Life..Love..and the Pursuit of Ironman

The road to ironman just got a little longer......

2008-09-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well folks,

I now have not only one, but two years to train for my first ironman. I have been fortunate enough to train for triathlons over the past three years. This is no small task when balancing a full house with three kids, dual careers, home and cabin maintenance, and the normal hiccups life throws at you. Thank you "Angel" for granting me the luxury of training in what have been "crazy-busy" times.

Rather than continuing the quest for the next longer tri distance, I have decided it's time to spend more time in support of my wife and family over the coming year. While I will still race, it won't be for the grand-daddy event. I have reset my mileage calendar below in conjunction with today's passing of Ironman Wisconsin 2008 and will reset the training program to now plod ahead over the next 730 days until Sept, 2010. As such:

- I'll shoot for the IM in 2010.

- I won't be hitting the IM challenge at the big "4-0", but I will take on a the new decade with a bang!

- I won't have sequentially taken on a longer race each year, but I can hope to race faster than last season!

- I won't have to worry about the "7 deadly sins of the IM" (see Schelper blog for references), but I will fear #1 "gluttony" (I put on 5 lbs. in 2 weeks), #4 sloth (getting lazy and thinking I have all the time in the world to train), and #6 lust (envy the IM daily just to "get r done")!

- Most significantly, I'll have the opportunity to continue to train and race, be happier in the process and still have a supportive crew waiting for me at the finish line.

Here's to a sane season of training. For those of you doing the IM for your 1st or 21st time...congratulations! Stay inspired, stay healthy and have fun in the process.

Sprint PR

2008-08-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

It is a new PR…by about 1 minute! .3 mi / 20 K / 5k

It would appear that I beat my best sprint time by about one minute with a little over two weeks of continuous training. Here are the details:

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Pre-race dinner: Sashimi and shrimp salad

Pre-race morning: Oatmeal and stomach cramps

Pre-race setting: While a beautiful morning unfolded in St Paul, I found myself a buzz trying to get my bike set-up, race packet collected and spending a good majority of any remaining time in line for a port-a-potty.

All the time, announcements were going regarding the course, heats, etc. All useful information for someone like me who has not taken time to get familiar with the course. The only comment that stuck out was not to miss the first loop exit for sprint distance participants…back to this later.

Having taken my final adieu to the facilities, I headed back to transition to get my wetsuit. While the temps were to hit the mid 80’s, I decided to wear neoprene so to float easier and kick a little less so as to stave off stomach cramps in the water. I headed to the water as the second wave went off….
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THE SWIM

With the call for wave 5, I took my position at the back of the pack. My body was largely numb and the stomach cramping had subsided temporarily. The bell sounded and we were off. The pack was slow heading into the water and I ended up mottling my way through the group over the course of the 500 yards and even catching up with some of the pack from the previous wave by the time I hit the beach. With the pace as slow as it was, I was able to sight all lines and keep the heart rate low and cramping to a bare minimum.
Time 15:15 or 3:03/100 – My slowest swim time on record. I even double checked comparable times to others on the race results. Even the leader times were in excess of 10-11 minutes and the ranges were going from 13-20 minutes with an average of maybe 15+ minutes. Perhaps the buoys were not exactly at 500 yards?!

T1 - Quick and efficient with only time for a sip of water – 1:39 (fasted T1 on record)

THE BIKE

I clipped in and was off without incident. Glad I checked my bike out ahead of time in the transition area as I was in the biggest gear and my tire was rubbing as I mounted the race wheel poorly! All seemed to go well as I was out at a good pace and returning with a faster split! Not too many passed me on this leg (10ish?) of the race. Now I digress to the comment at the beginning of the race from the announcer that said not to pass the exit and do two laps when doing the sprint distance. Well, lo and behold I came flying down the hill looked to my left and saw the lake, looked back and spied the transition area I just passed. Oh great, had I somehow missed the turnoff? I slowed and looked around uncertain of what to do….no one was near me on the course so I did a u-turn and headed back. At this point I heard from 3 people who had been behind me at some distance say, what the he%$ are you doing? Guessing, I had not shorted the loop and feeling silly about my u-turn, I slowed again and did another u-turn to get back on track. Now I was determined to pass the trio who had so politely informed me I was shorting the course! I did so within about two minutes and sprinted to the end for a disheartening dismount.
Time of 33:47 or 22.07 mph (fasted on record by 2 mph)!

T2 – A quick change of shoes and a bite of gel and I was off in 1:04 (fasted on record).

RUN

I had been training at 11:20’s to keep my heart rate in an aerobic zone. I went out huffing and puffing and immediately slowed for a drink and slowed my pace a bit to get my breathing check. I was immediately passed by someone not going much faster. I found a pacer. I followed this person for about the first mile of the run thinking I must be pacing at 10’s or 10:15’s when he slowed to stretch his calves. Again, I was on the course with no one around. I kept going on an even keel for about a quarter of a mile. Typically, I am being passed by the entire field by this time. However, this was not the case this time as only a few were intermittently passing me by. I decided to pick up the tempo thinking I was about ½ way. I wanted a faster second ½ split. I got it and more as I picked up the pace before the ½ way mark. I was passed by quite a few people in the last quarter mile and picked up the pace once more and with a sprint finished tied with about 4 people to keep my overall position from falling more dramatically.
Time of 26:34 or 8:33 min/mile (a personal best)

Overall time – 1:18:17 setting a new sprint PR by just over a minute.
117/565 overall; 89/303 men

Next challenge TBD - See definition of LAZY below.

Lazy Triathlete Defined

2008-08-16T04:31:00.000-07:00

A fellow tri-blogger, who shall rename nameless, implied I was being lazy by not keeping my postings a little more current. Hint: She's on my blogroll.

As such:

la·zy [ley-zee], -zi·er, -zi·est, verb, -zied, -zy·ing.

1. averse or disinclined to work, activity, or exertion; indolent.
2. causing idleness or indolence: a hot, lazy afternoon.
3. slow-moving; sluggish: a lazy stream.
4. (of a livestock brand) placed on its side instead of upright.
5. to laze.
6. triathletes who take hours to post blogs, eat milkshakes and lay on their sides like livestock
(a.k.a "tipped cow" syndrome).

[Origin: 1540–50; cf. LG lasich languid, idle]

—Related formsla·zi·ly, adverb la·zi·ness, noun la·zy·ish, adjective
—Synonyms 1. slothful. See idle. 3. inert, inactive, torpid.—Antonyms 1. industrious. 3. quick.

Example: Tri-geek, after lazing like a tipped cow, will attempt a modest sprint race after a truly lanquid season.

Well, as some wind down their tri season...other's are looking to ramp theirs up. Going from zero to something is perhaps not really "ramping up", but that's what I will call it. After falling flat on my face after the mid-season 1/2 IM and suffering from what the doctor says is a "virus", I have spent a couple of diligent weeks getting the workout program back on track with aid from my trusted advisor, Mr. Dan Cohen.

So, I'll be sure to post the turtle like results of Sunday's...."experiment".

Good luck to all of those serious racer's our there who are doing their year end Ironman races! That goes out to the local GW clubbers who have their 140.6's in sight!

All for now.

Three Seasons of Triathlon

2008-07-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

Given that it is now my third year of doing triathlons, I think I may be overdue for a blog.

I caught the triathlon bug in season one after having done my first sprint course in Grand Rapids, MN (Timberman). While season two brought forth the olympic length distance, I felt the desire to go longer. The half ironman was completed in this summer. The race knocked me on my butt! While the doc says it was a "virus", I think it's my body's way of telling me I was not adequately prepped. 2009 brings forth hopes of completing the full ironman and with the aid of personal trainer, I hope to arrive at the finish line still standing.

Let 13 months of iron training begin.