actually enjoyable. I finishsed the run with a nice cool down and clocked just over 9 miles with a 7:51/mile average including my cooldown. My confindence has be renewed.

The Vacation Is Over!!!

OK, I have restructured my training to try and make up for lost time. But, to make things more difficult, both of the pools I have been swimmng at no longer have evening lap swims. I will have to do all of my swimming in the mornings. Arghhh, I hate mornings. I think that I will be able to get things done if I can get my head back together. Lately, the hardest part of my training has been mental. Sunday I did an interval ride on my bike and just could not get into it. I usually love to push hard on the bike, but lately I have not been able to push hard in any of the three sports. I am health and my body feels strong, but I can not unlock the mental strenth that I need on a daily basis. What is the Key!!!

This week is going to be hard. I have ten workouts to get done in six days. I have five weeks of hard training before my taper starts for Steelhead 70.3.

Can I do it?

Vacation!

Vacations are great. But, I have now lost almost an entire week of training. I have gone a week without a ride or swim, and was only able to get in two runs. I think I am worried becasue it is getting close to my 70.3, and I just don't feel ready.
Along with missing bike rides, my front wheel is at the LBS. My last ride before vacation was supposed to be a 5 hour solo suffer fest. I made it 45 minutes before I broke a spoke and had to call my wife for a ride home. I am so far behind on my swimming and riding that I don't know where to resume. Should I stick to the plan or modifiy it to make up for lost time. If anybody reads this and has any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

The Journey Begins

I made the decision, with the help of my wife (aka permission), to take a journey to Ironman Zurich in 2007. I decided to start this blog to capture the events and happenings along the way. I can't promise daily updates or infinite words of wisdom, but I will post any cool info, comments, and tips that I stumble across along the way.

The photo is of Natascha Badmann and me after the Buffalo Traithlon. She is an absolute endurance beast. She is very social and willing to talk to other racers of all levels. And she has one of the coolest bikes I have ever seen.

A breif history:

I am in my second year in multi sport. I ran in high school and for 2 years in college. Then I sat on the couch and drank beer. A lot of beer. For about seven years. I decided that I really wanted to race again, so I bought road bike and started to train. Not really knowing what I was going to race, running, cycling, or mountain. I then found triathlon. I was addicted before I ever had a chance to race. Now, with a few short course races done I have signed up for a 70.3 in August and have now committed to Ironman Zurich in June of 2007. Hang on, it is going to be a wild ride!!!