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.