OK here are some more details (gory and otherwise) about my HIM race last weekend at High Cliff. This may be a little long especially for those of you not into the detail of this. But I have a few folks looking in who will enjoy the detail and may be able to provide some feedback off of it so:
Saturday:
Left Jackson in early afternoon. Becky held down the fort for Saturday and Sunday; this is way more effort than I put in Sat and Sun. Thanks Beck; behind this Ironman is a special Ironwoman.
Arrived at High Cliff met up with Will and picked up our stuff (race number etc etc) and walked up and down the big hill so Will could get a feel for it. Then got Will checked in at the Paper Valley and met Joel and his wife for dinner at Victoria's on College. Great Italian carbo load and great company. Settled in and to bed early. Restless night of sleep as usually happens for me; basically up from 3am on.
Pre-race: Up at 4:45, breakfast of 2 bottles of Ensure and a Clif bar. Approx 700 calories which is many more than normal but still 300-500 less than I need to begin to get used to for IM breakfast. Water on the way to race. For whatever reason everything seemed to be moving slowly for me. I didn't get into transition and set up until about 10 minutes before it closed. This takes me out of my comfort zone; need to get there sooner.
Swim: Will and I were in Wave #8 which means we needed to hang around for 25 minutes after the first wave started. This wasn't much fun but at least we kept each other company. Some small warm up and then it was our turn. I started on the far left and a little behind a couple gals in the front row. Tried to start smooth and get into a good rythym. My swim has improved a lot over the winter and I wanted to go a little faster but more important swim easy and be fresh after. I was very surprised and a bit frustrated that after 150 yards I was in the second half of the 50 swimmers I started with considering I felt a lot stronger than last year. I put it out of my mind and concentrated on my breathing and turnover and body roll. Reviewing the results of the race I finished with the 46th fastest swim out of about 400 people so I think I later went by most of those in my wave (probably 6-8th fastest in my wave). Overall I was very happy with my swim considering it was the longest open water swim since IMWI in Sept. I have lots of confidence in this leg and need to just extend it and do some more open water in the next 2 months. I pushed a little too hard after the last buoy to shore and raised my HR a little too much but did a nice job of walking the hill out of the water up to transition to keep my HR settled.
Result: 34:13 about 1:30 faster than last year and much more fresh out of the water than last year.
T1: smooth transition in a very crowded area with one exception. I wore my tri top in the water under my wetsuit so it was wet and clinging to me. I kept trying to put my gels in the back pockets and I couldn't locate them/open them up. This had to have cost me 30-40 seconds. Finally just shoved them in my shorts and took off!! Need to tape them to the bike or get a carrier (bento box) on the bike for future.
Result: 2:32 or about 45 seconds faster than last year.
Bike: My total nutrition on the bike was: 2 bottles of Infinit custom mix fluid (approx 270 cals per bottle), 4 power gels (approx 110 cals each) and 2.5 bottles of water.
I spun up the big hill as easy and efficient as I could then began to settle in. I was riding low zone 2 watts and I couldn't drop my HR but I wasn't too worried about this. Ultimately I started out just a touch too fast. Instead of the plan which would have been about 140-150 watts for the first 30 minutes then slowly moving to 170-180 over the race I was into the 160's right away. I was also not backing off on the little hills early. All this came back to haunt me a little on the run. I did all of this becasue of:
1) normal early race nerves; I usually avoid this mistake that most make but not today
2) I knew I finished the swim in front of Will and wanted to stay ahead for a while so I was pushing scared off the front a little and
3) a little on purpose because I knew 1)&2) would happen and I wanted to push the envelope a little and see what it did to my body, digestion etc etc. as part of my learning process. I haven't gone outside my comfort zone since I started racing and I knew I could finish this distance now I wanted to see how my body would react to pushing a little.
Took only water until 30 minutes in then has a gel and began drinking Infinit. I took no salt tablets on the ride and I think this was a mistake. Settled in and rode well from top of the hill to 35 miles or so. Little bloating in stomach from 45 minutes to 1 hour but some plain water helped empty my nutrition.
Overall I rode the course well and did a great job of staying aero (probably 85% of the ride). Will finally caught me about mile 30-31 and after a brief chat he was off the front. I kept riding smooth and kept him in sight until about mile 36 (so 20 miles to the finish). The last 20 miles were harder as I didn't know how much time he was gaining and I was getting tired. I still need lots more base bike miles this summer because I should be able to go 2X as far before I feel that way. I did a nice job of maintaining watts and speed all the way to the end but overall I pushed the bike about 7-10 minutes too fast. And I think I needed a little more water and a few less calories and some more salt in the heat.
Result: 2:57:39 about 13:30 faster than last year. 171 avg watts which is right at the 170-175 I wanted to ride.
T2: Very good T2. When I stopped the bike I immediately realized how hot it was out and how overheated I had become (need to monitor this more during the ride). Had a chance to say hi to my sister in T2 (thanks for being there sis; sorry we didnt' get more time together).
Result: 1:52 or about 1:20 faster than last year.
Run: My legs felt good right away off the bike. Took a minute to hit the bathroom just out of T2 then ran easy to the base of the big hill. Brisk walk all the way up the big hill to keep my HR down. There is a section in the middle that I could probably run in the future. It is very frustrating to have to walk up that cliff early in the run but any little time you save by running up it in the first mile will really cost you (me) big time later on the run. Got to the top and allowed my HR to settle. Then settled in to a smooth 9:15 per mile ish pace. Got a bad side stitch from mile 1-2 but some deep breathing worked it out (haven't had one of those in a race before). Was taking water every station but my stomach was bloated and didn't want any more gels etc. Also started to get a little crampy in my hamstrings and realized (too late) that I was probably at a sodium deficit (but I couldn't stomach gels to compensate). Kept a steady pace though. HOT OUT!!
Caught Will shortly before mile 5 and he informed me he had a flat tire late in the bike. I felt bad but also felt I had enough room to put any time necessary into our results to cancel this out. After a minute together I moved ahead and kept a good pace (just in case he decided to chase :-) . Mad my way through the rest of the first loop feeling and running strong. Things got progressively tougher from mile 6-13. Again much of this is just a base of fitness that needs to improve by Sept along with some smarter pacing early on in the bike and better nutrition management. And some of it was just racing in this heat which hasn't happened much this early in the year. Lots of time to work on.
The last 4 miles were pretty brutal. My feet got real sore and my salt deficit was costing me time. I needed to walk the aid stations and try to get water in my bloated stomach and some salt pills provided at the aid stations (though I knew in my heart that the pills wouldn't have enough time to take effect before the end. The water provided on the run was from a well at the park (from the taste of it) and that didn't help me much either. Finished pretty weakly the last 1.5 miles but I finished.
Nutrition on run: 1 gel at mile 4-5, approx 6-9 cups of water, approx 1-2 cups Gatorade and approx 4-8 salt pills (though all of these were in the last 60 minutes).
Result: 2:08:51 about 2:30 faster than last year. My bike time and efforts cost me a number of minutes here.
After: Sick to my stomach the last 3-4 miles of the run and for about 45 minutes after race. This (I think) is primarily the result of:
a) efforts too high early in the bike
b) temps higher than I am used to and
c) not regularly practicing my race nutrition yet this year and
d) a little base fitness deficit.
most important above is A as doing this caused the early nutrition I was taking on the bike to begin to back up and not clear my stomach (body trying to do other things; setting priorities). Once this happens it has a cumulative effect during the day, unless you slow your pace (or stop) and allow it to catch up. This was ok for this race as I was trying to learn something. And you can manage through this over a 1/2 ironman but it would be a pretty nasty mistake in an Ironman and would probably cost me 30 minutes (or worse) on the side of the road.
Postscript: Pretty busted up the rest of Sunday (overheated, dehydrated etc). Not what I wanted to do. But felt very good the next day and mostly recovered and ready to go in 48 hours. This is a big change from previous years and tells me my fitness is improving. And no lingering sore spots or injuries which is fanstastic.
Overall a great experience. In addtion to all the people I have thanked here and in earlier posts a special thanks to Mike Pierson of Your Training Zone (see my links for his web page) for not only helping me prepare in the last 6 months but for the good advice and insight for this race and for convincing me to push me comfort level here a little mentally (ie. knowing that I could go harder than I believed myself and still be in an ok position especially on the bike).
I will be posting a completely seperate thread about Mike, his business, our work together and training in the proper zone in the near future. For now, thanks Mike I am a believer and my 20 minute PR is proof!!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Race Report Short Form
"It ain't pretty.....after the show.....it ain't pretty when the pretty leaves you with no place to go" - INXS "pretty vegas"
Well if I had more energy I would post a real race report. You will have to wait till later this week though because duty calls at home and I am beat.
Short form:
1) It was hot....damn hot.
2) the sunblock I was wearing wasn't very water or sweat proof
3) this course is a lot tougher than I remember from last year. But also very challenging and pretty
the basics:
Overall time approx 5:45
I met all the goals I set forth:
Faster at every one of the disciplines including both transitions.
Stayed healthy (except for some dehydration, some blood under one toe nail (not sure why) and a pretty nasty case of saddle sores (if you don't know what that is here's a hint: what do you think happens when you get a pair of shorts (tri shorts) wet from swimming then ride on the tip of a bike saddle for almost 3 hours. Answer: nothing good).
Didn't shred myself (beyond above)
And for the record I defended the honor of all in cheesehead land and battled Big Island Will with all I had. There will be no cheese brats being airmailed to the Big Island. Having said that:
1) I finished about 9 minutes ahead of Will which isn't much in the course of a 5:45 race
2) Will got a flat tire on the bike ride and graciously won't say how long it took to change though I suspect 5-6 minutes leaving the gap only about 3-4 minutes (or less than 1/2 mile withing a 70.3 mile day) and
3) trust me he looked a whole lot better than me afterward. Like way more than 3-4 minutes better.
I will add a lot more detail in a few days.
Overall a very successful day for Mr all or nothing
Well if I had more energy I would post a real race report. You will have to wait till later this week though because duty calls at home and I am beat.
Short form:
1) It was hot....damn hot.
2) the sunblock I was wearing wasn't very water or sweat proof
3) this course is a lot tougher than I remember from last year. But also very challenging and pretty
the basics:
Overall time approx 5:45
I met all the goals I set forth:
Faster at every one of the disciplines including both transitions.
Stayed healthy (except for some dehydration, some blood under one toe nail (not sure why) and a pretty nasty case of saddle sores (if you don't know what that is here's a hint: what do you think happens when you get a pair of shorts (tri shorts) wet from swimming then ride on the tip of a bike saddle for almost 3 hours. Answer: nothing good).
Didn't shred myself (beyond above)
And for the record I defended the honor of all in cheesehead land and battled Big Island Will with all I had. There will be no cheese brats being airmailed to the Big Island. Having said that:
1) I finished about 9 minutes ahead of Will which isn't much in the course of a 5:45 race
2) Will got a flat tire on the bike ride and graciously won't say how long it took to change though I suspect 5-6 minutes leaving the gap only about 3-4 minutes (or less than 1/2 mile withing a 70.3 mile day) and
3) trust me he looked a whole lot better than me afterward. Like way more than 3-4 minutes better.
I will add a lot more detail in a few days.
Overall a very successful day for Mr all or nothing
Friday, June 22, 2007
The taper and The bet
"the best athletes race from where their fitness level is rather than where they would like it to be" -Gordo Byrn
True dat!!
I wish my fitness level was a little higher for this weekend's 1/2 Ironman at High Cliff. But this is a process and the bigger goal is 11 weeks down the line. And my fitness level is a result of the decisions I have made day in and day out over the last 10 months. That's one of the great things about racing. You can prepare for months but race day (and the few days before) doesn't lie in terms of how well you prepared.
I am just completing a recovery week and mini taper. A taper is something triathletes do 1-3 times per year for big races. By reducing your volume in the days before a race you are able to charge your battery and recover a little so you are ready to charge out of the gate on race morning. A 1/2 Ironman taper is typically 7-10 days and for a full Ironman it's 2-3 weeks before.
Tapering sucks. You get all kinds of little aches and pains that you are convinced are injuries but are really just your body healing and preparing. And you feel tired and lethargic at times and full of pent up energy at other times. And you have all kinds of time to mentally drive yourself crazy about how you prepared and whether you are overtrained or undertrained blah blah blah. For me personally the longer a taper goes on the more confidence I lose.
Added to these feeling for me this week is that everyone around me is sick with some sort of cold/flu virus (both at work and at home) and I can't tell if I have already had it (and gave it to them) or if I have it now (I am waking up feeling tired and with a stuffy head) or if I am just getting and it will get worse in next couple of days. Hard to tell where the sickness stops and the taper begins.
But I will press forward to Sunday.
My goals for Sunday are:
1) to go a little faster at every part of the race than last year (including both transitions). This should be pretty doable as I took it pretty easy last year because of my injured leg. So to swim a little faster, bike a little faster, run a little faster and get through both T's a little faster
2) to work on my aero position while riding; this is a very flat course (after the original big climb) and I need to spend lots of time down in my aero position (which is not one of my strong suits). To work on my nutrition plan (I will eat and drink following my Ironman schedule for September) and to use my power and pacing guidelines and stay within them.
3) to stay healthy
4) to not go too hard and shred myself. I have a lot more work to do this summer and I need to recover from this race and move on next week. 1/2 iron racing, while fun and challenging is really a different animal than the full stuff and I don't want to have too much down time as I can't afford it for Sept.
THE BET:
Big Island Will and I have a smackdown bet. Will kicked my butt at IMWI last year. He was planning to do IMWI again this year but has decided to pass. Our bet was originally intended for IMWI but we will now have it at High Cliff. The bet is as follows:
If he beats me I need to buy him a case of WI's finest cheese bratwurst
If I beat him he needs to buy me some delicacy from Hawaii called Musubi. Will claims this is the big island equivalent of cheese brats. He also uses the term "spam" when describing it though (as I understand it Hawaii is the largest consumer of spam of anywhere in the world).
Now those of you from WI know this is a flawed bet to begin with as nothing compares to cheese brats. But it has been a friendly wager and a good way for us to stay motivated over the winter.
I have every reason to believe I will pay up here. Logic dictates it as
a) Will kicked my butt at IMWI last year and
b) Will has outworked me in the last 10 months. In part because of me and in part because he prepared for and completed an April Ironman.
But I think I can run a little faster than he can on any given day so I will at least be in his mind in terms of me catching up from behind. Hopefully we will push each other to new personal bests at this distance. I look forward to sharing the course with Will again; it may be a while until we share a course again. Then again maybe I can talk Becky into she and I going to Hawaii for the Honu 1/2 Iron race next June!!!!!!!!
I will post a race report with how it went next week.
See ya......
True dat!!
I wish my fitness level was a little higher for this weekend's 1/2 Ironman at High Cliff. But this is a process and the bigger goal is 11 weeks down the line. And my fitness level is a result of the decisions I have made day in and day out over the last 10 months. That's one of the great things about racing. You can prepare for months but race day (and the few days before) doesn't lie in terms of how well you prepared.
I am just completing a recovery week and mini taper. A taper is something triathletes do 1-3 times per year for big races. By reducing your volume in the days before a race you are able to charge your battery and recover a little so you are ready to charge out of the gate on race morning. A 1/2 Ironman taper is typically 7-10 days and for a full Ironman it's 2-3 weeks before.
Tapering sucks. You get all kinds of little aches and pains that you are convinced are injuries but are really just your body healing and preparing. And you feel tired and lethargic at times and full of pent up energy at other times. And you have all kinds of time to mentally drive yourself crazy about how you prepared and whether you are overtrained or undertrained blah blah blah. For me personally the longer a taper goes on the more confidence I lose.
Added to these feeling for me this week is that everyone around me is sick with some sort of cold/flu virus (both at work and at home) and I can't tell if I have already had it (and gave it to them) or if I have it now (I am waking up feeling tired and with a stuffy head) or if I am just getting and it will get worse in next couple of days. Hard to tell where the sickness stops and the taper begins.
But I will press forward to Sunday.
My goals for Sunday are:
1) to go a little faster at every part of the race than last year (including both transitions). This should be pretty doable as I took it pretty easy last year because of my injured leg. So to swim a little faster, bike a little faster, run a little faster and get through both T's a little faster
2) to work on my aero position while riding; this is a very flat course (after the original big climb) and I need to spend lots of time down in my aero position (which is not one of my strong suits). To work on my nutrition plan (I will eat and drink following my Ironman schedule for September) and to use my power and pacing guidelines and stay within them.
3) to stay healthy
4) to not go too hard and shred myself. I have a lot more work to do this summer and I need to recover from this race and move on next week. 1/2 iron racing, while fun and challenging is really a different animal than the full stuff and I don't want to have too much down time as I can't afford it for Sept.
THE BET:
Big Island Will and I have a smackdown bet. Will kicked my butt at IMWI last year. He was planning to do IMWI again this year but has decided to pass. Our bet was originally intended for IMWI but we will now have it at High Cliff. The bet is as follows:
If he beats me I need to buy him a case of WI's finest cheese bratwurst
If I beat him he needs to buy me some delicacy from Hawaii called Musubi. Will claims this is the big island equivalent of cheese brats. He also uses the term "spam" when describing it though (as I understand it Hawaii is the largest consumer of spam of anywhere in the world).
Now those of you from WI know this is a flawed bet to begin with as nothing compares to cheese brats. But it has been a friendly wager and a good way for us to stay motivated over the winter.
I have every reason to believe I will pay up here. Logic dictates it as
a) Will kicked my butt at IMWI last year and
b) Will has outworked me in the last 10 months. In part because of me and in part because he prepared for and completed an April Ironman.
But I think I can run a little faster than he can on any given day so I will at least be in his mind in terms of me catching up from behind. Hopefully we will push each other to new personal bests at this distance. I look forward to sharing the course with Will again; it may be a while until we share a course again. Then again maybe I can talk Becky into she and I going to Hawaii for the Honu 1/2 Iron race next June!!!!!!!!
I will post a race report with how it went next week.
See ya......
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Happy Anniversary Baby (part 2)
Today is our 9th wedding anniversary. Time flies when you are having fun eh baby!!
Well it has been a pretty wild ride these last 9 years. It's funny one of my wife's biggest concerns when we started dating was that given what a stick in the mud I can be that our life wouldn't be exciting enough. Guess I proved her wrong.
Happy anniversary Becky. You are the love of my life and my best friend. I can't imagine life without you and our crew. Thank you for believing in me even when I drive you crazy and thank you for supporting this journey of Ironman even though you don't always understand "why".
So how did Mr. and Mrs. All or Nothing celebrate 9 years of wedded bliss. Well:
1) Alex has an ear infection
2) Elizabeth has a rash on some unmentionable parts and
3) Tyler puked in the car on the way home from the doctors office (still not sure if it was car sickness or the flu)
What can I say we know how to party hearty here at camp All or Nothing
woo woo!!!!!!
Well it has been a pretty wild ride these last 9 years. It's funny one of my wife's biggest concerns when we started dating was that given what a stick in the mud I can be that our life wouldn't be exciting enough. Guess I proved her wrong.
Happy anniversary Becky. You are the love of my life and my best friend. I can't imagine life without you and our crew. Thank you for believing in me even when I drive you crazy and thank you for supporting this journey of Ironman even though you don't always understand "why".
So how did Mr. and Mrs. All or Nothing celebrate 9 years of wedded bliss. Well:
1) Alex has an ear infection
2) Elizabeth has a rash on some unmentionable parts and
3) Tyler puked in the car on the way home from the doctors office (still not sure if it was car sickness or the flu)
What can I say we know how to party hearty here at camp All or Nothing
woo woo!!!!!!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Happy Father's Day
To my father: Happy Father's Day. Thank you for showing me how to do this properly. More than anything else in the world I hope the father I am makes you proud; because you taught me everything I know. I love you.
To my father in law: Happy fathers day; thank you for confirming for me that all the things I know from above are true.
To all the fathers out there: Happy fathers day. Please take a moment to reflect today on how lucky you are.
To my children: thank you for the gifts this morning. You guys are the greatest joy of my life and I love you all very much. In Mr. All or Nothing's world you guys (with your mom) are my ALL!!
Received my standard fathers day gift from Becky; a morning and part of afternoon "off the clock" (which is just what I wanted!!). Used it to get my longest (and hottest and most humid) ride of the year in so far.
Finally, if you want a glimpse of a real Ironman dad go to www.youtube.com and do a search for "dick hoyt". Watch a few of the choices (I recommend "I can only imagine Dick and Rick Hoyt"); warning, have some tissue nearby. Dick and his son Rick will be the guest speakers at High Cliff next weekend (don't know if they are racing or not). According to the father here: "Rick is the athlete and I'm just loaning him my arms and legs"
To my father in law: Happy fathers day; thank you for confirming for me that all the things I know from above are true.
To all the fathers out there: Happy fathers day. Please take a moment to reflect today on how lucky you are.
To my children: thank you for the gifts this morning. You guys are the greatest joy of my life and I love you all very much. In Mr. All or Nothing's world you guys (with your mom) are my ALL!!
Received my standard fathers day gift from Becky; a morning and part of afternoon "off the clock" (which is just what I wanted!!). Used it to get my longest (and hottest and most humid) ride of the year in so far.
Finally, if you want a glimpse of a real Ironman dad go to www.youtube.com and do a search for "dick hoyt". Watch a few of the choices (I recommend "I can only imagine Dick and Rick Hoyt"); warning, have some tissue nearby. Dick and his son Rick will be the guest speakers at High Cliff next weekend (don't know if they are racing or not). According to the father here: "Rick is the athlete and I'm just loaning him my arms and legs"
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Open Water Friday
Big Island Will and Jodi T are in the house!!!!!!!!!!
Went swimming with some friends at Pewaukee Lake yesterday.
The internet can be a dark and dangerous thing. It can also be an amazingly useful and fun tool. It has also changed the world and made it smaller. All of the people in this picture probably would never have met if not for it.
In my links section are 2 triathlon related websites; Gordoworld and Slowtwitch. Both of them have lots of useful information. Gordoworld used to have a great forum where lots of smart triathletes would share information and advice. I think it will again soon. And Slowtwitch has probably the most widely used and active forum in the sport. I "met" all of these people on one of these 2 forums.
The guy on the right is Big Island Will. There's a link to his blog in my links section. If his blog looks like mine it's because I copied his (royalty check is in the mail.....). I met Will on the Gordoworld forum; we met because I called BS on something he said and he proved me wrong (wasn't the last time for this either). Will and his family live in Hawaii (hence the Big Island part). Later I saw he was doing IMWI in '06 and was coming to the area in July of '06. I contacted him (in an effort to not be such a dink) and offered to ride the Madison course with him in July while he was around. We did that and have since developed a regular and genuine friendship though mostly over the net. He and I went through the Thurs registration process for WI together last year; it was both our first IM. On race day we entered the water together; he proceeded to kick my butt (wasn't the last time for this either). I went to Arizona in April where Will was racing Ironman Arizona to cheer him and a number of others on. Will is a great friend and resource. He and his family are in Madison for a couple weeks and they stopped by for our swim. It was a pleasure to meet his wife and boys.
What does it take to be an Ironman. Let's take Will for example. Former Army Ranger, Wharton school graduate, successful career as a venture capitalist, husband, father, etc etc etc. Drive; yeah it takes some of that. Here's a guy who decided to sign up for IMWI about 10 months before the race and proceeded to drop almost 50 pounds and get himself in that kind of shape. Here's a guy who rolled his ankle during the IM marathon and needed to be in a walking cast after but kept going (and kicked my butt).
Will is racing High Cliff 1/2 Ironman with me next weekend. We have a little bet going; more detail next week.
Next to me is Joel. Joel is a local guy and an Ironman. Joel and I (without knowing it) bought the exact same bike in the exact same month from the exact same shop last year. It's a fairly rare bike. At High Cliff last year I was tooling along about 10 miles into the ride when some guy I didn't know went flying by me and said "nice bike". I agreed and inquired why the one he bought went faster than mine. He may have answered but was too far up the road to hear. A few months later on Slowtwitch someone was posting a subject about this type of bike and made reference to something local. I asked if he was the guy who flew by me and said nice bike; and I met Joel. Joel and I go out to lunch every now and again. Turns out he is an attorney at a local law firm my company works with and one of his partners is someone I have done a lot of work with.
Here's a guy with equally impressive credentials, successes and drive. Want to know what it takes to be an Ironman. Hang around a few sometime and you will see some common themes.
Joel is about as passionate a guy as I know when it comes to training and racing. He will be racing High Cliff next weekend too. On a bum hamstring......(what it takes)
Last but not least is Dr. Jodi T. As Joel said last night when he saw this picture: want to know who the toughest person in this picture is; here's a hint, don't start with those over 6 feet tall when trying to figure it out.
Jodi is a regular on the Slowtwitch forum. She is originally from the Milwaukee area and now lives in Ohio. Last year she did her first triathlon; a sprint distance. Having had so much fun she turned around and signed up for Ironman Coure D' Alene (in Idaho). It's next Sunday (when the boys will be doing High Cliff) and she is READY. She is in town at her parents for a little r&r before flying to the race. Joel and I have been doing our best to roll out the local red carpet triathlon wise while she's here. Yesterday's swim was part of that. She and Will went to the same tri training camp in New Mexico this winter and they were/are fast friends before yesterday (again, small world).
Here's a woman who because of a schedule change, ended up preparing for and defending her doctoral dissertation (sorry if I got that wording wrong Jodi) while going through the toughest couple of weeks in IM preparation. She explained to me once what her doctorate is in and I still don't get it but it sounds important (and complicated). And she's doing this on a beat up knee that has limited her running the last couple months.
Jodi's blog is in my links section. You can follow her at Ironman CDA next weekend on www.ironmanlive.com. I can't wait to welcome her into the ironman family
We had a fun and leisurely swim; a couple other local guys joined us. Turns out the lake is a bit weedy in the area we had to swim but everyone was a good sport about getting the extra "resistance" training (sorry guys!!)
After our swim we sampled the margarita's at Seester's Mexican Cantina on the beach. Good recovery fuel...........
My wife and crew showed up to stir things up a little. Tyler was smoozing and carrying on his campaign for governor as usual........
It was great to see you guys.
Good luck Jodi!!!!!!!!!!!!
Went swimming with some friends at Pewaukee Lake yesterday.
The internet can be a dark and dangerous thing. It can also be an amazingly useful and fun tool. It has also changed the world and made it smaller. All of the people in this picture probably would never have met if not for it.
In my links section are 2 triathlon related websites; Gordoworld and Slowtwitch. Both of them have lots of useful information. Gordoworld used to have a great forum where lots of smart triathletes would share information and advice. I think it will again soon. And Slowtwitch has probably the most widely used and active forum in the sport. I "met" all of these people on one of these 2 forums.
The guy on the right is Big Island Will. There's a link to his blog in my links section. If his blog looks like mine it's because I copied his (royalty check is in the mail.....). I met Will on the Gordoworld forum; we met because I called BS on something he said and he proved me wrong (wasn't the last time for this either). Will and his family live in Hawaii (hence the Big Island part). Later I saw he was doing IMWI in '06 and was coming to the area in July of '06. I contacted him (in an effort to not be such a dink) and offered to ride the Madison course with him in July while he was around. We did that and have since developed a regular and genuine friendship though mostly over the net. He and I went through the Thurs registration process for WI together last year; it was both our first IM. On race day we entered the water together; he proceeded to kick my butt (wasn't the last time for this either). I went to Arizona in April where Will was racing Ironman Arizona to cheer him and a number of others on. Will is a great friend and resource. He and his family are in Madison for a couple weeks and they stopped by for our swim. It was a pleasure to meet his wife and boys.
What does it take to be an Ironman. Let's take Will for example. Former Army Ranger, Wharton school graduate, successful career as a venture capitalist, husband, father, etc etc etc. Drive; yeah it takes some of that. Here's a guy who decided to sign up for IMWI about 10 months before the race and proceeded to drop almost 50 pounds and get himself in that kind of shape. Here's a guy who rolled his ankle during the IM marathon and needed to be in a walking cast after but kept going (and kicked my butt).
Will is racing High Cliff 1/2 Ironman with me next weekend. We have a little bet going; more detail next week.
Next to me is Joel. Joel is a local guy and an Ironman. Joel and I (without knowing it) bought the exact same bike in the exact same month from the exact same shop last year. It's a fairly rare bike. At High Cliff last year I was tooling along about 10 miles into the ride when some guy I didn't know went flying by me and said "nice bike". I agreed and inquired why the one he bought went faster than mine. He may have answered but was too far up the road to hear. A few months later on Slowtwitch someone was posting a subject about this type of bike and made reference to something local. I asked if he was the guy who flew by me and said nice bike; and I met Joel. Joel and I go out to lunch every now and again. Turns out he is an attorney at a local law firm my company works with and one of his partners is someone I have done a lot of work with.
Here's a guy with equally impressive credentials, successes and drive. Want to know what it takes to be an Ironman. Hang around a few sometime and you will see some common themes.
Joel is about as passionate a guy as I know when it comes to training and racing. He will be racing High Cliff next weekend too. On a bum hamstring......(what it takes)
Last but not least is Dr. Jodi T. As Joel said last night when he saw this picture: want to know who the toughest person in this picture is; here's a hint, don't start with those over 6 feet tall when trying to figure it out.
Jodi is a regular on the Slowtwitch forum. She is originally from the Milwaukee area and now lives in Ohio. Last year she did her first triathlon; a sprint distance. Having had so much fun she turned around and signed up for Ironman Coure D' Alene (in Idaho). It's next Sunday (when the boys will be doing High Cliff) and she is READY. She is in town at her parents for a little r&r before flying to the race. Joel and I have been doing our best to roll out the local red carpet triathlon wise while she's here. Yesterday's swim was part of that. She and Will went to the same tri training camp in New Mexico this winter and they were/are fast friends before yesterday (again, small world).
Here's a woman who because of a schedule change, ended up preparing for and defending her doctoral dissertation (sorry if I got that wording wrong Jodi) while going through the toughest couple of weeks in IM preparation. She explained to me once what her doctorate is in and I still don't get it but it sounds important (and complicated). And she's doing this on a beat up knee that has limited her running the last couple months.
Jodi's blog is in my links section. You can follow her at Ironman CDA next weekend on www.ironmanlive.com. I can't wait to welcome her into the ironman family
We had a fun and leisurely swim; a couple other local guys joined us. Turns out the lake is a bit weedy in the area we had to swim but everyone was a good sport about getting the extra "resistance" training (sorry guys!!)
After our swim we sampled the margarita's at Seester's Mexican Cantina on the beach. Good recovery fuel...........
My wife and crew showed up to stir things up a little. Tyler was smoozing and carrying on his campaign for governor as usual........
It was great to see you guys.
Good luck Jodi!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, June 15, 2007
Happy Anniversary Baby (part 1)
got you on my mind.....................
Today is the anniversary of the last time I sustained a consequential injury (I am knocking on wood as I write this).
A year ago today I attempted a 15 mile run and came away with an inflamed post-tibular ligament in my right leg. The upside of entering this sport is that I have received a real anatomy education in the last couple years (bet most of you didn't know a post tib ligament existed). This was a nagging injury that persisited throughout last summer and restricted a lot of my running preparation for IMWI last year.
I have been working very hard at trying to avoid injury this year but, realistically I am entering the period of most danger at this point.
This past Tuesday I went for a 1 hour run that was a little faster/harder/more intense than usual. I woke up Weds morning with some soreness in my right Achilles and lower calf. That has seemed to work itself out but my right leg has been weird ever since; a little tightness in my quad, a little pain here and there in my ankle etc etc. So I am a little paranoid and cautious at the moment.
I decided to skip a 1 hour run I had planned yesterday. This is a hard thing to do this time of year especially for Mr. All or Nothing. There is a real easy trap to slip into here and that is to try to "make up" this workout later in the week (ie. do the workout already scheduled and add this missed one to it). In my experience this is a mistake. Get it done at the time you should or let it go. This is why consistency throughout the year is so important. Missing an hour run in June isn't a big deal if you have been putting in the time consistently all winter.
Anyway, I have a session with Briana today over lunch and we will try to sort out my leg issues. If she and I feel it is OK I will go for a 30 minute run to test it out.
I am then going to celebrate this anniversary by meeting some friends this afternoon at Pewaukee Lake for an open water swim. And Becky and the kids are coming to hang out at the beach!!
I will try to get a few pictures to post here
Today is the anniversary of the last time I sustained a consequential injury (I am knocking on wood as I write this).
A year ago today I attempted a 15 mile run and came away with an inflamed post-tibular ligament in my right leg. The upside of entering this sport is that I have received a real anatomy education in the last couple years (bet most of you didn't know a post tib ligament existed). This was a nagging injury that persisited throughout last summer and restricted a lot of my running preparation for IMWI last year.
I have been working very hard at trying to avoid injury this year but, realistically I am entering the period of most danger at this point.
This past Tuesday I went for a 1 hour run that was a little faster/harder/more intense than usual. I woke up Weds morning with some soreness in my right Achilles and lower calf. That has seemed to work itself out but my right leg has been weird ever since; a little tightness in my quad, a little pain here and there in my ankle etc etc. So I am a little paranoid and cautious at the moment.
I decided to skip a 1 hour run I had planned yesterday. This is a hard thing to do this time of year especially for Mr. All or Nothing. There is a real easy trap to slip into here and that is to try to "make up" this workout later in the week (ie. do the workout already scheduled and add this missed one to it). In my experience this is a mistake. Get it done at the time you should or let it go. This is why consistency throughout the year is so important. Missing an hour run in June isn't a big deal if you have been putting in the time consistently all winter.
Anyway, I have a session with Briana today over lunch and we will try to sort out my leg issues. If she and I feel it is OK I will go for a 30 minute run to test it out.
I am then going to celebrate this anniversary by meeting some friends this afternoon at Pewaukee Lake for an open water swim. And Becky and the kids are coming to hang out at the beach!!
I will try to get a few pictures to post here
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Setting the Table
I know there are a few people looking in that don't know the history of how I got here or where I am so I thought I would set the table a little. I am entering the most crucial period of time before an Ironman and this will be a good chance to explain my thoughts.
For those who don't know I have been at this journey since Sept of 2004 so a little under 3 years. In Ironman terms this is not a long time. It takes 3-5 years of consistent training just to make it to the "big person table". In 2005 I did one sprint Duathlon (run, bike, run) 1 sprint triathlon (1/4 mile swim, 15 mile bike and 3.1 mile run) 1 Olympic Distance triathlon (1KM swim, 40km bike, 10km run) and 1 1/2 Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run). In 2006 I did 2 1/2 marathons (13.1 mile runs) 1 1/2 Ironman and Ironman Wisconsin. My time at IMWI was 14 hours and 23 minutes; I started at 7 am and finished at 9:23 PM. Not great but for a first one I will take it.
Following IMWI (Ironman Wisconsin) I immediately signed up for the '07 race (registration is the next day and it fills in about an hour so you have to make a decision after destroying yourself a full 364 days ahead of time; and you have to front the $450 race fee!!).
I then took the rest of September (3 weeks) completely off from workouts.
I then messed around in October doing whatever I felt like doing (4 weeks of swim here run there etc etc). No structure to my plan at all.
Starting Nov 1 I did some tests with Mike at Your Training Zone (I will post a whole thread realated to this in next couple days) and spent November trying to consistently get in to 1-2 hours per day of anything. You would be surprised how easy it easy to fall out of this and how hard it is to get back in.............
So that is 7 weeks off or unstructured (Sept and Oct) followed by 4 weeks of getting back into things.
Then Dec 1-today has been a "base" period. This is a "two hours a day everyday" kind of thing. Again, consistency is the key here. I had a basic week of 13.5 hours set up (repeat each week the same week after week from Dec 1-May 31) of which I did well and not so well. My swimming and running and weights have been very consistent. For whatever reason (including having to ride inside) has been tough to stay consistent this off season.
Most people then do a 10 week "build" period followed by a 3 week "taper" and then the big day. I will modify this a little. I will stay in "base" phase a little longer this year (in part because I have not reached that 5 year period yet).
Anyway that may be a lot of "blah blah blah" but the point for those looking for the "how does one go about this" is that it is very possible under the "slow and steady wins the race" mode. Most anyone can accomplish an Ironman if they are willing to put in 2 hours a day for 2-3 years.
Now getting faster at one.................stay tuned..................
For those who don't know I have been at this journey since Sept of 2004 so a little under 3 years. In Ironman terms this is not a long time. It takes 3-5 years of consistent training just to make it to the "big person table". In 2005 I did one sprint Duathlon (run, bike, run) 1 sprint triathlon (1/4 mile swim, 15 mile bike and 3.1 mile run) 1 Olympic Distance triathlon (1KM swim, 40km bike, 10km run) and 1 1/2 Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run). In 2006 I did 2 1/2 marathons (13.1 mile runs) 1 1/2 Ironman and Ironman Wisconsin. My time at IMWI was 14 hours and 23 minutes; I started at 7 am and finished at 9:23 PM. Not great but for a first one I will take it.
Following IMWI (Ironman Wisconsin) I immediately signed up for the '07 race (registration is the next day and it fills in about an hour so you have to make a decision after destroying yourself a full 364 days ahead of time; and you have to front the $450 race fee!!).
I then took the rest of September (3 weeks) completely off from workouts.
I then messed around in October doing whatever I felt like doing (4 weeks of swim here run there etc etc). No structure to my plan at all.
Starting Nov 1 I did some tests with Mike at Your Training Zone (I will post a whole thread realated to this in next couple days) and spent November trying to consistently get in to 1-2 hours per day of anything. You would be surprised how easy it easy to fall out of this and how hard it is to get back in.............
So that is 7 weeks off or unstructured (Sept and Oct) followed by 4 weeks of getting back into things.
Then Dec 1-today has been a "base" period. This is a "two hours a day everyday" kind of thing. Again, consistency is the key here. I had a basic week of 13.5 hours set up (repeat each week the same week after week from Dec 1-May 31) of which I did well and not so well. My swimming and running and weights have been very consistent. For whatever reason (including having to ride inside) has been tough to stay consistent this off season.
Most people then do a 10 week "build" period followed by a 3 week "taper" and then the big day. I will modify this a little. I will stay in "base" phase a little longer this year (in part because I have not reached that 5 year period yet).
Anyway that may be a lot of "blah blah blah" but the point for those looking for the "how does one go about this" is that it is very possible under the "slow and steady wins the race" mode. Most anyone can accomplish an Ironman if they are willing to put in 2 hours a day for 2-3 years.
Now getting faster at one.................stay tuned..................
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Alien Invasion !!!!!!
Prior to this morning if you would have asked me if life existed beyond this planet I would have answered and unequivacable "no"!!. But as of this morning I have changed my mind.........
Last year in preparing for my first Ironman I was able to balance training and the rest of my life fairly well. One of the areas that took a bit of a hit was my yardwork tasks. I didn't give our yard the attention it needs and it suffered with weeds, burned grass from lack of water etc etc. I could tell my wife was disappointed with our lawns appearance and I felt badly about it.
This year, with the help of my wife, I am determined to fix this neglected area. So this spring has been all about the yard. We have stripped, sanded and stained our deck. We have made our garden larger and planted it. I have fertilized twice and cut regularly (and tuned up the lawn mower). The flowers are planted and everything looks fantastic!!
Yesterday was the whip cream on top. We broke out our extra large QuikSet Pool and filled 'er up. Let the summer time fun begin.
I left for my Sat long run about 1:30 yesterday afternoon. I left via the back door and took a moment to survey our back yard with pride. I then went for a good 90 minute/ 9 mile long run. Upon returning I immediately headed for the back yard to soak my legs in our newly filled and cold pool (a great recovery trick if you have one). Upon rounding the corner I found our pool cover ( a tranparent plastic cover used to allow sun in and retain heat to heat the pool) neatly laid out on the lawn next to the pool. Quickly assessing the situation I concluded:
1) this was probably not good for the grass underneath it and
2) being the smart husband and father I am concluded one of my children must have laid it out here (couldn't be my wife).
So I pulled it up and put it back in our shed...............
Fast forward to this morning. I arose at 6am for my 3 hour long bike ride. I looked out our back patio door to find that ALIENS has landed sometime last night and left what I can only describe as a perfectly formed crop circle of burned grass right next to our pool!!!!!!
Good thing they didn't land a little to the right as it appears their craft was almost the exact same size as our pool.
I would have posted a picture of our new crop circle but I am afraid, if a certain someone is reading this, I may already be in big enough trouble with one of the more powerful forces in the universe........................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last year in preparing for my first Ironman I was able to balance training and the rest of my life fairly well. One of the areas that took a bit of a hit was my yardwork tasks. I didn't give our yard the attention it needs and it suffered with weeds, burned grass from lack of water etc etc. I could tell my wife was disappointed with our lawns appearance and I felt badly about it.
This year, with the help of my wife, I am determined to fix this neglected area. So this spring has been all about the yard. We have stripped, sanded and stained our deck. We have made our garden larger and planted it. I have fertilized twice and cut regularly (and tuned up the lawn mower). The flowers are planted and everything looks fantastic!!
Yesterday was the whip cream on top. We broke out our extra large QuikSet Pool and filled 'er up. Let the summer time fun begin.
I left for my Sat long run about 1:30 yesterday afternoon. I left via the back door and took a moment to survey our back yard with pride. I then went for a good 90 minute/ 9 mile long run. Upon returning I immediately headed for the back yard to soak my legs in our newly filled and cold pool (a great recovery trick if you have one). Upon rounding the corner I found our pool cover ( a tranparent plastic cover used to allow sun in and retain heat to heat the pool) neatly laid out on the lawn next to the pool. Quickly assessing the situation I concluded:
1) this was probably not good for the grass underneath it and
2) being the smart husband and father I am concluded one of my children must have laid it out here (couldn't be my wife).
So I pulled it up and put it back in our shed...............
Fast forward to this morning. I arose at 6am for my 3 hour long bike ride. I looked out our back patio door to find that ALIENS has landed sometime last night and left what I can only describe as a perfectly formed crop circle of burned grass right next to our pool!!!!!!
Good thing they didn't land a little to the right as it appears their craft was almost the exact same size as our pool.
I would have posted a picture of our new crop circle but I am afraid, if a certain someone is reading this, I may already be in big enough trouble with one of the more powerful forces in the universe........................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, June 8, 2007
School's out for the summer..........
No more pencils no more books!! No more teacher's dirty looks!!
I have been leading that cheer around here a lot tonight.
Meet some more members of team All or Nothing; these are my biggest supporters and fans.
In the front row from the left we have:
1) Miss soon to be a full day kindergartener in Mrs. Hoffman's class
2) Mr. soon to be a part time pre-schooler at Morning Star Lutheran (wait till Mrs. Rasch gets a load of you Tylenator!!)
3) Mr. soon to be a second grader in Mr. Bech's class.
And in the back row we have Miss soon to be driven crazy by those in row number one.
Happy Summer everyone!!!
I have been leading that cheer around here a lot tonight.
Meet some more members of team All or Nothing; these are my biggest supporters and fans.
In the front row from the left we have:
1) Miss soon to be a full day kindergartener in Mrs. Hoffman's class
2) Mr. soon to be a part time pre-schooler at Morning Star Lutheran (wait till Mrs. Rasch gets a load of you Tylenator!!)
3) Mr. soon to be a second grader in Mr. Bech's class.
And in the back row we have Miss soon to be driven crazy by those in row number one.
Happy Summer everyone!!!
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
My Team
I will be introducing the members of Team All or Nothing as we go along. I am working with two of them today.
What's that you say; you thought triathlon is an individual sport. For many it is but when you are old and rickety like me and make the dubious decision to jump right to the Ironman distance when you enter the sport you require an entire team of people to prop you up an move you forward. Plus they are fun to work with!!
One of the biggest keys to this sport is being able to consistently put in the work day in and day out. Consistency is the key; and injuries (small or large) just kill your consistency. I have had a number of nagging injuries in the (almost) 3 years I have been at this all of which have been right leg injuries. Logic says there is a muscle or joint or some imbalance that keeps leading to this. So I had a series of tests done and am now working with a strength coach to make adjustments. Her name is Briana and she is fantastic. We get together twice a week for an hour to work on (mainly) my core muscle groups and my leg strength and balance work. 18+ years of shining a seat with my butt has led to some weird development of lower body muscle groups. Something I would never notice until I get up out of the chair and try to make these muscles swim bike and run.
The human body is an amazing thing and this process has been an education for me. The hip bone's is connected to the thigh bone.....the thigh bone's connected to the.......you get the picture. It is amazing to get an injury in one area of your body only to find that the source is in a completely different place. Then you fix this area only to find now the weakest link is somewhere else.
Anyway, Briana is my run and strength guru. In addition she also competes locally and nationally and coachs girls track at a local high school. She is the wife of local speedy guy Michael Boehmer who placed 3rd overall at the Lake Mills sprint triathlon this past weekend. Oh to be young and fast again (or really either one of those two things would be nice!!)
This afternoon I will be working with my swim coach Anita. That's right I take "swimming lessons" just like all the other tadpoles. Why? Because you would be amazed at the difference between "swimming" and swimming. Many who enter this sport view the swim as an afterthought (just survive it and get to the bike and run) and many more decide they just "suck" at swimming and will never get any better. Mr All or Nothing says if we are going to do this then we are going to do it correctly and I am going to try to be strong in all three disciplines. So 2X per month I get together with Anita and she watches me from the pool deck and corrects my stroke and gives me drills to "take home" and work on when I am swimming solo.
Also, most shorter distance triathlons (at least locally) are smaller fields and usually wave swim starts (goups of 50 people sent off in 2-3 minute intervals); Ironman races are mass swim starts. Wisonsin '06 was the largest mass start of any to date (something like 2500 bodies in the water). The first 20 minutes of that race (starting in the middle of that mass of bodies in a body of open water) was a pretty frightening experience. I have concluded that in a start like that you want to be either in the top 10% of the field (250 or so) or the last 10% (the back/side strokers). The middle 80% really sucks. I am working my way to the top 10% (hopefully in the next 3 years or so).
Both Briana and Anita are with Transition in Pewaukee; see my links on the side for their website. Great place to work with if you are in the area.
What's that you say; you thought triathlon is an individual sport. For many it is but when you are old and rickety like me and make the dubious decision to jump right to the Ironman distance when you enter the sport you require an entire team of people to prop you up an move you forward. Plus they are fun to work with!!
One of the biggest keys to this sport is being able to consistently put in the work day in and day out. Consistency is the key; and injuries (small or large) just kill your consistency. I have had a number of nagging injuries in the (almost) 3 years I have been at this all of which have been right leg injuries. Logic says there is a muscle or joint or some imbalance that keeps leading to this. So I had a series of tests done and am now working with a strength coach to make adjustments. Her name is Briana and she is fantastic. We get together twice a week for an hour to work on (mainly) my core muscle groups and my leg strength and balance work. 18+ years of shining a seat with my butt has led to some weird development of lower body muscle groups. Something I would never notice until I get up out of the chair and try to make these muscles swim bike and run.
The human body is an amazing thing and this process has been an education for me. The hip bone's is connected to the thigh bone.....the thigh bone's connected to the.......you get the picture. It is amazing to get an injury in one area of your body only to find that the source is in a completely different place. Then you fix this area only to find now the weakest link is somewhere else.
Anyway, Briana is my run and strength guru. In addition she also competes locally and nationally and coachs girls track at a local high school. She is the wife of local speedy guy Michael Boehmer who placed 3rd overall at the Lake Mills sprint triathlon this past weekend. Oh to be young and fast again (or really either one of those two things would be nice!!)
This afternoon I will be working with my swim coach Anita. That's right I take "swimming lessons" just like all the other tadpoles. Why? Because you would be amazed at the difference between "swimming" and swimming. Many who enter this sport view the swim as an afterthought (just survive it and get to the bike and run) and many more decide they just "suck" at swimming and will never get any better. Mr All or Nothing says if we are going to do this then we are going to do it correctly and I am going to try to be strong in all three disciplines. So 2X per month I get together with Anita and she watches me from the pool deck and corrects my stroke and gives me drills to "take home" and work on when I am swimming solo.
Also, most shorter distance triathlons (at least locally) are smaller fields and usually wave swim starts (goups of 50 people sent off in 2-3 minute intervals); Ironman races are mass swim starts. Wisonsin '06 was the largest mass start of any to date (something like 2500 bodies in the water). The first 20 minutes of that race (starting in the middle of that mass of bodies in a body of open water) was a pretty frightening experience. I have concluded that in a start like that you want to be either in the top 10% of the field (250 or so) or the last 10% (the back/side strokers). The middle 80% really sucks. I am working my way to the top 10% (hopefully in the next 3 years or so).
Both Briana and Anita are with Transition in Pewaukee; see my links on the side for their website. Great place to work with if you are in the area.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Ch..ch..ch..ch..changes........
Today is a big day of changes at work. Our company's Vice President of 28 years is leaving to start his own business. This will require all of us including me to take on some new responsibilites. As I understand it I will be moving to the position of General Manager.
Change is hard for everybody including me. This is a time of great opportunity and challenge for me and many of those around me.
It also means I will need to mentally engage a bit more than I have in the last 3-4 years. Hopefully I won't pull a mental muscle getting up to speed quickly!!!
One of the reasons I chose to pursue the Ironman lifestyle was that I needed a challenge to fill some of the space that my professional life's challanges had filled for many years when this area slowed a bit in 2003. I know myself pretty well in this regard and if I don't keep myself filled with (relatively) productive things bad stuff usually follows (see the all or nothing part of the title of this blog).
Family and work are always a huge priority over this pastime though. I don't know what the next few months are going to bring in terms of challenges to my preparation for IM Wisconsin. I think I can fit it all in. It just means I need to train like most normal folks vs. having a more flexible schedule. It also means I will need to be more effective and efficient with my time.
If I have to pull the plug for this year I will; but I hope I won't have to. I will need to temper my goals and expectations a bit. And during the process I need to remember that this is supposed to be a fun and positive addition to my life.
Becky and I are working at reconfiguring my schedule. She has been great support throughout this whole process and I really appreciate it and her.
Stay tuned.
Change is hard for everybody including me. This is a time of great opportunity and challenge for me and many of those around me.
It also means I will need to mentally engage a bit more than I have in the last 3-4 years. Hopefully I won't pull a mental muscle getting up to speed quickly!!!
One of the reasons I chose to pursue the Ironman lifestyle was that I needed a challenge to fill some of the space that my professional life's challanges had filled for many years when this area slowed a bit in 2003. I know myself pretty well in this regard and if I don't keep myself filled with (relatively) productive things bad stuff usually follows (see the all or nothing part of the title of this blog).
Family and work are always a huge priority over this pastime though. I don't know what the next few months are going to bring in terms of challenges to my preparation for IM Wisconsin. I think I can fit it all in. It just means I need to train like most normal folks vs. having a more flexible schedule. It also means I will need to be more effective and efficient with my time.
If I have to pull the plug for this year I will; but I hope I won't have to. I will need to temper my goals and expectations a bit. And during the process I need to remember that this is supposed to be a fun and positive addition to my life.
Becky and I are working at reconfiguring my schedule. She has been great support throughout this whole process and I really appreciate it and her.
Stay tuned.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
I'm runnin' down a dream....that never would come to me....
working on a mystery......and going wherever it leads....running down a dream
Thank you Tom Petty (I blog it cuz you don't want to hear me sing it.)
Well, I "backed up" yesterday's good bike ride. For those of you who don't speak triathlon "backing it up" means putting a couple (or more) quality days together.
After a fun day of "pirate fest" in Port Washington, in which the family fenced (fought with swords) with "real pirates" got faces painted with spiders and skulls, saw a pirate "invasion" (parade) and visited the gruel galley for lunch, we did the normal grass cutting, household chores etc etc.
After making dinner and giving showers I was let "off the clock" for the night at 6:15 (thanks for putting the brood to bed B) and headed out for a long run.
I dodged the storms (we had about 4-6) and tornados (1 warning today) and made it 10 miles in 1:39 or just under 10:00/mi. The highlight was doubling back at about 1:20 and seeing the look on the kids faces.
I did a 10 minute run at mid to upper Zone 1 (more on this later) followed by a 2 minute brisk walk X8 followed by an easy 3 minute cool and good stretch. I am experimenting with the 10 run 2 walk concept; we'll see.
It was a good weekend of training. And today was no Ipod etc. Time to lose the distractions; just 1:40 of me, my breathing, and my feet hitting the ground.....
Couple of housekeeping things:
1) no I will not be blogging every day, just setting things up at this point for the next week or so
2) on the right hand side you will see my training log. My future posts will show less of the "blah blah" training stuff. If you want to see blah blah check the log
Thank you Tom Petty (I blog it cuz you don't want to hear me sing it.)
Well, I "backed up" yesterday's good bike ride. For those of you who don't speak triathlon "backing it up" means putting a couple (or more) quality days together.
After a fun day of "pirate fest" in Port Washington, in which the family fenced (fought with swords) with "real pirates" got faces painted with spiders and skulls, saw a pirate "invasion" (parade) and visited the gruel galley for lunch, we did the normal grass cutting, household chores etc etc.
After making dinner and giving showers I was let "off the clock" for the night at 6:15 (thanks for putting the brood to bed B) and headed out for a long run.
I dodged the storms (we had about 4-6) and tornados (1 warning today) and made it 10 miles in 1:39 or just under 10:00/mi. The highlight was doubling back at about 1:20 and seeing the look on the kids faces.
I did a 10 minute run at mid to upper Zone 1 (more on this later) followed by a 2 minute brisk walk X8 followed by an easy 3 minute cool and good stretch. I am experimenting with the 10 run 2 walk concept; we'll see.
It was a good weekend of training. And today was no Ipod etc. Time to lose the distractions; just 1:40 of me, my breathing, and my feet hitting the ground.....
Couple of housekeeping things:
1) no I will not be blogging every day, just setting things up at this point for the next week or so
2) on the right hand side you will see my training log. My future posts will show less of the "blah blah" training stuff. If you want to see blah blah check the log
Saturday, June 2, 2007
I'm biking in the rain....just biking in the rain
what a glorious feeling......I'm happy (and soaking wet) again!!
My last significant outdoor ride of '06 was Ironman Wisconsin. It was cold and rainy all day
Today is what I will consider my first significant outdoor ride of '07. It was rainy (but about 20 degrees warmer) all day. I guess I am just a sucker for riding in wet clothing.
About 40 minutes in I ran into an absolute downpour. Spent about 20 minutes camped out under a picnic shelter at the local (for where I was) baseball diamond. Then continued my journey.
The good: great aero position, good speed to power ratio on a fairly hilly course, great cadence and I was "in the zone"
The bad: my bike handling skills have really attrophied over the winter re: getting something out of my pocket, looking behind etc etc
The ugly: I started coming apart in the last 10-15 minutes. Power dropped and HR spiked. Need lots of bike hours in next 3 months.
For those of you who speak powermeter the particulars were:
Time 2:28, Distance 45.25mi , Avg speed 18.3mph, avg watts 160 (top end of zone 1 with lots of hills) avg cadence: 88 (big improvement) avg HR 149 (spiked at the end) TSS : 200 , NP:174
IF : .896
Not great by most standards but a good day for me at this stage. If I can run well after this (and all indications right after are that I can) I may be pleased with High Cliff in 3 weeks.
The female World Champion 2 years ago said shortly after finishing: "I collected little stones all year to make this beautiful mosaic on race day". Today I collected a good stone for me.....tomorrow I need to collect another.......
My last significant outdoor ride of '06 was Ironman Wisconsin. It was cold and rainy all day
Today is what I will consider my first significant outdoor ride of '07. It was rainy (but about 20 degrees warmer) all day. I guess I am just a sucker for riding in wet clothing.
About 40 minutes in I ran into an absolute downpour. Spent about 20 minutes camped out under a picnic shelter at the local (for where I was) baseball diamond. Then continued my journey.
The good: great aero position, good speed to power ratio on a fairly hilly course, great cadence and I was "in the zone"
The bad: my bike handling skills have really attrophied over the winter re: getting something out of my pocket, looking behind etc etc
The ugly: I started coming apart in the last 10-15 minutes. Power dropped and HR spiked. Need lots of bike hours in next 3 months.
For those of you who speak powermeter the particulars were:
Time 2:28, Distance 45.25mi , Avg speed 18.3mph, avg watts 160 (top end of zone 1 with lots of hills) avg cadence: 88 (big improvement) avg HR 149 (spiked at the end) TSS : 200 , NP:174
IF : .896
Not great by most standards but a good day for me at this stage. If I can run well after this (and all indications right after are that I can) I may be pleased with High Cliff in 3 weeks.
The female World Champion 2 years ago said shortly after finishing: "I collected little stones all year to make this beautiful mosaic on race day". Today I collected a good stone for me.....tomorrow I need to collect another.......
Friday, June 1, 2007
here we go
Ok it's June 1 and time to start this thing. Why; not sure. In part it is for my extended family and other's in my life to follow (primarily) my Iron journey and (secondarily) my life journey.
Many that know me have no idea why someone would go about pursuing this goal; I find myself here sometimes too!!!. These same people usually also wonder how one goes about preparing for something like this
This site is in part a glimpse into not only the "why would I " but the "how do I" of my journey.
Next stop, Lake Monona, Sept 9, 2007
More to come.....
Many that know me have no idea why someone would go about pursuing this goal; I find myself here sometimes too!!!. These same people usually also wonder how one goes about preparing for something like this
This site is in part a glimpse into not only the "why would I " but the "how do I" of my journey.
Next stop, Lake Monona, Sept 9, 2007
More to come.....
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