The Big Lake

I had an exciting and unexpected experience yesterday that I thought I would pass along.

I was planning to go to Pewaukee Lake for a long swim after work. Tri-Wisconsin (a local tri club) holds a regular Monday night open swim on a pretty well measured course and I wanted to get in a 2.5 mile swim and check my heart rate to be sure what I think is a "smooth and easy" swim for me is in fact one. So I emailed my friend Joel to see if he would be there.

Joel replied that he was meeting another group from Tri Wisconsin at Klode Park in Whitefish Bay for a swim in Lake Michigan. I decided to join them as I thought the conditions may be a little rougher (waves etc) and I need the open water experience. Last years race was very rough and windy and wavy; you don't get to choose the conditions on race day.

When I mentioned at the office what I was doing that evening (which I generally don't do because people already thing I'm crazy enough without talking about 100 mile bike rides or swimming for any reasons other than to cool off) I got a general howling about the condition of that lake, all the reports of sewage dumping etc etc etc. Gross, gross and gross were the 3 most common terms.

For the most part I agreed while recognizing that with the amount of weeds I swim through at Pewaukee or the amount of goose poop I walk through on the way to Pike Lake that it is all pretty relative. Besides, I grew up on Lake Winnebago swimming all the time and look how I turned out (oh yeah....bad example.....)

Drove to the park after work and met Joel and headed down to the Lake (the park is up on a bluff). There were about 10-15 people there, some already swimming etc etc. I proceeded to don my wetsuit only to find I was the only one who was wearing one........tough crowd........ Some of the regulars pointed north and various houses along the shore (hint: there aren't many of them visible because the parcels of land they sit on are large, and they are pretty easy to pick out when you are swimming toward them as each is it's own unique looking 10,000 sq foot shack) and gave us estimated distances to each (round trip). 4 of us headed into the water for the longer swim (far house) with a 2.5 mile estimate in total.

We warmed up a few minutes (the other 3 at least originally conceeded the lack of a wetsuit may have been a mistake for them) and starting about 30 feet out from shore headed on a straight line course (at an angle) for the far house.

I have been in the big lake many times over the years. Mostly at the shore or knee deep; a few times swimming for a few minutes with my head above water; even did a sprint triathlon once in college. Never for a long swim workout.

It was gourgeous......the only experience I have had like it was snorkeling in Jamaica on our honeymoon....

The water is a clear blue green. You can fully see all the way to the bottom and you can see all the people swimming around you. We were in about 15 feet of water although it doesn't seem like it when you are swimming. You almost feel like you can touch the bottom until you try to stand only to find you can't touch the bottom. The first 20 minutes of swimming was in a bay that was a pure sand bottom. So I swam for 20 minutes looking at a sand bottom and the people around me. Next as you came out of the bay it began to be a rocky bottom with lots of minnows and small fish below; and it got shallower and more waves. After the small rocks was a section of big rock plates under you. Huge slabs of bedrock with little fissures carved by sand and water over the years. Unbelievable to see clearly what lies under the surface.

We stopped at the big house after 36 minutes of swimming. I had checked my watch and heart rate monitor regularly and was staying under 140 bpm (beats per minute) which is perfect for me on race day. We chatted and rested for a minute noting we had just gone about 1.4 mile (consensus estimate based on what we all know about our abilities) all with the wind and current and now we needed to go back against it. We set off and took another 45 ish minutes to make it back. All the while the sun was setting on the bluff above us.

I haven't felt that alive in a long time. When you are in a new environment like that all your senses are firing. I looked around at the 3 swimmers I was keeping up with (all very strong guys, though in fairness my wet suit helped me vs. them) and the beauty below me and the sun setting above me and I was very thankful.

3 years ago (which is shortly before I began this journey) I would have laughed and rolled my eyes like those at my office today. I couldn't have imagined swimming in Lake Michigan......or swimming anywhere for almost 3 miles straight.....or finishing a swim like that without feeling any fatigue or even breathing hard.

It was a magical moment and a great opportunity for Mr. All of Nothing to reflect on the positives of how far I have come in 3 years. In less than 6 weeks I will be on course going way slower than many of the people there. If you don't put things in perspective you can get discouraged by that. Too often triathletes are always looking forward and chasing a faster time etc etc. Lots of Type A's in this sport. It is amazing sometimes to listen to them get down on themselves while in the process of doing something that most people cant (and wouldn't want to) do.

After my swim everyone else packed up and headed home. Mr. All or Nothing got a night off from duties at home and I don't take that lightly so I used the time to go for a run after. 5 miles around my old neighboorhoods in Whitefish Bay (where I lived '92-98). Not much has changed though it is amazing to see all the activity (walkers, runners and bikers) out vs. in Jackson.

I ran by my old house and a lady was out watering the plants. I wasn't going to say anything to her but she spotted me and asked me if I wanted her to spray me with the hose (it was hot and humid out). I passed but stopped to talk and her husband joined us for a few minutes. The people who bought from me in 98 didn't stay long (though long enough to replace the roof I should have done before leaving :-) ) and this couple from Seattle bought it in 2000. They seem to be happy with it.

In closing it was a great training day and a great day. In part because I took the time to realize that it was. There is a lesson in there regardless of where you find yourself

"Life moves pretty fast; if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it" - Ferris Buehler

Old Friends

Had a chance to ride with an old friend on Tuesday. I took the day off and drove to Madison to ride 2 loops of the 40 mile loop which comprises part of the IMWI course. First loop by myself and 2nd loop with Steve.

Steve and I grew up in Oshkosh. I don't believe we ever went to the same school but we did play some competitive baseball on the same Oshkosh little league traveling team when we were about 11-13. I remember enjoying Steve as one of my favorites on the team. Steve went to college in Madison and was a pretty accomplished bike racer during this time. He has since moved to Texas.

Steve's mother and my sister are good friends. He learned of my training and was planning a business trip to Madison. My sister put us in touch via email and on Tuesday Steve flew in and borrowed a friends bike to join me for a loop of riding.

We had a fun time and Steve was a pleasure to be with. It is great to see someone after so many years and realize what a quality person they continued to be. We shared the trait of having gotton out of our respective sports for a good long time after college and both have only returned in the last couple of years. A couple of middle aged coggers getting the blood and competitive juices flowing again.

Steve was a good sport to put up with a slow guy like me. I explained to him that when doing what I am doing one needs to remember that after the ride is over you still have to run a marathon. I was out in front pulling most of the time which is good because me training by drafting off someone doesn't do much good for the race. It was also good because when Steve would get ahead of me, if he didn't look back continuously he would be miles ahead in no time. On some of the longer climbs near the end of the loop Steve would "stretch his legs" a little while I tooled up them spinning like a kindergarten school girl. It really is impressive to ride with someone who has real cycling power. I would catch up a mile down the road while he was checking his voice mail; like I said he was a good sport.

Thanks to Jodi for re-connecting us. I will send Steve my race # in September so he can follow my progress on race day. In his future business trips hopefully he can make his way east for a ride in the Kettle Moraine.

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On a seperate note my plan for a critical volume week which I laid out here last week didn't really materialize for a number of reasons. This was all probably for the best and I will try to blog some more detail and thoughts later this weekend. The two long rides I did earlier this week (112 on Sun and 82 on Tues) did tell me I am ready to swim and ride and Ironman.......now that running part...........

The stealth bomber

This is my ride.....

When I started this journey I told my wife this was my mid life crisis. I promised her no red sports cars or mistresses (sp?). This is my sports car and mistress.

My ride was made in Canada eh!! It was custom made to my body size. It was manufactured all in one mold in one piece. No welds. The motto of the company (guru) is "one soul at a time"

It is way more of a ride than a slow guy like me needs or deserves. But I ride it any way.

My ride turns heads with those who know bikes (which is pretty unlike me!!)

Some people name their bikes the way people name their boats or their horses etc etc. I am not this creative.

My ride reminds me of the stealth bomber.

I plan to spend a lot of time with my ride in the next week. Today it was just under 7 hours. I rode 112 miles.


For some reason the script from the website that I record my workouts on is on the fritz and my daily workouts are not showing. You can click on the "veiw my workout log" key on the weekly totals to see. I think this will be fixed soon (it has happened before): In the meantime the totals for this weekend are:
Sat: 2X3.35 mile runs for a total of 6.7 miles easy
3060 yard open water swim at Pike Lake
Sun: 112 mile ride in 6:55
3.35 mile run easy

More to come.....

critical volume

If you look at my training log this week you will find it to be very light. I mean very light. This has been due to a number of factors including:

1) schedule at home and work has been tough. Alex had a scout outing where he paraded on field before the Brewer Game Mon night; Alex had baseball Tues night and I was head coach (normal coach on vacation), Becky had dinner with friends Weds night etc etc.
2) I have been a little run down and burned out this week; combination of lots of training last weekend and crazy personal and business life. Also, I am not getting the sleep and nutrition I need.
3) I am taking it easy in preparation for the next 9 days.

There is a great article re: one man's philosophy for reaching your potential at IM distance traithlons. You can find it at www.qt2systems.com under the training concepts area titled "critical volume". It sets forth what this guy believes is a training week that needs to be achieved once during the build phase in order to race to your potential. His example includes some big numbers:
1) 12,660 yards of swimming
2) 450 miles of biking
3) 60 miles of running
All in one week time.

The next 9 days (sat-sun the 29th) will be my critical volume time. I will put in more training (hopefully) than any other 9 day period of my life. I don't expect to reach his numbers but I will/should get close with all/some. And I will take 2 extra days to do it.

This may not be the brightest thing in the world to do and I will evaluate it and change as I go through. But the timing is right for some big training both because of where I am in the schedule (this gives me a chance to back off for a week after to absorb the training and still have a couple more strong weeks before taper) and because my circumstances dictate it. Becky and the kids will be gone most of Sun and all next Tues (up to Oshkosh Sun and camping Tues) so out of the 9 days (I am taking off work Tues) I have 5 that have some large chunks of time.

The risk of injury/burnout or illness is high here so I have to be careful. Again, some would suggest big training block like this are not necessary and/or should be avoided. I mostly agree but need to try this one time to see what it does for/to me.

Lots of sleep, good nutrition and down time will be necessary. I plan to do a small number (3-4) of long swims, and good number of mostly long rides and a high number of very short runs (risk of injury is greatest here and I need to minimize this risk and re-evaluate after each short run).

I don't have specific mileage goals especially for the run. 60 miles is way too much. But I am going to push a little farther than usual and see what happens. All this will be done at very easy efforts.

Stay tuned......

Team TMF

Warning: this is a family friendly blog but the F in team TMF is not so family friendly. While I will not expand on it you will need to decide for yourself if you want to read on or not.

I have introduced you to a number of the members of Team All or Nothing: those that prop me up and keep me moving forward.

Today I will discuss the other team I am on: Team TMF. The TMF stands for Tough Mother and I'll let you figure out the rest.

Team TMF consists of myself and:

Joe Hensel of New Hampshire. Joe is originally from WI; I worked with him briefly out of college. At my first race in Appleton in 2005 Joe was in the area for the Memorial Day weekend and doing the race. We chatted briefly after and have been friends on line and otherwise ever since.

Pat Graven of Jackson. I noted on the participant list for IMWI '06 that there was another guy from Mayberry (aka Jackson) doing the race and contacted him in case he was interested in training together from time to time.

Joe has done a ton of Ironman's over the years including WI every year it has been held. Last year was a first for Pat and I. So we had a ton of questions for Joe and he was always willing to help. At some point we decided we were becoming a bit of a team that needed a name.

Then came Memorial Day weekend 2006. Joe was in state for the weekend and the 3 of us decided to do the Mad City 1/2 marathon in Madison on Sunday followed by a bike ride of part of the WI bike course that afternoon. Race day dawned very hot and very humid. Like mid 90's for both. We all completed the run on a day that at some point they actually shut down the full marathon race due to running out of water and medical supplies. Then after a short break we went to the bike course and rode 50-60 miles in this weather. We then made our way back to Mayberry and had dinner at the Texas Road House in West Bend. Joe and Pat (mostly Joe) proceeded to eat more than the rest of all of us in the restaurant combined!! At some point during this fun and relaxing dinner someone observed what a tough mother of a day it was and Team TMF was born.

We have had a great time together sharing ideas, keeping each other up to date on our training progress etc etc. Joe and Pat are great guys and I am happy and thankful to have them as part of my circle. They both crossed the line well ahead of me last September but were there to greet me and we got a great picture together after. It is hard to descibe the feeling of completing a race like IM, especially on a day like last Sept. But sharing it with friends who went through all the same things is very special.

While none of the 3 of us is much of a potty mouth for some reason we communicate with a lot in acronym's (must be an internet thing) and most have a tendency to include an F in it. Much of this is a variation on JFT which is a term coined by triathletes when people get too far into the why's and how's and complications of training for this sport. JFT stands for Just F ing Train meaning just get out there and do something. Variations include JFTaper and JFRace and JFRecover. HTFU has been known to make an apprearance which stands for Harden The F Up, typically directed at one who is having a bad week training wise or about to embark on a long day/weekend. "Suck it up Princess" can be used in it's place.

This weekend is a JFTrain weekend for me; and it will be a big one. It is a JFRace for the other team members. Pat ripped it up at the Pewaukee Triathlon last weekend and will be racing at the Spirit of Racine triathlon this weekend; you can catch his results at www.spiritofracinetri.com later on Sunday. He is sitting out IMWI this year in favor of the Chicago Marathon in October but will be back for more in Madison in Sept '08. Joe will be racing the full tortilla (as you can see from his eating prowess above he's a full tortilla kind of guy) at Ironman USA in Lake Placid New York this Sunday; you can follow his progress all day at www.ironmanlive.com. Joe will be joining me on course at IMWI this year to keep his streak of racing IMWI every year alive. By joining me I mean he will be ahead of me all day.

Good luck this weekend gentlemen; JFR boys, JFR!!!!! And yes guys I will HTFU and get my JFTing in.

I haven't got spirit....No I don't

I haven't got spirit how about you.......

Sorry it has been a week since the last update. We are getting down to crunch time. Good news is as you can see from my workout log it has been a good week. My race schedule had included Spirit of Racine 1/2 IM for next weekend. I have decided to skip this race for the simple reason that it is a long travel day on Sat to sign in, bike drop off etc etc then another long day Sunday to race. I have concluded with where I am at right now my time would be better spent using all this time right outside my front door to train. My wonderful wife has given me plenty of room next weekend and I plan to take advantage.

Today was a good day. Riding by 6am and got in 80+ miles in 5 hours. Now is the time to make hay and I am making it. For those of you who don't know, yes 5 hours is a long time to spend on a bike seat.

Things are going well and I am on track for IMWI. I may be a little slower than I had hoped but it will be a good day.

I will post more regularly going forward. And for those in my family: barring injury I am definitely in for IMWI. I will be soliciting all the help I can get in terms of my family on that day. Becky is planning on brining the kids one more year (hopefully not in future years) cuz they really want to see the old man finish. So be prepared for me to be a pain as I really want to put together a good game plan that allows everyone to have a good day and participate but leaves me out of things come the day before.

Closing thought: 80 miles riding a bike in one morning is something I couldn't have dreamed of 3 years ago. This is possible for anyone willing to spend 1-2 hours a day over a couple year period. It is a great gift to get up with the sun, ride 80 miles and get off and feel as fresh as most people getting out of bed.

OK, now I'm really back

All right after the short mind dump yesterday I am feeling a lot better and ready to move forward.

Got some nice encouragement from Mike at Your Training Zone today. Thanks Mike.

This process really is about consistently building fitness over a long period of time in order to get good/fast. Missing a few days ins't a big deal. Moving forward is.

3 years ago I couldn't have put in the one hour swim or the one hour run I did on Monday or the 2 hour ride I did on Weds;
either I couldn't complete them at all or trying any one of them would have fried me for days. That would have been a full weeks worth of work or more. Today they are just normal workouts. Progress comes from consistency.

Progress also comes from pushing the envelope out a bit and "backing it up" day after day.

I am about to embark on a pretty decent weekend of training. I will need to start early both days to beat the heat a little. Tune in and check my log for my progress. I will probably also post a pic of my ride.

I'm back in the saddle again.........

OK it has been a rough 1 1/2 weeks since High Cliff. But I'm back and updated.

High Cliff took a lot out of me. More than I had hoped.

Our ex VP's last week was last week so I have been really pushing work in the last week in terms of being around and making sure everyone internal and external is comfortable with the transition.

And my brother in law got married last weekend (congtrats again you two!!)

So...........

I haven't trained as much as I should have

And I'm getting down to crunch time


And I'm a little nervous and scared about where I'm at in terms of overall fitness

The sessions I have been getting in are good quality sessions but not enough of them and not long enough.

I need something to jump start me......hopefully this weekend.

Gordo Byrn has a great blog today (see my links) in terms of taking care of business and not looking for excuses. If you want support from your inner circle (family) you have to be willing to support them. This means getting it done regardless of the circumstances. I look back and realize I could have done more in the last week even with all that was going on.

I need to turn this nervousness into action.

My ex coach once told me the longest distance you need to cover on IM day is the distance between your ears; for me this is (obviously) a pretty big distance :-). Now you know what is filling it currently........