Tri-Goose

FL Ironman Finished - My last entry

2006-11-06T14:23:00.000-05:00

I did it! I finished my first Ironman at IM FL this past weekend. Although I wanted to break 13hrs my knees told me a different story at mile 21 of the marathon so I settled for my finishing time and was still happy with that since I could run across the line smiling. Here are my times.

Swim 1:11:49
T1 - 14:33
Bike - 6:23:23
T2 - 9:47
Run - 5:16:11

Finishing time: 13:15:43

With that this will probably be my last blog entry. I will continue to train and do other smaller races but I think its time I start reclaiming my non-Ironman life with friends and work. Best of luck to all the aspiring IM triathletes. It will hurt,,,,,,,but the pain is worth it!

Time to Taper

2006-10-17T09:17:00.000-05:00

Halleluia let the taper begin! Did my last "long" workout this morning. Went out at 5am for a 20mile run. The end of that run officially started my taper. I am so ready for that. Training has taken alot out of me over the last month with the 6 to 8 hour long workout days on the weekend.

So finally,,,,,,the taper is here!!!!

17 days until IM Florida!

Broken Brick Workout

2006-10-08T17:22:00.000-05:00

I hope I never have to do one of these again. Today I did my first ever broken brick. My legs are so freakin sore right now. But I guess this is stuff you have to do to prepare for IM. So how does the broken brick work?

Ride 20 miles
Run 4
Repeat this sequence 4 times.

Now you may say this doesnt look like any big deal,,,,,then go out and do one and tell me how you feel by the time you get to the fourth set. By the time I got to the fourth set I would say my ride at best was a leisurely pace and the last 2 miles of the run did me in. I had nothing left. Needless to say there were alot of walk breaks during that last 2 miles. Well as soon as this pain goes away (with the help of my friend Moltrin) I guess I can say it will just make me tougher and ready for Ironman.

26 Days to go!

Finally Broke 30

2006-10-05T09:41:00.000-05:00

Today marks the breaking of the 30 days out until IM FL. 29 days to go and counting. I couldnt be happier about that bec I am really getting on edge with all this training. This weekend will be my last really brutal weekend, although I will still have a couple more long workouts (ride and run) before my taper starts. But just knowing if I can get through this coming weekend and hold it all together, I will feel confident with finishing IM FL in a respectable time.

Cant wait for the taper to start in about another week!

100 miles

2006-09-30T15:06:00.000-05:00

100 mile ride in the books. Started at 7:15am and rode pretty conservative to practice saving my legs for the run. Ride time was 5:51:30. Didnt brick today,,,,,thats tomorrow.

Cool weather means good running.

2006-09-28T07:56:00.000-05:00

FINALLY cool weather gets to Orlando! For those that live in the Orlando area and didnt get out this morning to run, walk, jog, bike or whatever you missed out. This is the first time since I started training that when I walked outside this morning it was nice and cool. I think the temp was around 67 degrees, perfect for running. I know it wont last but a couple days because we have a bit of a front passing through but hey, I will take what I can get.

Did a 12 mile run this morning and everything felt good. Legs felt good, breathing, weather, everything. Could not have asked for a better morning. Well ok I guess it would have been better if I was capable of running a 7 min mile, but that just aint gonna happen yet. But other than that no complaints. Its interesting, when you have a good workout and build some confidence early in the morning, it really sets the tone of your day.

36 DAYS TO IM FLORIDA!!

Race Report - Disney Triathlon

2006-09-24T20:44:00.000-05:00

As mentioned previously I did the Disney Triathlon just mainly as a training race to get my race legs under me bec I hadnt raced since May. And as usual in my opinion, Disney still just cant get some things right. The biggest complaint I hear from folks is the transportation issue. Always having to take shuttles and not being able to park close by. That will never change out there. If you wanna do a race at Disney you are going to have to deal with shuttles.

Swim:
My swim was sub-par for me. I usually warm up some in the water but the lifeguards didnt get there on time and they never opened up the water to allow folks to warm up so we all went in cold. The water itself was warm enough so no big deal. But I didnt feel they had enough marker bouys in the water so it was very easy to zig zag even when you are sighting in the water. I really didnt get into a rythm until the first turn bouy. Also I had to stop 3 or 4 times bec my chip strap kept coming off, so had to fix it. So I really didnt do alot of kicking with my right leg bec got tired of strap coming loose. Coming out of the swim you had to run a good 200+ yards to the bike transition. I still havent figured out if that time counts against us for T1 but my guess is yes.

Bike:
For some reason they cut the bike course short. It was not a true 40k. It was actually between 20-21 miles. I thought either I am having the ride of my life or they have cut the course short. I did hammer the miles out though bec I felt my legs would hold up pretty good considering the race was much less miles than I normally do. So I rode around 22mph for the bike, where normally I train about between 17-18 for longer distances. The last 3 or 4 miles it got kind of dangerous. My age group was the first to go, so coming back in there came a point where we were passing cyclist going out. Normally no big deal, but they had us all in the same lane as well as the runners that had started. Very dangerous situation. You really couldnt pass anyone and you had cyclist and runners literally squeezing by one another almost brushing shoulders. Once again Disney couldnt get it right. They should have at least figured out the runners needed to be over one lane if nothing else. By the time I got thru T2 and got to that point in the course they finally wised up and moved the runners over.

Run:
Run course was fine, but only issue is that it is a point to point run, not an out and back. I suppose Disney thinks its a selling point to have you run to Epcot and run around the park finishing in the Epcot parking lot, but really all that means is you have to take a bus back to the transition area to collect your gear. So imagine if you will a bunch of sweaty athletes on busses together. I will say that at least Disney had buses running constantly so you didnt have to wait long. As far as my run, I was happy with it. I am always slow but I kept my pace and for me figured I posted a pretty good 10k time of around 54min.

All told for me personally I had a decent race. And the most important part to me was that it solidified my aerobic base if definitely there from IM training bec when I crossed the finish line I notice that I felt pretty good and I wasnt as tired as I normally was after a race like that. So that for me was a positive. I think I am done doing any more Disney races. I have done the Half IM out there 2x and now the International. I will look for other venues next year.

Light week and Disney

2006-09-21T09:21:00.000-05:00

This week has been a very light week of training. More of a recovery week from last week high miles, but since I have really never trained like this I am curious how my body will feel next week when I am back to a higher load.

This Sunday is the Disney International distance tri. I am going to compete just to get a race in prior to IM FL and see how my race legs feel. Should be an interesting test only bec the last race I did in May at IM FL 70.3 I really botched my nutrition on the bike and cramped the entire run. I know if will be alot different bec this is a shorter race, but at the same time it will give me a chance to see how my training for IM is affecting my times even in a race like this. Also I will have a chance to practice my nutrition on the bike during a race, albeit for a short ride.

43 days to IM FL!

Finally feeling some training results

2006-09-17T11:59:00.000-05:00

I dont know if I just had a good week or if I ate something good for me, but this week was a confidence boost for me in training. It was a long week, lots of miles, so I am looking forward to the week coming up which will be a little less, but of course that means the following week is longer miles. But I felt pretty strong this week. Started earlier in the week when I finished my 16 mile run, and although I am not fast I felt pretty good when I finished. This weekend was pretty long as well. Saturday I did an 80 mile ride and tried to push my pace some and got in a little faster than normal avg speed for that distance.

Finally this morning I did a brick with a 50 mile ride then an hour run after. Although my heart rate got a little high torwards the end of the run I felt pretty good throughout. Kept a solid steady pace with short walk breaks mixed in. Its weeks like this that help in training confidence as we get closer to IM.

47 days and counting to IM FL!!!

Good long run

2006-09-12T10:22:00.000-05:00

Did my long run this morning. Got in 16 miles. My pace is slow and steady but for me its not so much about speed as it is feeling good along the way. I have traditionally had issues with my knees so anytime I can get a good long run in without knee issues is a good day for me. Started at 5:30am so it was also nice to be out in the cool of the morning rather than later in the day. I must say I love it when I get done with a long workout and know that its still early and I have the rest of the day in front of me and dont have to worry about training (I do have a short swim planned for after work).

I decided to run to my roomates place of business since it would be close to a turnaround point and I knew I could fill up with water at his cooler. He is an early riser and always out the door by 6am so I knew he would be there. He looked pretty shocked to see me knocking on his office door drenched in sweat. So he let me in and sort of suprised asked "did you run from the house?" Of course I proudly smiled and said, yep, now if you let me fill up with water, I gotta run back. He just shook his head. He thinks my IM training is pretty cool, but also thinks I am a bit crazy.

Workout and the Space Shuttle

2006-09-09T15:14:00.000-05:00

Had a long day today. Did an 80 mile ride followed by a 45 min run. Although I think it was good for me to have a few days off last week when I was sick, I did miss a long ride and and could feel it at about mile 60. Legs were getting a bit tired and I could feel myself slowing down. Got done in 4hr 45min so I wasnt too upset, I can live with that. My run was ok,,,had to start at 12 noon so it was pretty hot. But I must admit as crazy as it sounds I think it was a bit cooler today. I felt it mostly on the ride. Summer heat is not completely gone, but I could feel a very slight difference today which is a good thing.

Had a pretty cool experience while riding. Those of us that live in Central Florida can see the Space Shuttle going up, so as I was at about mile 60 I happen to be at the right angle on the road and looked up to see the smoke trail and the fire coming from the back of the Shuttle as it made its way into space,,,,,pretty cool in my book. There were other walkers, joggers, cyclist either stopping or at least slowing down to watch it as well. As I watched it go up, it did make me reflect for just a minute, that although training for IM is a daunting task, its pretty much nothing when considering the risks that those men and women take for the betterment of our lives through science exploration. Hats off to the astronauts!

Felt pretty good today

2006-09-05T10:08:00.000-05:00

I think I am pretty much over that sick crud that has been going around here. I was up late last night watching the FSU vs. Miami football game. I am an FSU grad so yes I am happy today since we won,,,,,,GO NOLES!! But I paid the price for staying up late to see the game. I was hoping it would be a blowout by halftime. I didnt care who was winning or losing, I just wanted to go to bed. But unfortuneatly for me it was a close game to the final seconds. So I was hating life this morning as I was dragging my tired butt out of bed to do a 14 mile run. But once I got over the shock of rolling out of the covers I did ok.

I felt pretty good during the run. I will always be a slow runner when it comes to long distance. Just dont have it in the genes I guess. But I am content to be slow and steady as long as it gets me across the line feeling good. Plus as I understand it, I will probably still be picking off runners late in the race with my slow and steady pace. I guess it will be those that charged out of the gate too fast and are out of gas late in the day. Its the whole tortoise and the hare thing. I took a couple of IBProfen before running this morning. Wanted to experiment to see how my stomach would handle it. Happy to say, no stomach issues and it seemed to help my knee issues I get sometimes. No knee pain today. So as we get closer to IM FL, things are getting dialed in.

59 DAYS TO IM FL AND COUNTING!

Sick and starting to freak a little

2006-09-02T07:57:00.000-05:00

Since Wednesday night I have been sick with a small fever, cough, congestion, stuffy head and nose,,,,,,you know the drill. So as a result I have not been training. I was supposed to do a 100 mile ride today but that got bagged bec of my health. Now I always said I wouldnt be one of those obsessive training triathletes, but I must admit I am starting to freak out just a bit from taking 4 to 5 days off because of being sick. I talked to my coach about it and she was the one saying to take some days off to get better but I feel like I am going to lose everything I have put into my training to this point.

Deep down I know that is not true, unless I took excessive time off, but I never thought I would get to the point of being obsessive with my training. Guess I am to the point where I feel that I have put in so much time and effort that to lose anything now would just be a big waste. So bottom line is I am hoping I can get rid of this crud by tomorrow and be back training on Monday. I envy all of you healthy ones out this weekend getting in your long days! And one more thing,,,,,,,one of the best inventions ever,,,,,,Puffs Plus with Lotion!

The emotions of IM training

2006-08-29T20:59:00.000-05:00

I am beginning to finally understand what I always heard when people who trained for IM talked about how nobody can really understand unless you have been there. In talking to different people it seems that folks that have gotten to this point in training for IM FL are getting the blahs. By that I mean we are getting to the point before we start to taper in a few weeks of really getting up there in miles and time spent training. Bottom line is that it is very draining both physically and emotionally at times. I have noticed recently that I seem to be really tired, and sometimes just have a mindset of why am I even doing this crap. But I usually snap out of the mindset pretty fast, but the body is still tired. It is the point in training where we are about to plateau,,,,but then the taper starts. That is when you start to feel it getting closer, when you make that taper turn. At least that is my assumption. Afterall, since this is my first IM, I have never done a taper of this magnitude.

I understand now why so many emotions come gushing out at the finish line. I am not really an emotional guy, but when I cross the finish line at IM FL, all bets are off as to how I will react. At this point I am as curious as anybody else.

Been a long week

2006-08-26T21:24:00.000-05:00

This week seemed very long for training. Coach really pushed me this week and I will say I am sufficiently tired. It all culminated with a 45 mile ride on Friday, followed by 65 mile ride today (Saturday) followed by an hour run. So I basically started my run at 11am, almost the hottest part of the day here in Orlando in August,,,,yeeesh.

Anyway, I got thru it as I always do, and funny thing. I was over at a friends house tonight, just some guys getting together, and when I looked down at my watch around 8:30pm, I thought to myself, I could just be finishing the IM by now. That will be a long day!

As stated already,,,I am sufficiently tired, so time for bed. These last few months I have never been so happy to lay in my bed at night :)

Long run done

2006-08-22T10:41:00.000-05:00

Did a 12 mile run this morning. Started out feeling pretty good. I was scheduled to run for 2hrs 20min so based on how I was feeling I figured I would get in possibly 13 to 14 miles. That all changed at mile 8. Started feeling sharp pains on the outside of my right knee. Its probably my own fault for not stretching as much as I should have lately, but regardless I have learned to listen to my body.

Although I take short walk breaks during long runs when this pain started at mile 8 my walk breaks became longer and more frequent. In fact during mile 12 I would say there was more walking the last mile than running. But my goal was to at least get 12 miles, so I was happy to have done at least that,,,albeit not very pretty by the end. So the rest of this week and hopefully from here to November 4, I will be more concious of how much I am stretching.

The good and the bad

2006-08-19T14:57:00.000-05:00

Lets start with the good. Although in earlier posts I did mention that I have been struggling physically this week, I did have at least one good workout. I did some speed training intervals on Thursday morning, 45 min on the treadmill, and I felt pretty good so I guess there is something to be positive about in training this week.

Now the bad. I got a late start this morning for my 4 hour ride but it wasnt a big deal, in fact I was looking forward to it because it has been overcast all day and even some rain drizzles. Thats great training weather to me bec keeps you nice and cool. So I start out this morning and yes, I am feeling good with the cool weather, then I notice something doesnt feel right as my back tire slips a bit,,,,yes I had a flat. So I pull over to change it, and although frustrated at least I have my spare tube and tools to change the tire. I am only 9 miles into the ride at this point. Kudos to most of the other riders that passed by. Many of them asked as they passed if I needed anything to help out.

Let me take a sidetrack here. I have for the longest time kept a small pump on my bike but have always been very lucky so never really had to use it all that much.....until recently. After today the pump is history. I am going to CO2 cartridges. I think I got into Zone 2 of my heart rate just trying to get my tire inflated enough with that little pump. So I went by the bike shop on the way home and now am set up with my CO2's.

So anyway, tire inflated and back on the road, not another mile down and my same tire goes flat again! I couldnt believe the luck. I had no more spare tubes and I was 10 miles away from my car, no patch kit,,,,thank goodness for cell phones. I end up having to call of friend of mine that didnt live too far away to come pick me up. Sorry but there was no way I was going to walk back 10 miles unless I absolutely had no choice. As I was waiting on my friend, I called my coach just to gripe about my morning, and of course to see what she wanted me to do,,,afterall I was only 10 miles into a ride that was supposed to be 70-80 miles. She basically just told me not to worry about it. Possibly get some time in on the trainer and if I have time tomorrow try to get possibly a 2 hour ride in. As I was on the phone with her trying to figure out what could have popped the new tire as well, I found the culprit. A very small sharp piece of rock pierced my tire and wedged itself in there, so when I changed the tube, I didnt inspect the tire close enough bec if I had I would have seen this and just removed it and probably been fine for the rest of the ride. So there's the lesson everyone......attention to detail.

As a side note, when I was at the bike shop I met a couple of other bloggers, Chris and Julie, that had I not seen their pics on Iron Bev's site, I would not have known who they were. It was fun to take someone by suprise and tell them I recognized them from blogging. So we chatted for a few minutes and they let me know since Bev is going to be at IM FL, they would be up there cheering us all on.

Bad week of training so far

2006-08-16T19:08:00.000-05:00

Since I havent trained for an IM before I dont know if this is normal or not, but my body doesnt seem to be repsonding well to training this week so far. Had a pretty good weekend of training but come Monday it just hasnt been the same. My body just seems very tired this week. My run on Tues morning was much slower than I anticipated. I was supposed to get in 12 miles at least, in a two hour run, but instead at the 2hr point I had only covered 10.5. Then today with my bike and swim, both felt very labored. My bike this morning was very difficult to get into my HR zones I needed to be in. Then later today my swim felt like I was sprinting just to make the times I needed in the pool. I was exhausted when I finished.

Perhaps my head is just not in the game this week. I have had some work issues I am trying to deal with and maybe thats taken away some of my focus. But at the same time I cant believe how tired my body has felt the last 3 days. Hopefully this is just a bit of a funk that will be gone by this weekend when I need to get out and do my long ride.

No brick after hills

2006-08-11T11:48:00.000-05:00

Turns out I got out of having to brick today. I took the morning off of work to meet my coach in Clermont for 40 miles of hills. I've said it before and I'll say it again,,,,I hate hill work. I know its good for you, builds strength and makes you faster on the flats but I just dont like it.

This morning we did a route that included Buckhill Road, and Sugarloaf Mtn. For those not from around Central Florida, those are pretty formidable hills. Sugarloaf is pretty much the route that people from all over Central Florida and beyond come to for hill training. Yes I was sucking wind going up, and yes my heart rate went into my Zone 5 b0rdering on my lactate threshold. But I am happy to say all hills were conquered, no walking up any (bec one of the guys with us got off and did walk). So I am pretty happy now to be sitting in a nice air conditioned room in front of a computer.

Tomorrow morning I think should be an easy day. Its a brick but only a 2hr ride followed by a 45min run.

Back to Back Brick Workouts

2006-08-09T11:12:00.000-05:00

It looks like I have back to back bricks coming this weekend. My coach asked me to meet her for a ride in Clermont this Friday morning and I agreed to take the morning off of work to do so. We are going to be riding the Clermont Half Iron course which has what I hate,,,,,hills! With stopping periodically we are probably looking at 3.5 to 4 hours of riding. Then she asked me if I could make some more time to brick.

Then as I look at my Saturday training schedule, I notice my coach as given me a 2 hour ride with a 45 min run after,,,,,yet another brick. Now far be it from me to dispute my coach, but I have a feeling that come Saturday afternoon I may have some pretty tired legs. I'll post how it goes,,,,but maybe not until Sunday. I may be sleeping until then.

5 hours in the saddle

2006-08-05T22:14:00.000-05:00

Where do I start, other than to say after 5 hours on my bike today I was glad to get off. Not saying that I am not looking forward to IM, but my butt and shoulders were ready for a break. On top of that the heat was out good today again. Normally people may get a little nervous when they see rain clouds developing, but when I saw them at hour 3.5 I couldnt have been happier bec occassionally they covered up the Sun and litterally you could feel the temp drop 5 to 10 degrees, albeit only for a few minutes before the clouds moved, but it was a nice reprieve.

Cycling still isnt where I want it to be speed wise, but I may just have to live with it for now and not worry too much. Ultimately my goal at IM is to enjoy the day and feel good at the end. I have a time window that I would like to finish in, but dont plan to get too flustered if that doesnt happen. I think for a while I may have started getting a little bored while riding. I ride alot by myself so nobody really to talk to and many times I ride the same bike trail. Mainly for safety reasons since I am riding on my own. But looking at the same real estate over and over can get a little boring, so I had to be careful around hour 4 not to lose focus. Covered 86 miles on the ride today.

"What it Takes"

2006-08-04T08:19:00.000-05:00

I am sure some of you have seen this but in the most recent issue of Triathlete Magazine there is an ad for a new movie coming out. A documentary following Peter Reid, Lori Bowden, Luke Bell, and Heather Fuhr. Check out the trailer and part of the movie at www.witmovie.com. It looks pretty cool!

May have spoke to soon on the knees

2006-08-04T07:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I did a 30min spin on my bike trainer, and then headed out for an hour long run. Now to be honest I thought since I put in 10 miles the other morning the run wouldnt be that big of deal. But apparently I was wrong, and what I thought were knees holding up really stuck it to me yesterday after the run.

Bascially after my workout yesterday my legs felt like goo all day long, and my knees were aching. Perhaps I did something wrong on my form or perhaps my legs were just still tired from another workout, but yesterday afternoon was not fun. Especially walking up stairs. Yes, my legs feel better today after a good nights sleep. Today is just pool and weights later on and early to bed tonight.

Tomorrow very early starts a 5 hour ride and 20 min transition run off the bike.

Runs getting longer now

2006-08-01T13:23:00.000-05:00

This morning I did a little over 10 mile run. Havent logged a run this long since training for the Half IM in May. Felt pretty good. I dont know what goes on inside my knees but they seem to have gotten weaker over the years. Guess that may just be part age, part abuse I put them through when I was younger. Anyway, typically I have some knee pain on longer runs but lately they have been holding up pretty good. I think I need to thank the makers of IBProfen as well. Taking that has helped the knees on longer runs too. I think that will definitely be part of my IM race day suplimentation.

I decided to use a nice little feature on my Heart Rate Monitor. It has an event countdown on it so I set it this morning so every day I will be reminded of how many days until IM FL. As of today 94 days to go. Now of all you numbers people yes I know its actually 95 days but I am not counting day of,,,,,I am counting how many training days left until the race.

"Easy Day" takes on new meaning

2006-07-29T16:47:00.000-05:00

I never thought I would say this but today was an easy day of training for me. I did a 3 hour ride followed by a 25min transition run. Ask me to do that 4 months ago I would have dreaded it, but after the last few weekends, when my coach told me that is what she wanted me to do today, I thought to myself, cool an easy day!

My friends that know I am in training for an IM will sometimes ask me what I am doing on Saturday morning. Last night they asked and my initial response was, "oh tomorrow I get off easy with a 3 hour ride and a short run after". It was funny to look at their faces knowing in their mind they think I am insane for thinking that is an easy day.

Sacrifices for Ironman

2006-07-25T09:36:00.000-05:00

I am slowing but surely understanding all the stories I have heard over the years about the sacrifices you must make in your life to train for and complete an Ironman. I have found that I am more and more sacrificing time with friends, and I have also on occasion sacrificed time with family. I am not married, however when family has been in town I have told them I would meet up with them later, what I didnt tell them is the reason was I was out training.

But of greatest concern to me lately is my business. I started a small marketing company about 2 years ago. My first venture out on my own from corporate America. Things started on a fairly positive note and I could see some potential but then came Ironman. I had always planned on doing Ironman and thought if I was ever going to do it this is the time in my life. Not tied down to a 9-5 job, single, etc. But what I didnt count on was the time investment. I knew it would be alot but what I have learned is you have to take into acct how much you think then mulitply times 2 then figure out how your personality fits into all that. What I mean by personalitly is are you the type that doesnt need alot of sleep? Are you the type that can easily get up at 4:30am? Do you prefer to train at night? Things like this bec it all fits into how you need to adjust your life. But back to my business.

I have found that in my mind I have reached the point of no return with Ironman. If I bail out now I have done nothing but wasted alot of time, money and effort. But at the same time I have noticed that my business is being sacrificed bec I get to the office late bec of training and I leave early to go train again so I can get to bed at a decent hour. Now I know there are plenty of folks out there with full time jobs that do this, but its different when you are trying to build a business vs having a job that you have a regular paycheck coming in. If I am not out building,,,not money comes in. And in case you all havent noticed Triathlon is not the cheapest sport in the world.

Anyway, for the first time in my life I am hit with the dilema. I have waited so many years to complete an Ironman that I dont feel like I can bail now. But in the end it could honestly mean the demise of my business. I never knew Ironman could potentially take such a toll. In the end I will just hope for the best and try to keep the business afloat.

Hard to be coached

2006-07-21T08:40:00.000-05:00

I have found that it is sometimes very difficult to submit myself to a coach's rule after I have created habits over the last few years. I do take direction pretty well from her, but at the same time there are frustrations bec in trying to become more efficient with my training it feels like in some areas I am slowing down rather than gaining.

For example, my typical bike pace over a given ride was anywhere from 18-19mph avg. Now with the change in training technique and focusing more on cadence and HR zones it seems I cannot get above 18mph and 18 would actually be a really good day. I have had this conversation with my coach and so far have not been able to figure out what I am doing wrong. Last Saturday on a 4.5 hour ride the goal was to get in at least 85 miles staying in Z2 HR.....but at the end of the ride I had only covered 75miles, very frustrating. I dont know if that will get worked out or not, but I am trying to continue to trust my coach.

Summary of distances over the last 4 weeks.
Swim - 39,900 yds
Bike - 429.5 miles
Run - 63.5 miles

Tired Body

2006-07-12T19:07:00.000-05:00

Today was one of those days we all hate in training. I woke this morning feeling tired already but headed out for a planned hour long run. From step one I knew this was going to be a bad morning. I never could get comfortable or get into a rythm, my breathing was laboring, pretty much everything I didnt want happening was happening. I struggled for the first 30 minutes then ended up walking for a few minutes, got back on the horse for another 15 minutes then at that point just had enough. My head wasnt in the game, my body wasnt responding well, so at 45 minutes that was it for me, dejected I walked the rest of the way home.

Then in the pool later today, I could still feel my body not wanting to work. Halfway through my workout, I practically wanted to quit. I am happy to say I didnt, but man today was a hard day that hopefully I will rebound from tomorrow or the next day.

On another note Flatman posted a great link on his site to an awesome documentary on Ironman, you should check it out at Ultrasport.tv all you need to do is click to launch the player.

Dont be afraid of the treadmill

2006-07-07T10:34:00.000-05:00

For the longest time I have stayed away from treadmills when possible because I always felt that since its different than running outside I need to stick to outside to stay used to it. Recently I have changed my thinking and started to embrace the usefulness of the treadmill, or as my brother calls it the dreadmill. Now allow me to give the disclaimer here, I am not saying that the treadmill should take the place of outdoor running. I am still of the school of thought that outdoors is ultimately better training to be prepared to race, but I have found that the treadmill definitely has its place.

I have started to embrace it when injuries or pains occur. Recently I have been struggling with a mild bought of tendonitis in one knee. So for that scenario the treadmill has been good to work in on certain workouts because it is more forgiving on my legs that asphault or concrete outdoors. There arent alot of good off-road paths for me where I live so its difficult to find the soft surface. I did 30 minutes this morning on the treadmill and the knee held up pretty well.

Next I would say that the treadmill could be pretty effective for interval workouts. Lets just be honest here, when we do interval workouts outdoors or at a track no matter how hard we push, when we get tired there is a tendency to slow up a bit even if you dont notice until you look at your watch. Well on a treadmill the only way you are going to slow up is if you conciously hit the slow down buttons or jump off. So for that you tend to get a harder interval workout if you do it the right way and keep your speeds fairly consistent.

So to all the treadmill haters out there, I say to you that I used to be one of you so I know where you are coming from. But embrace the usefulness of one for what its worth, however if I catch you doing your long 4 hour runs on one,,,,,,you will never hear the end of it from me.

4th of July Party

2006-07-05T08:10:00.000-05:00

Yes, every once in a while I do have a life outside of work and training. Last night my roommate and I had around 50 folks over for a party by the lake to celebrate the 4th. What you dont know about my roommate is he is really into special effects and fireworks fall into that category. So he went out and bought fireworks that were beyond legal limit for consumers. Yes these were the size of Disney fireworks! So how did he get them, well he has a friend that is licensed to use and sell them to professionals, so he just buys them from his friend. Anyway all of our friends really had a good time and my roommate put on a great show for them. Included are a couple of snapshots a friend of mine took at the party.

Long morning in the saddle

2006-07-03T12:58:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday was the first day I have done a longer than 3 hour ride in a while. But in preparation for IM, I need to start doing longer rides to get used to being in the saddle. I basically started at first light, around 6:15am. I rode for 4 hours then got off and did a 20 min run to try and get my running legs under me. I am using more heart rate training right now, so I stayed in my Zone 2 for the ride and the run, although I must admit I creeped into Zone 3 a few times by accident.

My coach has told me that I will probably be riding in Zone 2 for IM because if I try to push myself into Zone 3 I will waste my legs. Basically I learned that coming in 15 to 20 min faster on the bike by pushing myself in Zone 3 can effectively make my run over an hour longer because I wasted my legs. That was enough to convince me. Although sometimes I feel that I can ride harder, I stick to my zones.

I am also doing alot of experimentation now on my long training days. Trying out new lotions for the cycling shamey in my shorts, how much nutrition I need on the bike, how much fluid to take in. I think I am getting better at the amounts fluid intake but still need some work to dial in my overall nutrition on the bike. Well I still have a pool and bike workout to do later today, so guess I outta here! Have a great 4th of July everyone (at least all you Americans) :)

Using Smack Talkers as Motivation

2006-06-29T07:59:00.000-05:00

I remember once in college a professor ticked me off so bad that I went out for a run to blow off some steam and remember running hard and for a long time, barely getting tired, mainly because I just kept replaying the professor's words in my head.

Every once in a while there comes a time in your training or racing when you find new motivation. For this particular time in my journey it comes compliments of a "friend" that I see occassionally. She has the type of personality that many times she seems to take pleasure in chopping other people down, that is why I use the term friend loosely. The last couple of times I saw here, she has been giving me grief about how I botched my run in the Florida Half Iron. I have been eager to point out that she was not even there competing. She competed in the previous years event and didnt do much better. However, bec of my poor time she has been razzing me and telling me how bad she is going to beat me at IM FL. Yes, she is tackling her first IM at IM FL as well. So bottom line she talks alot of smack.

I have decided, as much as I want to lash back at her verbally, to stay quiet and do my talking in November out on the course. I did remind her though that she seems to talk alot of smack for someone that has never done an Ironman. So those days on the bike or run that my legs start feeling tired, I simply start replaying her words in my head and get an extra dose of motivation. I dont care what my time is at IM FL, as long as its one second faster than her!

Early birds avoid FL heat

2006-06-24T11:21:00.000-05:00

Now is the time of year for all of you northerns to gloat. I was in the saddle this morning by 6:30am because down here in FL if you wait until 8 or 9am the heat starts to get you. But I guess I knew when I started training for Ironman that would happen sometime. Today was a 3hr 30min ride, and as I finished around 10am I could feel the Sun really starting to bear down. I am officially starting longer rides to get used to my rear being in the saddle for a long time. Next weekend I can look forward to a 4hr ride. However I will say that I sort of screwed the pooch today on my workout. When looking at my ride for today, I negleted to scroll down the page a little more to see that I was supposed to brick today and do a 20 min run after I got off the bike,,,,,oops. When I got home to update my training log I noticed the second part of the workout and felt like crap that I didnt do the whole thing. Oh well what can you do now. Its too late to brick and I have to head out for other Saturday commitments.

I am getting used to my new Heart Rate Monitor and really trying to put it to good use. I find myself jumping into HR zones too high sometimes and having to slow down to stay in the right training zone. But its fun to have something to do on long rides. Also I think I am finally doing a better job of hydrating myself since the debacle at FL Half Iron with cramping. Last weeks ride I had drank so much that after a 3hr ride I was practically running to the bathroom to pee. Yes its crude, but its a good sign. Happy training!

Lactate Acid Threshold Testing

2006-06-16T19:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday may have been a small milestone for me in my training by adding a scientific element to it that I have never done. I had my Lactate Threshold professionally measured. The results can be used for more accurate measurements while using a Heart Rate Monitor for training. I am sure many of you are aware that there is an age formula out there to get MHR and target HR training zones but I have always read that although its an ok formula it is not the most accurate measurement. The most accurate way is to have a fitness professional put you through the ringer on a treadmill and take measurements along the way.

Now I must admit we have a small advantage down here in the Orlando area in that the USA Triathlon National Training Center is located in Clermont which is really part of the greater Orlando area. So I set up an appointment and Thursday went out to have it done. Basically the test consisted of the following.

I started with a few minute warm-up on the treadmill then they raise the speed a certain percentage and I run at that speed for 3 minutes at which time I step off (put my feet on the edges) and have a finger pricked and blood taken to measure my Lactate Acid. This same progression continues over 9 intervals, raising the speed, checking my blood and watching my heart rate. By the last set I was sucking wind and running pretty hard,,,,,,thus my Lactate Acid Threshold hit. Sure I was tired and after having 9 fingers pricked my fingers are sort of sore today, but I think it will be totally worth it to have an accurate measurement of my Lactate Threshold and Max Heart Rate. Apparently your MHR is not as high on the bike, so using the treadmill figures a bike MHR can be extrapolated. Anyway it was an interesting experience that I would recommend to anyone who may be trying to take their training to another level.

Blog entries not as regular anymore

2006-06-14T18:44:00.000-05:00

As you have probably noticed my blog entries have not been as regular as they used to be. Bottom line is with life getting busier and the debacle at IM Florida 70.3 I am trying to take my IM training much more seriously. Serious to the point that I will be using the services of a coach for the next few months working towards IM FL. Bottom line is I just dont want to experience the pain I endured on May 21 all over again but times 2! So that means I am spending more time focusing on the training specifics to get myself ready. I am not looking to break any records at IM FL but I do want to feel good the entire day and be able to cross the finish line with my hands in the air and a smile on my face.

The coach I am using is not actually in Orlando area but over in the Tampa area, about an hour and a half away, but so much is done via the internet these days its not a problem. I will just go over periodically on a Saturday for some one on one evaluations. But she has me set up on a really cool internet training site that I had never seen before called trainingpeaks.com. Once I set up my acct she is able to go in and set up detailed workouts on a weekly basis, adjusting them based on my schedule and what is going on with my body at the time based on my feedback to her. I am really excited about the prospect of having someone that actually knows what their doing helping me out. The site has some great features like keeping track of the miles on my shoes, heart rate info (that can be uploaded if you have a HRM that will do that), and many other bells and whistles.

Anyway, I am not leaving my blogging, but it may only go to about once a week now just to give training updates and if I learn anything new that may be worth passing along. Good training everyone!

Cool New Toy

2006-06-12T07:27:00.000-05:00

I tried a very cool new HR Monitor today. I had already used it on my bike, but today I tried the shoe pod. I must say it is very cool. The Polar HR Monitor RS200SD model has a great feature in that you can attach a shoe pod onto your laces and it will read your pace, speed, and distance. It is not a GPS system which I like better because with GPS if you have trouble locating the satellite you dont get readings. I was a little concerned if the shoe pod would bother me on my laces because although it is very lightweight it looks sort of bulky. I am happy to report I didnt even notice it was there.

I am looking forward to using this product on a regular basis during my IM training. If you want to see more about this model or other Polar models, you can see them at www.polarusa.com. They have other models for triathlon but to be honest with my bike computer having a cadence feature on it, I didnt see the need for getting a different model when I can just wear this one while cycling.

Max Heart Rate Hurts

2006-06-05T17:58:00.000-05:00

In the interest of trying to do a better job of training for my upcoming IM, I am going to start using a Heart Rate Monitor again. I used one more often a couple years ago, but as I started figuring out my zone based on how my breathing and body felt I stopped using one. An Ironman is a whole different ball game so I figured I better pull out all the stops.

I think I am going to be paying a small fee to a coach as well for the next 2 or 3 months to set up a good training plan for me bec as much as I appreciate my friend who has done them for me in the past, he is really not a certified coach and its not his area of expertise, although he is more knowlegeable than I.

But back to the heart rate monitor. The more I have read, it seems the "Age" formula is not that reliable in determining max HR and your zones, you really need to do a Lactate Threshold test. So I found one on the internet and put myself though it today on my bike. I had always heard that it would hurt,,,,,,and whoever said that is right! When I reached my Max HR I literally thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest. I could only maintain it for right around a minute before I had to pull back. But at least that part is done,,,,,,for the bike that is. Think I still need to do it for running bec it may be a little different.

Max Heart Rate (bike) - 174
Resting HR - 58

Meeting other racers

2006-05-30T14:51:00.000-05:00

I was away this weekend on a church retreat at the beach. There were some other churches attending as well, and in the course of the weekend I heard a girl mention that she did triathlons. While a group of us were on the beach I saw her and struck up a conversation with her about her triathlons and it turns out she was at the FL Half Iron the same weekend I was. We ended up sharing stories of pain and agony that we both experienced on the course.

I thought it was fun to be able to talk to someone else that was there and could appreciate the conditions, mainly the heat of the day. Turns out she had some of the same struggles on the run with cramping that I did, so we had a good laugh about that. Its great sometime to be able to share stories with fellow racers and compare notes. I have mentioned before that my triathlons are something that I really have a hard time sharing with my friends bec they just dont understand what we go though and how much training is involved. My friends are supportive, but that is different than understanding. So its fun to run into someone occassionally that can relate.

Some of you may ask, then why dont you run in more triathlon friend circles? I purposefully do not do that. I have noticed those circles many times become obessive about their sport, and although I can appreciate the dedication, I dont want to get to that state myself. I dont want my life ruled by training and racing. I spend enough time as it is on all of that, not to become completely consumed by it all. But anyway, it was fun to talk to her about the race and get her perspective on it.

Time off of training ends tomorrow and training for IM FL begins,,,,,YIKES!

Gettin Fat and Happy

2006-05-26T07:23:00.000-05:00

Since my race on Sunday I have pretty much been sittin around gettin fat and happy. Now not literally fat mind you, but pretty happy. Although I look forward to setting goals and training towards them its nice to take a little time off. Sometimes triathlon can be enough work that this time off is like a vacation. So this whole week for me has been rest and recovery. In fact, because of the problems I was having with my knees during my run training I actually will not be running again until June 10. I will be back in the pool, on the bike, and doing weights as of mid next week, but until then rest and relaxation,,,,,Yeah Baby!

This weekend I am headed to a retreat with my church at the beach for the holiday. It will be the first weekend in probably the last 6 months when I will not be biking running or swimming laps in a pool. I dont know if I will know what to do with myself. But perhaps some beach volleyball will take my mind off of the lack of training. Anyway, hope everyone has a great Memorial Day Weekend. Remember our soldiers!

Race Report - Florida Half Ironman

2006-05-23T06:56:00.000-05:00

I am going to break this down into some different areas. First the race report from a race organizers perspective (yes, I used to be one), then I will go into my experience racing.

Swim
The swim in my opinion was a good one. The lake out at Disney is not that deep, if I had to guess probably only about 6 to 7 feet in some areas, so the water tends to warm up nicely. The water temp was perfect, if I had to guess, probably around 79 degrees. The race organizers have started doing what some other races have done which is mixing up the men and women's waves in starting. I am not sure what the selection protocal is for who goes first, but we started with the Pros then from there the physically challenged (normal so far), then we had men in their 50's, then some younger women, then men in their 40's, then women again,,,,,the group before me was women in their 40's then men 35-39. Typically in the past you have started out with the youngest guys and work up the age ladder then do the same with women. Now ladies I am not knocking you bec many of you out there are faster than me, but by and large many of the men are faster than the women, so what I noticed is that I never really got any open water on the swim, bec we were always catching up to another group, so instead of an initial crowd in the water then we get spread out, we were constantly on top of somebody. It wasnt that big of deal but just my preference is not to do the start this way. In an Ironman I can understand everybody starting at once, its a long race.

Coming out of the water we had to run about 200 yds to T1. I thought this would be bad but it turned out to be no big deal. There was just a small portion of concrete and then it was mulch paths that they covered in a layer of indoor/outdoor rug, so it actually felt pretty soft for the run to the bike.

Transition
This was an improvement from last year. Last year you had to run your bike almost a quarter mile it seemed before you could mount. Not this year. They listened to their customers and changed the location of T1 so that when we came out is was only about 20 yds before we mounted the bikes and were on our way.

Bike
The bike was good. No real changes on the course. One small change at the beginning but nothing major. For a Florida boy I would classify this route as a good route with just enough hills to challenge you but most of it pretty flat with some rolling hills mixed in. The biggest hills are about 25 miles in, and the funny part is once you get over them, you head to a turnaround, and have to come back through and climb them again from the other direction. The bike portion is really where you saw some effect of the mixed start waves. There were so many slower bikers ahead of you that it sometimes got really jammed up with passing sometimes 4 wide on the road. To me that is a safety issue, but at the same time I could tell most people realized that was just something to deal with so it gave us an opportunity to use the names we saw on the race numbers to let them know we were passing "On your left Mike".

My biggest issue with the bike was what I considered the lack of control over drafting. Now I will be the first to say that there needs to be some forgiveness in a ride like this bec sometimes there were just so many of us we couldnt get 3 bikes lengths away from each other. But within the first 15 miles of the ride a literal pack of at least 10 to 15 riders came blowing by everyone. I was ticked, to the point of even hollering at them "Nice draft jerks!" It amazed me how blantant they were cheating in the race and didnt care. In fact another rider pulled up next to me and said "That looks like quite a draft they have going." All I could hope was that the officials would see them and penalize them. That stuff really ticks me off, bec when everyone else is burning their legs, they are saving energy by cheating. But that is my only gripe about the bike.

The bike aid stations were well organized. Plenty of water, gatorade, and gu for those that wanted it. One aid station was awesome,,,,,it was located at an underpass so somebody had the good idea to get a drum core out there. Riding through there with the drums beating reverberating under the bridge was great! Gave you an energy boost. Another guy came up next to me as we went through there and he just looked at me and said "That was awesome!" I agreed. If memory serves the stations were about 15 miles apart.

Run
The run course changed from last year. The only complaint I have abou the course is something that cannot be controlled. Its sooooooo freaking hot and for all the trees at Ft. Wilderness the run course is only shaded on about 5% of the course. The rest is heat bearing down on you.

The actual course itself is not bad. It is for the most part completely flat. Half to 2/3 of the course are on an off road path so prepare yourself for dirty shoes after the race. They designed it this year to be a 3 loop course with aid stations I think about every 3/4 mile. This was a vast improvement adding more aid stations to the course bec of the heat. Also having a 3 loop course is good for spectators. Aside from transitions my friends were able to see me 3 times as I came to one of the main turnarounds, and that was nice for me to have friends cheering me on as I ran.

Something happened on the run that to me really showed one of the things I like about this sport. That is the respect that most of the racers have for each other out there. At one point in the run, one of the aid stations ran out of cups, so runners leaving the station were telling us all that were coming so we could pick a cup up off the ground if we needed one. That turned into racers holding onto our cups after the stop and handing them off to runners coming in the opposite direction. Bottom line is everyone understood that we needed to help each other out until the aid station got more cups. It was just really cool to see folks on my side stopping a picking up 2 or 3 cups off the ground to hand off to others approaching the station so they could get fluids.

Summary
So all together I would say it is a good course. I have done the race twice now and this year was a vast improvement in the logistics and organization. Although I will not do it again, mainly because of the heat. That is what in my opinion makes this race a challenging one. You could get lucky and race weekend could end up being unseasonably cool. But this year, no such luck. So for those training for this race get used to running in some heat.

Now about me and my race
I would like to say this year was a vast improvement over last but I cannot. For the second year in a row I experienced severe cramping within mile 1 of the run. I couldnt believe it was happening to me again.

I had a good swim, a good bike, but then it all fell apart on the run. At one point the cramping got so bad I could barely bend one leg at the knee. So needless to say, I had to do alot of walking again this year. It was very frustrating. In trying to figure it out (over the last couple of days), I think it may have been a combination of a few things. But I am starting to think I didnt do a good job hydrating myself this year. In fact when I was reflecting on the run, I remember thinking to myself, my hat is not wet. Ususally when I do a long run my hat is soaked from sweat when I get done. It wasnt so out there, so I am wondering, if I am not sweating enough perhaps I am not hydrated enough, therefore cramping occurs. There may be some overall conditioning issues I need to address as well. Regardless, the race is done and I didnt meet my goal time other than finishing, so I was dissapointed with myself,,,,and a little sore to boot. It was a race that I had to truly live the words of John Collins that I put on my blog header.

Goal time- 6.5 hours
Official time - 7 hrs 1 min

Race Report Coming Soon

2006-05-22T13:37:00.000-05:00

Kinda busy, but look for a race report on the Florida Half Iron by tomorrow.

Officially Done Training

2006-05-18T06:55:00.000-05:00

Its the Thursday before Sunday Half IM and I am officially done training. At this point there is nothing more I can do to prepare. If I havent done enough I will know on Sunday. Planning to head out to the Ironman Village tomorrow afternoon for check-in. Last year I went out on Saturday and all the cool stuff was already gone from folks that were there on Friday,,,,wont make that mistake this year. I will have to go back on Saturday to check my bike in but no big deal. My Saturday plans anyway are to do nothing more than lay around resting and getting my stuff ready to get up at 4am Sunday morning.

I know these are some short posts, but with race day approaching and work committments, been a little busy lately. My next post will be after the race on Sunday, probably Sunday night, because I see a nap in my future after the race.

No breaks for heat at FL Half Iron

2006-05-16T09:02:00.000-05:00

I just checked the weekend outlook for raceday, and it looks like we will not be getting any breaks in the heat down here. I would have killed for the race to have been this past weekend. We had a cool front come through and the mornings were actually incredibly nice and cool as well as during the day pretty mild. No such luck this coming weekend. The high is to be around 94. Incidentally the record high for this time of year in Orlando is 96 (back in 1963). So think of me as I get off my bike and start to run right around the hottest part of the day.

So I will have a nice cool swim, followed by a bike ride with a nice breeze, ended with a heat drenched run! Salt pills will definitely be my friend this year.

6 days to go

2006-05-15T07:41:00.000-05:00

I am in official taper mode right now and I must say I like it. In fact I decided to sleep in for the first time on Saturday in about 6 months. Instead of getting up early to do my run, I decide to sleep and not run until later in the afternoon. Sleeping was great, although sleeping in for me anymore is 8:30am. I am starting to look forward to race day. Not that I didnt want to do it, but the feeling you get as the day gets closer,,,,the buzz in the air. Also this year I am going into it with a different mindset. Last year I trained alot harder, had another race too close on the schedule, was in physical pain, and had what amounted to a strict time goal I had set for myself. As I hobbled through the run on an injured leg and watched my time goal pass me by, I became very frustrated.

Not so this year. I am not going in with any strict time goals.....now does that mean I dont have any time goals at all,,,,of course not. I have times that I would like to meet for all three disciplines, however I am not married to them this year. If I meet them, ok, if not, ok too. My main goal for this race this year is to feel good when I finish. As far as time goes, if I finish one minute faster than last year, I am happy because that means improvement. But if I dont thats ok too as long as I finish and feel good. Afterall,,,,this is sort of like the playoffs leading to the superbowl. I will not really be celebrating until I cross the finish line of my first Ironman in November.

So just in case I get busy this week with work and final race preparations and you are curious, here are a few of my time goals that I would like to meet.

Swim - 40 min
Bike - 3 hours
Run - 2hr 30min (ish)

Ultimately I would like to finish around the 6hr 30min mark if possible but if not at least before 7 hours.

Tendonitis

2006-05-12T11:12:00.000-05:00

You would think I would learn after five years of racing to react better to pains and get them treated, but I guess I still have some learning to do. It seems I will be racing on the 21st with a bit of tendonitis in my knees. The right knee is worse than the left but none the less, not really a comfortable run. Been dealing with the pain for while, lots of icing of the knees, but finally decided today to go see a Physical Therapist friend of mine. He diagnosed me pretty quick and was able to put his fingers right where the pain is.

I am incredibly thankful for my friend Ed Dullmeyer who owns his own Physical Therapy clinic. Ed has always been very generous to help me out in my times of pain. Today he gave me some ultrasound treatment and some electric stimulation in the knees. It does feel a little better but I am going to see him two more times before the race next Sunday. Hopefully I can at least put a "band-aid" on the problem to get through the race with as little discomfort as possible. I was planning on doing a 12 mile run tomorrow morning but Ed advised me just to do a few miles ( 3 or 4) to keep my running legs but said since I have already done an 11 mile run a couple Saturdays ago, I should be alright for my race, since I really havent done that much tapering anyway. I really trust that Ed knows what he is talking about since he has personally completed over 40 marathons, and 2 Ironman competitions, as well as multiple other triathlons.

So I will be spending a little time next week on the physical therapy table. But I will say that stuff works. My knee actually feels a little better after today's session.

Today's Training:
Bike - 1 hour on trainer

As the day gets closer I get more anxious

2006-05-10T20:45:00.000-05:00

I tend to get very anxious as the day of a big race gets closer. Right now we are 11 days out, and I start to wonder in the back of my mind, have I really done enough, and what could I have done differently. All the way up until I stand on the beach at the waters edge. It is usually at that point that I realize there is nothing left to do but race. I am at the point of no return in my mind. Although I still wonder how I will feel during the course of the day, I am somehow able to take a few deep breaths while waiting on the gun to sound and get relaxed. It may be because I have learned that the last place you want to be too anxious is in open water, with 100 of your age groupers around you kicking and churning up the water. Relaxing during the swim gets me into my stroke rythm.

I also get anxious because I feel like I am at the end of my training and I just want to race. I just want to get to the finish line to see how I will do and how I will feel. I guess that is what that whole adreneline thing is when you start. All that anxiety built up ready to come out. Unfortuneately adreneline only last a short time at the beginning before it wears off in the swim.

The night before the race is the worst for me. I go to bed early but I always sleep very restlessly. I think I am worried that somewhere in a bad dream I am not going to hear my alarm clock at 4am and miss the race. I am one of those people that would rather be out at the race site at 4am and ready to go, than to be one of those that gets there at 6am, rushes to the transition area, then rushes to my swim start. I need time to calm down and get my thoughts together. Maybe that makes more more methodical in some respects but thats the way I am wired I suppose. I have a friend that can show up to her swim start 5min before the gun sounds,,,,,no way,,,,,thats not me.

As you can probably tell this entry has been alot of nervous energy coming out on the page. Guess I need to get to the beach start so I can begin to relax :)

Today's Training
Run - 4 miles

Jet Ski but no Wakeboard

2006-05-07T20:43:00.000-05:00

Pictured is me with a stupid smile enjoying some grub by the lake with a friend. Notice the triathlete shaved legs :)

In true fashion before an event, I obstained from putting my body at too much risk over the weekend at a cookout on the lake. I live on a lake with a friend of mine, and we had a bunch of friends from our church over for a party on the lake. We had a friend with a boat here to pull skiers and wakeboarders as well as 4 jet skis around. I rode one of the jet skis a couple of times, but as much as I wanted to get on a wakeboard I didnt. Yes, I know how to wakeboard. My brother and I grew up on a lake skiing and we both know how to wakeboard, although our skills would be very elementary now because we havent done it in so long. But I digress,,,,I thought it wouldnt be a good idea to strap a board to my ankles and get pulled by a large boat 2 weeks before I race. So I just enjoyed hangin with friends, watching them ski, and I drove the jet ski, which was a blast!

But before the cookout, I got my last long ride in Sat morning. As I had about 12 miles to go, I felt like my legs were giving out. The headwind didnt help. But when I got done I was so spent, it shattered my confidence a bit. All I could think was I am going to have a rough day in two weeks if I am this beat after the bike phase. I will continue to work on my taper at this point. One more long run (I think that will be Tuesday morning), then more tapering. As I stated I have never been good at the tapering, but hopefully I will be ready to go on the 21st.

Saturday's ride - 57 miles
Sunday - Off

Tapering is a science

2006-05-02T08:04:00.000-05:00

I have never been good at the taper. I dont know when to stop and how much to pull back, etc. This time around may be harder than others simply because I was on a training schedule to do the Eagleman in June, but when I had to bail on that and focus on this race closer to home, I dont know that I changed up my schedule enough, so my workouts have been tailored to a june date, albeit only a couple weeks difference in race date.

Bottom line is I plan to do the best I can to taper correctly this time. My last long ride will be this Saturday, then I plan to do my last long run Sunday or Monday. At that point I will be able to get in my tapered workouts leading up to the race. I will probably continue to do some long swims through next week then pull back on those as well. Its amazing how much of a science there is to doing this racing stuff. Thinking about the right workouts seems to be as stressful as racing! I am starting to think that my taper may not be enough leading up to race day, but I will just to the best that I can. My only goal for this years race is to beat last years time by 1 minute.....afterall that would be an improvement :)

Today's workout:
Bike - trainer for 1 hour

Yesterday's workout:
Swim - 2250 yds
Weights

Countdown to Half IM begins

2006-05-01T07:55:00.000-05:00

Happy May 1 everyone! I cant believe its May already. That means the countdown to my Half IM begins. Only 20 days left until the race. I have convinced a few friends to come out again this year to support me so it looks like it will be a good day, at least for them.....they dont have to do the race ;)

In my last post I mentioned I felt something pop while I was doing my long run. Well I am happy to report that it doesnt appear to be anything semi-permanent. With some ice, rest and TLC, I havent had any additional pain other than normal muscle soreness. I did decide it would be in my best interest to take a few days off though just to be safe. So since I did my run early Friday morning, I have taken Sat/Sun/ and today off. Although I will be at the pool later today and do some weights, but that is pretty low impact so I am not worried. Was talking to a marathoning friend of mine yesterday, and he and I agreed that we both always start walking on eggshells a few weeks before a race. We are both paranoid that we spend so much time training we dont want to get hurt doing something stupid like going out and water-skiing or another activity other than training.

Thanks to those that posted the Chocolate Milk suggestion for a recovery drink. Actually I had heard that before but for some reason just forgot. As I was in the grocery store I looked at the Carb/Protien ratio and compared it to the recovery drink I was trying,,,,and wouldnt you know it, its pretty much the same thing. Thank goodness,,,,,bec I love Chocolate Milk!

Pains on a long run

2006-04-28T06:40:00.000-05:00

Today was a first for me in a long while. I left the house this morning at 5am to head out for an 11mile run. Normally I would do this on Saturday morning but I have a commitment in the morning so I dont have time tomorrow. Anyway I started out feeling pretty good, legs felt good, breathing was good. When I got to mile 7 I noticed that I was having some pain in my right leg, just behind the right side of my knee. I played around with my leg and body position a little to try to adjust but when I hit mile 8 I am not sure if I planted wrong or what but I felt it,,,,,POP! I immediately stopped running and began to walk. The pain went away but I decided to walk the next mile. All I could think was, great, not now, not 3 weeks before my race! I debated walking the last 3 miles but I really didnt want to. So after walking a mile, I started a slow jog (which is pretty much my pace anyway :)) and I managed to get the last 2 miles in managing the little twinges of pain here and there. That kind of stuff scares the crap out of me,,,,you work for so many months and all it takes is one wrong step or one minute of too much stress somewhere and you're done for a while. I am supposed to get on my bike for a while now but based on my run I think I am done for today. I will be taking a couple days off.

Recovery Drink
I dont know who among you can stomach recovery drink, but I am done trying. I have tried them all. I have mixed to specifications, diluted it, and whatever else I can think of but no more for me. I am sticking to food and other drinks. I like the concept,,,but the day someone can produce one that doesnt taste like thick medicine,,,,,I will drink it,,,,until that day I will stick to bananas :)

Why do we do it?

2006-04-27T06:30:00.000-05:00

When it comes to triathlon do you ever ask yourself why? Is it bad to question why? Does that put you in the wrong mindset? I dont really know. But sometimes I do ask that question of myself. I know my friends do sometime, and they just dont understand why I would put myself through this. In fact I just recently sent out on email to friends asking them to come out to my Half IM in a few weeks to support me, bec its always good to see some familiar faces at the finish line cheering you on. One friend sent me a reply that simply stated "Youre Nuts!" Now to her credit she came out with some friends last year for my Half IM to show support, but she thinks I am nuts for doing it again, much less training for an IM later this fall. So we know that many times friends, and even family ask the question why.

But shouldnt we ask it occassionally, just for some introspection, to learn about ourselves, so when we get up early to go run when we could be sleeping,,,we know? So I say all of this to say, that lately I have been asking the question. And the first thing I will say is that my "why" is not that I am searching for something I am missing in my life, I am not searching to fill a void. I find that in my faith, and should I have to quit triathlon tomorrow, I could live a very content life. So what were my answers to why?

Why do I endure the pain?
Why do I endure the fatigue?
Why do I risk injury on a semi-daily basis?
Why do I do all these things when I could be bowling?

And here is what I come up with.

First and foremost I do it for me. I am not trying to impress anyone, or win any prizes (I am not that fast). I view it as a challenge in life that most people are not willing to take on, so to me that makes it worth the pain.

Next I would say I do it for my niece and nephew. Although they cannot understand right now how much time and effort I put into it, one day they will. And I want them to understand that achieving your goals takes hard work, and if it is just handed to you, you will never truly appreciate it. Their father does the same thing with Marathons.

Next I would say I do it for the education. I have learned an awful lot about the human body, specifically mine, during my trials and victories in triathlon. From my best race to my worst, I always learned something that I carry over. Training for my long races teaches me patience. Afterall when you start a long race you know you are going to be out there a while, so you learn to be patient. I have learned about pain. What kind of pain I can manage, and when I need to stop. I have learned alot about mental toughness. Some days you just dont want to train, or your body is not feeling up to it,,,so what do you do. Mental toughness pushes you over that hump and gets you to the pool, or out on the road. Many of these lessons can be carried over into other aspects of our lives.

Training keeps some things in perspective. I understand that although sometimes I am icing down my knees because of pain, I feel fortunate that God has allowed me the opportunity and overall health to do this where many people dont. I understand that there are bigger challenges in life than whether I want to get out of bed early to go run. I understand that there are larger hurdles in life besides Ironman,,,,yep there are.

So there are a few of my answers as to why. But the biggest answer I have saved to last. And that is simply the Finish Line. No matter how many races I enter or just attend to cheer people on, the finish line always defines the ultimate reason why. What I see in people when they cross the line is something that nobody will ever understand until they are there. Even the ones that cross in pain and have to have medical attention,,,somewhere they find a smile in it all. It always brings to mind a Bible verse in 2 Timothy 4:7 "For I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

So what is your answer to the question why?

Todays Training:
Run 3 miles
Short run bec of breaking in new shoes and long run tomorrow. Had to change up some training days this week bec of other commitments :(

You ever have those times

2006-04-25T06:45:00.000-05:00

It seems lately that I am going through one of those phases where I have committed myself to so much, I am not sure how I am going to pull it all off. As I was talking to a friend yesterday I realized that I have commitments for the next 2 weeks that dont give me much time of my own. Then I have a weekend off before the Half Ironman, thank goodness. The weekend after that,,,,another commitment. Now I dont mind being busy, but once all of these commitments are done, I think I am going to have to find a weekend just for me where I do nothing but sit on my butt :)

In a previous post I mentioned that I have been using Accelerade as one of my suppliments while training. I am beginning to re-think that. Although I am sure it is a good product for some, I started looking at it a little closer and realized all the junk it has in it. I dont think that is for me. I am starting to experiment more with the brands that have a little healthier elements, such as Hammer Brand and Clif. I am experimenting to find the best combination for me for sustained energy rather than sugar spikes. So many of the products out there are loaded with sugar so bascially many times you are just spiking instead of getting your muscles what you really need. Anyway, I can only speak for my body, as I am sure others may react differently to different products.

Todays Training:
Run 5 miles

Yesterday's Training:
Swim - 1800 yds

Adjusted my training schedule for a greater good

2006-04-23T21:11:00.000-05:00

I had to do what every traithlete hates,,,,,change up my training schedule. I used to think I was the only one that this drove nuts but apparently I am not the only one that freaks out occassionally when I have to deviate from my normal training schedule. But this time it was for a greater good, so I just dealt with it.

I am part of a leadership group called Leadership Seminole. Seminole because the program is based on Seminole County Florida. It is a 10 month program that comprises business leaders throughout the community learning and getting involved in Seminole County. Our 2006 class took on a project to help renovate 2 homes for foster kids for a place to start once they turn 18. Many foster kids once they turn 18 are turned away from whatever care they have received from the state if they have not been adopted. These homes provide a transition to help them along the way. Our group actually caught the attention of the local media so you can read the story if you like at the Orlando Sentinel.

I ended up having to move my long training morning to Friday, effectively taking part of Friday off in a sense. This allowed me to be at the work site early Saturday morning to begin working with the landscaping crew. It was pretty amazing to see how much work was accomplished in a couple of days by a bunch of amatuers like us. But it will be cool one day a year from now to drive by the homes and know that I had a part in helping get them re-opened and helping some young people get a positive start in life. So I guess that was worth changing up my training schedule.

Thank goodness I am self employed, or else I probably would not have been able to switch my schedule around like that.

No training today.

Finally happy with saddle hydration system

2006-04-21T11:30:00.000-05:00

For the last year or so I have been looking for and experimenting with different hydration set ups. The seat tube on Kleins (my bike) is oversized so I couldnt get a hydration system that attached to the tube. So that left me with the option of hooking one up to the saddle. I definitely want that set up because as I get into longer rides I need at least 3 bottles on my bike and the old set up on my frame only holds 2. This time last year I had purchased a saddle system that was the only one I could find in any of the bike shops I frequented around Orlando. It was pretty cheap to be honest and I wasnt happy with it, especially when I would hit a bump and have to go back to pick up my bottle that just fell out. Also it wasnt designed well to be able to attach other accesories to it.

Not too long ago I ran into another triathlete at a local running store. He had ridden his bike over and I was looking at the set up. I asked him how he liked it because I had not seen this particular brand. I noticed it looked very sturdy and was desinged to be able to not only hold bottles but also CO2 cartidges as well as attaching straps to hold tubes if needed. But the one thing I liked is that I noticed it was easy for him to rig his saddle bag beneath it to carry additional items. It may be anal of me but I like the saddle bag and I want to keep it. He told me that he bought it at a local shop here in Winter Park called Loco Motion. I normally dont go in there for no other reason that just out of habit I go to a couple of other shops. So when I got a chance I drove over there and although its a small shop, they carry some great bikes, and I found the system. Its usually only a couple guys there but they were really nice and pulled out a system that was put together for me to show me what I needed to see.

The brand is XLab and I rode with it for the first time today and was very happy with it. Bottles stayed in tight, good angle on the set up, and my saddle bag stores well underneath it. I havent set it up yet to carry the CO2 but I may have to break down and do that before Florida Half IM. If anyone is interested and you cant find it locallly it can be purchased online at airointernational.com

Todays Workout: Brick
Bike - 45 miles
Run - 4 miles

Corporate 5k huge success

2006-04-20T20:37:00.000-05:00

This year was a record year for the Orlando Corporate Run 5k. It has been steadily growing over the last few years, and this year it reached an all time high of 6,000 participants. Thats bigger than some marathons. The race started at 6:45pm so it was a little warm during the run, but when we got back to the stadium where it was being hosted, there was a great breeze and as the sun went down it was a perfect night to be outdoors with friends. As you can see in the pics there were corporate tents all over the inside of the Citrus Bowl, so there was food everywhere. Thankfully each of my friend's companies were hosting tents with food so of course I partook.

It was kind of a weird route. The Citrus Bowl is not located in the best area of Orlando, so the route that started and finished there took us through some pretty bad neighborhoods. Now never once did I feel unsafe because first there were plenty of police officers along the route for traffic purposes, but second, how unsafe are you going to feel with 6,000 other people around you. I was laughing with friends along the way bec we equated it to an Animal Planet show where we were the herd of Antelope running through the jungle and the predators where sitting along side the road waiting for the weakest member of the herd to pick off. The reason they do this event at the Citrus Bowl is because it has grown so much, there really arent that many venues left in town that can handle the parking and the people.

I ran with a couple of buddies of mine. Since this was more of a fun run it wasnt timed other than the watches we wore and the clock at the start finish. The top 10 men and women were scored and they gave out some company awards. Bec of the nature of the race there were alot of non runners near the front that shouldnt have been there. Many of them were walking within the first mile. So basically a 5k run was probably closer to 3.5 miles for me when you count in all the bobbing and weaving I had to do through the pack the entire way. One girl decided at the first turn to simply stop in the middle of the road, bend down and tie her shoe. It was like the Red Sea parting around her. I am all for non-runners coming out to these events, but you really have to be on your toes on the course because there are definite safety issues with that many people and non-runners mixed in the pack where they shouldnt be.

Anyway, all in all it was a nice night for a run with 6,000 others. My guess is this event will continue to grow. By the way, thats me in the far left of the pics with some of my friends. The other pic will give you a small indication of the number of folks that attended tonight.

First 5K in a couple of years

2006-04-19T09:13:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I am going to be doing my first 5k in the last couple of years. With training for larger Tri's I just havent seen the need to spend the time or money going out to do a 5k run. But this one is a little different here in Cent FL and I am looking forward to it. This is the annual Corporate Run. Normally 5k races around here bring out anywhere from 900 to 1500 folks depending on the race. But this 5k brings out 5000 people. It is promoted in the business community and companies really use it to build some good company teamwork and get folks out after work to participate. So what this means is that it is more of a fun time than anything else, since most of the participants are not normally runners. This is why I am looking forward to it. It is a much more relaxed type atmosphere. The race occurs after work instead of 7am on Saturday morning, and after the finish its basically a big party at the Citrus Bowl Football Stadium (where the race finishes). I have some friends running with their companies so I plan to meet up with them to jog along.

Not too many races like this one in Cent FL and everyone comes out to have a good time. Should be fun.

Yesterday's workout:
Run - 5 miles
Today's workout
Bike - 1 hour on trainer.

Interesting day at the pool

2006-04-17T18:51:00.000-05:00

You know some days during a workout you just have those moments of "huh?" or "what the heck?". Well that was today for me at the pool. Kinda funny I thought. First there is a guy in the lane next to me,,,,a rather large man that needed a "Bro". All you Seinfeld fans should know what I am talking about. So bascially every time I passed him and turned my head his way underwater, I was reminded what a "C" cup on a guy looks like with no support,,,,,,,,Yeeesh!

Well needless to say I out lasted him, so next a lady gets in his lane when he is done. Now I thought water would usually wash off whatever you have on your body.....but apparently she had soooooo much perfume on I could smell it going up and down the pool. So I went from a bad view to a pretty potent scent. Like I said,,,,interesting day at the pool.

Switching topics, can any of you females out there try to explain your gender???? I meet this great girl who admits she has an interest in me and after two dates she turns tail and heads the other direction. That of course if the very short version, but I have yet to figure it out, and honestly tired of trying.

Today's Workout:
Swim - 1800 yds
Weights

Happy Easter Everyone!

2006-04-16T12:19:00.000-05:00

For those that would like to read it the story of Easter according to the book of Luke is found in Luke Chapters 22-24 of the Bible. Hope everyone and their family has a happy Easter.

No workout today.

Didnt make the Lottery

2006-04-15T15:01:00.000-05:00

For the second year in a row I entered the Hawaii IM lottery and again didnt make it in. No big suprise really. And to be honest not really dissapointed. With some things that have started happening in my life lately, I honestly thought it would be more of a hassel if I made it in and had to worry about getting there.

But honestly I dont believe Hawaii is a true lottery anymore. After reading stories and talking to people, it appears you really only have a shot if you have some sort of story to tell that they are interested in. In that case they shouldnt call it a lottery. You may think I am crying sour grapes or full of it, but case in point,,,,,I talked to a guy locally here who relayed a story to me about a friend that wrote a letter for his sister to get in. He made up a load of crap that wasnt even true, and she got in. On top of that she wasnt ready to be in an IM and didnt finish, and they wrote another letter again full of made up stories basically begging IM to let her back in because she had to get her chance to finish, and apparently she got in again, taking up a slot of a more deserving athlete I am sure. Bottom line for me is I dont intend on entering the "lottery" again. In my opinion its tainted.

The founder and creator of the Ironman, John Collins, made the IM folks promise that it would always be available to the "regular athlete" to be a part of it. Although the "lottery" is supposed to do this, I see it getting away from this more and more as time goes on.

On a training note, had a good run this morning. Apparently I am a little faster than I think sometimes. Ended up doing an extra half mile on my planned distance, only because I was running based on time and not distance.

Today's Training:
Run - 10 miles
Bike - 1 hour on trainer (or 15 miles based on pace)

Happy day for business

2006-04-13T13:46:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know this is not about triathlon, but it doesnt always have to be does it? Today was a really good day for my company. I had a meeting with the head of one of the largest organizations in Central Florida. During this meeting I was told that I would have a shot to get most if not all of their creative services business.

This could be a huge turning point for my company. Up till now I have pretty much been a one man show outsourcing alot of work to independent contractors. This opportunity changes the game completely in that I will have to look at hiring full time staff, getting new office space, as well as finding the money to set all of this up to service my new client in the manor that they are expecting.

Holy Crap,,,,,alot of stuff to do over the next few months! But never fear, I will keep training to meet my racing goals!

Today's workout:
Run - 5 miles
Yesterday's workout:
Bike - 1 hour on trainer

Morning Runs

2006-04-11T06:33:00.000-05:00

I am not a morning person at all. So it is hard for me to drag my rear out of bed to do a morning run on my own. If it is a race or I am running with somebody else, its different,,,,,accountability. But this morning I managed to drag myself out because I will not have time tonight for a run. And it never fails,,,,although I dont like getting out of bed, once I am out on the road in the cool morning air and do my run, I am always glad once I am done that its still early in the morning and I dont have to worry about getting my run in for the rest of the day.

Product Testing - Accelerade
I know to most of you out there you have probably used this sport drink. But I had never used it until a friend of mine encouraged me to do so on a recent ride. I will say I give it two thumbs up. Its basically like a more intense Gatorade and a bit thicker going down as well. So for my taste I dilute it a little more than the recommended mixing. But to say the least my legs felt better on my ride while using this. My avg speed was up by .5 mph and I didnt feel like I was really trying that much harder. So bottom line it I would recommend this product to any endurance sport athlete. Seems to work pretty good.

Pen in the Wash
Yesterday was another first for me. First time I have ever accidentally left a pen in my pocket during a wash. I found it in the dryer, along with a ruined white dress shirt and some t-shirts with black pen marks on them. The tees I can salvage because those go under shirts anyway, but the dress shirt went bye-bye. Guess I will be at the store this week to get a new one.

But the best news is that I didnt have any of my running or tri-wear in that wash! I mean isnt that the most important thing,,,,making sure we take care of that gear? Forget all that nice clothes stuff, protect the tri-gear. Sort of along the same lines, I told a friend of mine not too long ago,,,,,I would rather have someone steal my car than my bike! Cmon people, I cant be the only one that thinks this way :)

Today:
Run 5 miles
Yesterday:
Swim - 1350 yds

Florida Half IM changes course format - Any thoughts?

2006-04-09T21:35:00.000-05:00

As I was looking that the FL Half IM website yesterday I noticed that they have changed the course and transitions from last year. They already struggled last year (in my opinion ) with a bad transition on T1 and then the run course left something to be desired. So maybe they are doing this to try and improve but I have my doubts.....here's why.

I noticed that now when you come out of the water there is a shoe transition because now you have to run 2 miles to the bike transition. So the run after T2 is only 11.1 miles since we cover two of them out of the water. I have never done a race with this sort of transitioning, so I am looking for any experienced insight.

Any thoughts on the best way to get ready for a swim/run/bike/run?????

Over the bug

2006-04-08T16:51:00.000-05:00

In my last post I was concerned that I was going to have continued trouble with illness. I am happy to report that whatever I got came and went pretty fast. Although the night of 101 fever wasnt very fun, at least it was only one night. Oh well, onward and upward.

I had a first today. During my ride this morning, I came into a stopping station on the trail I was on and I went to reach for my watter bottle and it slipped from my hand.....that is not the first. When it hit the ground I heard a lady start laughing. When I turned my bike around to go pick it up I realized that when it hit the ground apparently there was enough force that it projectiled out a sufficient amount onto the BMW nearby. She found that to be funny for two reasons. First because it hit the most expensive car in the lot,,,,second because it wasnt water but Accelerade, so the owners are going to have a nice and sticky trunk to clean up. No biggie, no permanent damage,,,,just a little soap and water.

Today was another good day of training on my long day. Was a little tough towards the end because of the warming weather, but felt good when I finished.

Today's Training: Brick
Bike - 40 miles
Run - 4 miles

Bad week of training

2006-04-06T12:55:00.000-05:00

Dont know what exactly has been going on with my body this year so far but I got sick again at the beginning of this week. Started with the sore throat then fever, etc. So as a result there has not been much training this week. Was on the bike for an hour last night, but stayed out of the pool this week. Will try to run tonight.

I am starting to get concerned that if my health doesnt stay in order I may not be fully prepared for the FL Half Iron in a few weeks. I am still going to do my best to stay in track with my long training days but it puts my body through the ringer to have to take so many days off then shock it with long training.

Tried out my new sweat guard last night. I like it.

Sweat Guards are worth the money

2006-04-03T08:32:00.000-05:00

Apparently you just have to learn some lessons the hard way. Mine was that I should have bought a Sweat Guard for my indoor training bike long ago. Now my indoor training bike is about 15 years old, so you can imagine it has a heavy steel frame, gear shifters on on the down tube, wheel spokes are old school, etc. But I love having an extra bike that I can just keep in the Mag Trainer to ride indoors. That way I keep my good bike reserved for the real riding.

Well after much time using and sweating on my bike I finally could not deny anymore the corosive affect my salty sweat has had on the bike. I had to take it into a local shop and have a servicing done on it where basically they have to take the bike apart, clean the corosion and put it back together. Its not going to be cheap, but in the long run I want to hold onto this bike to continue using it on my trainer.

So lets do the math and learn the lesson. Had I purchased a good sweat guard for about $20 I may have been able to avoid some of these repairs, instead of now having to pay $200 to get everything fixed right. Oh well, live and learn. Hopefully others can learn from my mistake.

Long training days build confidence

2006-04-01T18:07:00.000-05:00

I have never been much of a runner. In fact I was joking with some guys the other day about my slow pace. Basically I am anywhere from 9:30 to 10:15 pace depending on how far into a run I am. But today reinforced that long training days do build confidence. As I got out of bed at 5am to hit the road by 5:45 I sort of dreaded doing the long run, but at the same time its starting to warm up here in sunny Florida, so if you start too late,,,,the heat gets ya.

As I hit the halfway point and still felt good, I couldnt help but to think even though there is some pain sometimes, it feels good to be a part of an active lifestyle.

I am not much of a basketball fan, but I will be watching the Final Four tonight. I am pulling for LSU and Univ of FL to win their games to advance to the Championship game. Only reason is that since I was born and raised in the Southeast, just thought it would be cool to see two teams from the South Eastern Conference playing for the title. I am a Florida State Univ grad so I am bound to root against the Gators, but not this time. If they make it to the final game, I will pull for them for State of Florida pride.

Today's Workout:
Run - 9 miles
Bike - 1 hour - trainer

Been a while but I'm back

2006-03-31T18:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, no excuses here,,,,maybe a few, as to why I have not posted in a while. Quite honestly just been stressing over my business and other stuff in life and letting it take over my focus from training. Not that I havent been training but I have been lazy in the mornings and my diet has not been the best in a while.

But I have a race in about 7 or 8 weeks (FL Half Iron) so I gotta be ready and in the right mindset. Just got back from the pool and had a pretty good swim. About to get on the bike trainer for an hour to keep the legs loose.

Because my business is new and sometimes slow, to pick up a little extra pocket cash I started working at Central Florida's premier running store Track Shack. I actually used to work for the owner at his event company when I moved to Orlando. I had the opportunity to be a part of the production team for the Disney Marathon. My expertise was the Chip Timing System. In fact that was back when the Chip system had just made it to North America from Europe and I was only one of about 12 people in the entire country that understood how to operate the technology. I was actually profiled on ABC Sports one day before a race to explain the "new" technology. It was a good experience and it opened doors for me to work with races like Boston Marathon (first time they did live timing following runners on the web), Marine Corps Marathon, and Gasparilla.

Anyway, its fun being back in the store for a few hours a week. Plus as an employee (even part time) I get 45% discount on all items,,,,,yep that means while everyone else is paying $135 for Asiscs Kayanos,,,,,I am paying $70.

I'll try to do better keeping my logs posted.

Today's Workout:
Swim - 1350 yds
Bike - 1 hour, trainer

Two is the magic number

2006-03-07T18:28:00.000-05:00

I posted a week or so ago that I was going to play around with my training a bit to see how my body responded. It seems my body responds better to two days of rest rather than just one. Which of course I am not complaining about, afterall that is one more day off. I had noticed that I was still tired on Mondays and I would experience pain on a regular basis during my runs. Now that I have added Monday to my rest days, I noticed that my body with that extra day of "healing" seems to feel stronger on Tuesday. I dont really lose much on the run, in fact today I ran faster than I did on Saturday.

I guess its true. All of our bodies are different to some degree. I know some people that can train 7 days a week and not miss a beat. As for me,,,,,my new schedule is Sunday and Monday off. Maybe some weights on Monday, but that will be it.

Was back in the pool for the first time today in a few weeks. Had been sick and cannot seem to shake this throat thing, but I finally decided to heck with it,,,,I wasnt going to let the throat thing keep me out of the water any longer. Happy Training!

Today's Workout:
Swim - 1000 yds
Run - 5 miles

Good Saturday

2006-03-05T20:42:00.000-05:00

Well I have been absent for a few days. Sorry nothing personal just got busy and forgot to post. Yesterday (Saturday) ended up being a good training morning for me. I was scheduled to run with some people but I made a mistake I dont normally make. I accidentally set my alarm clock to the PM setting instead of AM so when I rolled over at 6am to see my clock and realize what I had done, I was on my own for running, and getting a late start at that. I had turned my ankle a couple times in the last 6 days so it has been tender, so I took Friday off. Glad I did,,,,,although I slowed my pace, I felt really good on the run. No problems. After the run I got on the bike for an hour, so all in all a good morning.

Came across an interesting article about triathlon insurance for those that may want to take a look. Hope everyone had a great training weekend.

Saturdays Workout:
Run - 7 miles
Bike - one hour

Trashed workout

2006-02-27T18:14:00.000-05:00

I remember reading an article written by Sheila Taormina (International Disntance World Champion and USA Olympian) that when your body is not responding well to a workout or you dont feel that you can get at least 80% out of your body, just trash it for the day. Sort of a retreat and live to fight another day mentality. Of course this doesnt apply to race day, you push though in that scenario. But today I thought of that article and decided to live by it as I struggled through my run. It seemed that I was laboring more than usual and I wasnt covering as much ground. I noticed when my interval time went off, I was behind distance wise. So after laboring breathing a what seemed to be a slowed pace I figured it may be a good idea to listen to my body and cut the run short.

I find it very interesting how different people's body's respond differently to training. One of the things I have noticed about myself over this year is that normally I train harder on Saturday than any other day, and although I take Sunday off, I find that I sometimes stuggle on Monday. There have been times when I decided to take Monday off as well for an extra day and my body seemed to respond pretty good. I may start experimenting with that. Perhaps Monday would just be a good day for some weights instead.

Today's Workout (trashed)
Run - 3 miles

Brick Workout

2006-02-26T14:32:00.000-05:00

Today of course if my day of rest, but yesterday I did my first true brick workout in a while. Normally after I spend some time on the bike I will go for a run, but I take my time getting changed, probably cool off too much, etc. Well not Saturday. I was comitted to doing a good brick. I set up all my stuff to be ready for me, much like a transition area. As soon as I got off the bike, I put my running shoes, hat and glasses on and took off for a run. Since its been a while, I somewhat forgot how much like jelly your legs can feel like when you transition from a long time in the saddle to running. Think I got my running legs back after about mile one and was able to get into a good cadence.

I was pretty happy with the way things went. I wasnt sure what to expect. My time didnt really drop off that much, in fact since I have been focusing on having correct running mechanics and doing some hill work, I think I have actually gotten a little faster on my normal run days. Its days like that when you are encouraged in your training. It adds to confidence so that when race day rolls around we know we are ready.

Saturday's Workout: Brick
Bike - 1.5 hours
Run - 4 miles

Take some pride in your work

2006-02-23T19:57:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know this doesnt have much to do with training, but I went to the supermarket tonight and as I got done picking up a few items I decided since I hadnt had dinner yet to get a sub sandwich from the deli. Well it was obvious the lady didnt want to be there nor care. As I watched her putting my order together I couldnt help but notice how she was treating it to the point where I finally stopped her and directed her to please arrange some items differently. I didnt feel this was a matter of personal preference as much as I could tell she just wanted me out of there.

I dont care if you are flipping burgers or the CEO of a large company. If you dont take any pride in what you are doing in order to do a quality job, you arent going to get any respect or accolades from me just for showing up. That is something I have noticed more and more in business is all the shotty work out there, and it amazes me that people are willing to pay for it. It has been a rather discouraging part of starting my own business is trying to show potential clients that I can do quality work and I will offer them the service their dollars deserve. Then I watch them hand over business to large companies that treat them like crap and many times dont deliver on time, then charge unfair prices. I dont understand why people continue to be treated this way. I on the other hand hold people accountable for crappy work.

So maybe this does translate into training a little. Take pride in what you are striving for. Sometimes your friends or even family just dont get it when you set certain goals. But maybe they will understand why you put so much time and effort into it when you cross the finish line. Because afterall anyone can start,,,,but not everyone knows how to finish.

Today's Workout:
Run - 5 miles

Old Chick-fil-A friends

2006-02-21T23:14:00.000-05:00

For those of you out there in blogger land that dont know, I used to do marketing for Chick-fil-A. And for those of you that dont have a Chick-fil-A in your city, it is a national quick service restaurant chain with its signature item being the Chick-fil-A sandwhich which is a fried breast filet, seasoned to perfection. Anyway, I left the company a little over a year ago to start my own business. Each year the company has its annual convention and it is going on right now in Orlando. I took the opportunity to go out and have dinner and visit with some of my old colleagues. It was great to see them and catch up on what was going on with their lives. They were all very nice to inquire how my business was going.

No we didnt talk training or racing or triathlon. Sorry, no tips from the Chick-fil-A folks. But I will say the President of the company, Dan Cathy, is an avid marathon runner, so I think that is pretty cool. Although he wasnt on my list of folks to hang with tonight. I imagine he may have had a prior committment :)

Today's Workout:
Run - 5 miles

Good morning of training

2006-02-18T10:40:00.000-05:00

Today was one of those good days in training. Not because I was burning up the roads but rather I felt good when I was done. Got up the morning at 4:30am to have breakfast and get ready to go out to meet my running group at 5:45. This was my first time with them at this particular location which was hills today,,,,,,YEEESH! No I do not like hills but I ususally handle them ok,,,just put my head down and keep the legs movin forward. But I also know that doing some hill training will pay off in the end. Only down side to the run was that since I wasnt familiar with the route and it was dark, I stepped in a hole about mile 3 and turned my ankle,,,,ouch. Luckily nothing serious,,,,just a little pain that wasnt too bad after the inital shock. Will probably have a sore ankle for a day or so but it definitely could have been worse.

After I got done with the running this morning I headed out on the bike. The weather was perfect for a ride. Not too much wind and just cold enough to be comfortable. I felt pretty good on the ride also. Felt like I was doing a pretty good job of maintaining a consistent pace. That is one of my downfalls sometime that I have a yo-yo type pace on the bike and end up getting my legs tired too soon, but I have worked on it and am getting better and maintaining a more steady pace. Figure that will benefit me in the long races ahead.

Epcot was good yesterday. Since we had free passes we didnt spend a whole lot of time there, but we got to ride the newest attraction called Soarin. If you ever go to Epcot this is a must do. It was incredible. It is designed to make you feel like you are hang-gliding over California. It was amazing the feeling you got, and the scenery was spectacular. Two thumbs up from me and mom. She wanted to go on it again but the ride is so popular we didnt have time to wait in line again if we were going to make dinner. Guess she will have to wait until the next trip,,,,,,and to think it used to be the kids begging to go on rides again :)

Today's Workout:
Run - 6 miles - hills
Ride - 15 miles - moderate pace

Off to Epcot today

2006-02-17T13:33:00.000-05:00

My parents are coming into town today because my dad needs to be here for business. His function is tonight and it is out at Walt Disney World at one of the Resorts. Well its for the business folks only so mom decided to come down as well and figured it would be fun to go out to Epcot for a while when dad is at his event. So as any good mom does she calls me earlier this week to see if I would like to join her, and as any good son would do I said yes.

So I will be heading out to pick mom up at their Disney Resort to head over to Epcot a bit later this afternoon to spend a little quality time. Also that ususally means a free dinner for me later,,,,can you say Filet Mignon? But its ok, afterall I did get a friend from Disney to give me two one day park hopper passes each worth about $100. Thats the thing about living in Orlando, I cant remember the last time I actually paid to get into any of the theme parks. Those of us who live here just seem to have friends or connections that get us in for free. Its been so long since I have actually paid to get into any of the parks I think I would feel violated if I ended up paying while living here.

This also means sacrificing a little training time today, but its no big deal. I have eased back into training anyway after being sick, and small price to pay for the woman who brought me into the world.

Almost 100%

2006-02-16T15:42:00.000-05:00

Well I am almost back to 100% health. I have spent the last week sick with fever and cold, and as it turns out there is alot of that going around here in Orlando. Seems every other person I talk to is either getting over it or just getting it. I just want to find the jerk that gave it to everyone :) Anyway, did a short run today just to see how I felt after a week off, and I must say I felt pretty good. Wasnt really all that tired although I could feel just a bit in my legs what will probably just amout to a little muscle soreness later just because its been a week, but all in all I guess my body is recovered pretty well. Tomorrow will be first day back on the bike in a week, and right now am scheduled to go out and run hills on Saturday morning. Oh how I dread the hills! Not gonna get back in the pool until first of next week. Not too worried about my swimming. I have learned that swimming is where I bounce back the fastest.

Thanks to all the well-wishers out there. By the way, anyone happen to see the current Olympic Medal count. Not suprising USA is not leading the total medal count for the Winter Olympics,,,,,we always kick butt during the Summer Olympics,,,,,but we are in 4th and as it turns out USA has more Gold Medals won than any other country so far with a count of 6....not bad.

Todays Workout:
5 miles - (4 run - 1 walk)

Sort of back

2006-02-13T12:33:00.000-05:00

Well, you havent seen any posts in the last few days because I have been sitting around stuffing myself with Echinachea, NyQuil, Orange Juice, Gatorade, Water, Tylenol, Ibprophen, and lets see I am sure there are a couple more drugs I have taken. I got sick last Wednesday, and have not been a happy camper since. I am not 100% yet but am on the mend. Drove me nuts just sitting around sleeping and wathching TV for the last 5 days. I am scheduled for a run today, but I dont see that helping my current health, but I do think I will be in the gym later to at least do some light lifting.

I read about this all the time with triathletes. This is the trap we fall into. Most of us spend so much time training for 3 sports it becomes borderline obsessive, especially after we start to see positive results. There is also a certain amount of stress involved making sure we stick to a schedule to make certain races on the calendar. Well that is what I experienced over the last 5 days and still am experiencing. I know deep down it would just hurt my body to train while I am sick. I know some of you out there can pull it off, but I know my body and how it has reacted in the past to training while sick. So I knew I needed to rest alot. It was driving my stress through the roof. Everyday feeling like I am losing valuable training time, and losing distance and strength. I have to be careful not to push too hard when I pick up full training again, in order to catch up. That is extactly how I got hurt last year. I got sick, fell behind, then pushed so hard after I overtrained and competed hurt. I dont know how many of you have run a Half Iron hurt,,,,but its not fun.

Well I hope to be close to 100 percent by the week's end to get in the training I need this weekend.

Terry Tate

2006-02-10T10:15:00.000-05:00

Since I have been sick the last few days, no training for me, so thought I would resurrect a favorite Reebok ad of mine just for fun on this post. Enjoy!

Being sick sucks!

2006-02-08T18:39:00.000-05:00

Short post today. I have progressively been getting sick throughout the day. You know when you wake up and the throat doesnt feel quite right. I managed to get some time in on the bike trainer, but no gym tonight. I really didnt even feel like posting. Think I will take a couple days off to let my body rest. As hard as I try, I will never profess to understand the human body. You treat it right, and you still suffer.

Today's workout:
Bike - 45 min on the trainer
Gym - didnt happen because of being sick.

Favorite Superbowl Ads

2006-02-07T14:46:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of my favorite Superbowl ads.

Today's Workout:
Swim - 1,350 yds
Run - 5 miles

Hard budget decisions change race schedule

2006-02-07T12:54:00.000-05:00

Well I had to make this decision, and it wasnt easy but I am dropping out of the Eagleman Half Iron in June and replacing it with a race closer to home. That has been one of the hard things about starting my own business is not getting to do some of the things I really want to because of budgetary restrictions. I thought I could pull it off but in the end it didnt make any sense to spend 3 times the amount of money for a race in Maryland, when I can pretty much just pay the entry fee for the Florida Half Ironman here in Orlando and sleep in my own bed and not have to pay for travel.

I really wanted to go to another race because I did the FL Half IM last year and its an ok race but I didnt want to have to do the same course again. But if I want to get a Half IM in before my first IM then I needed to find one close and it only moves my training schedule up by a couple of weeks. Thus another reason I needed to go ahead and make the decision, for training. Also Eagleman grants refunds (minus $30) which is pretty much unheard of in these races, as long as you let them know prior to April 1. Hopefully I will be able to travel to Eagleman in 07 or 08.

Superbowl and no running today

2006-02-06T19:00:00.000-05:00

I am taking an extra day off from running today. Mileage has been fine but I am having some pain in my upper shin area of my left leg, so I figure an extra day of rest wont hurt anything. Other than that all training on schedule.

Superbowl was actually pretty good last night. There are some years where the game is not even worth watching because of one team blowing out the other. But a 7 to 3 score at the half kept things interesting. Got together with friends of course for the game. Its always interesting to watch the dynamic at a gathering like that. For example, I am there to watch the game as was probably about half the folks. The other half (mostly women), seemed more interested in talking about where are some good places to buy clothes, clothes sizes, when they want to go dancing again, etc. Now dont get me wrong, I got no problem with the ladies having their own conversations during the game,,,,I just find it amusing.

And I will point out,,,although I didnt get my game score prediction right on,,,,I was pretty darn close.

My Prediction: Steelers 27, Seahawks 14
Actual Score: Steelers 21, Seahawks 10

Today's Workout:
Gym - weights
Run- day off for extra rest to alleviate pain.

Rest, Rest and more Rest

2006-02-02T19:16:00.000-05:00

After today I am convinced that getting the adequate amount of rest needed is paramount! Not that I didnt already know that but days like today remind me in a not so fun way. Last night I got to bed late for me and when the AM rolled around I was too tired to drag myself out to get to the pool, so I didnt get my swim in this morning. I could feel the fatigue all day long, and when I headed out for my run this afternoon, which I had to do early because I had to make it to the pool before aqua aerobics started, I knew I was in for a tired run. About halfway through it felt like someone had strapped 10 pound weights to each of my legs. I couldnt wait to get done with today's run. I am happy to say I didnt stop until I was done,,,,,but did I ever want to. I will be going to bed early tonight.

Then I rushed off to get to the pool, only to be caught in 5 o'clock traffic along the way so I get there at 5:40ish, so I dash in to the gym throw my stuff into the locker and rush out to the pool. The aqua aerobic ladies were already there but lap time doesnt end until 6pm, so I grabbed a lane and hit it hard. I did not want to have to wait an hour, so the alternative was to swim hard to get it done. I am happy to say I made it, although during my last lap they pulled the lane lines out and there were two rather large ladies occupying half of my lane. I dont think I have breathed that hard in the pool in months, but I did cut 2 minutes off my time with the incentive to get done by 6pm. So I guess in a way I should thank the aerobics class for pushing me a little. That is why on Tues/Thurs I hit the pool in the AM.

Made a pretty good sandwhich the other day I would recommend to folks.
Boars Head Aroastica Deli Sliced Chicken Breast
Turkey Bacon
Provolone Cheese (melted over the meat in the broiler)
Dijon Mustard
Whole Wheat Bread (Toasted)
Only thing missing was some Romaine lettuce but didnt have any in the fridge.

Todays Workout:
Run - 5 miles
Swim - 1,000 yds

New Ab workout

2006-02-01T09:40:00.000-05:00

I have started this new ab workout to work on my core. I know it looks kinda tough but I figured if it works for the olympic gymnasts it will probably work for me. If you are just starting out on the rings I would definitely ask for a spot.

Actually just playing around with my Photoshop software this morning. Yes, when you are self employed in a new business sometimes you have a little down time between jobs.

Today's Real Workout:
Bike - 45 min on trainer
Gym - weights

New orthodics get thumbs up and friends catching the bug

2006-01-31T22:25:00.000-05:00

I ran for the first time today in my new orthodics. As I explained in the previous post I have been using orthodics but as it turns out the ones I have been using are too stiff, or too much support if that is possible. It was pushing up too hard on my arch and causing some pain. The new ones performed great today on my run so I think I am going to be really happy with them.

A couple of friends of mine are finally getting the bug for active lifestyle. The other day one of them commented that he had a new found respect for us triathletes. He recently bought a road bike and decided after his ride last Saturday to get off and run (his first brick workout). He told me that his legs felt really wierd starting out and it took him about a half mile to get his running legs underneath him. He hasnt made the commitment to Tri yet because of the swim, but I think that will come. Another friend asked me to go running with her because she wants to do some more running and possibly do her first half marathon this year. It was a little out of my way but I drove to meet her and we had a good run. Usually better running with someone than alone anyway. If only I could get some more friends to start catching the bug as well.

Today's Workout:
Swim - 1,100 yards
Run - 5 miles

New Orthodics tomorrow

2006-01-30T20:51:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I pick up my new orthodics. I have been using orthodics for a few months now, but when I got my original ones I thought I needed extra support so I ordered graphite soles and it may turn out that those are too stiff for me. So I am picking up tomorrow my new ones that are the normal material. I think it is more of a hard plastic or something like that. I am excited to get them in my shoes and see how they feel and perform.

I woke up to rain this morning so I blew off my run until late this afternoon. But to no avail, the rain persisted all day off and on, so although I started out running today without rain, I finished the last couple of miles in the rain. No biggie, I have raced in the rain before as well, and sometimes it actually helps as it keeps my body cooler.

Today's Workout:
Run - 5 miles
Gym - weights

Cycling and Turkey Bacon

2006-01-28T13:46:00.000-05:00

Had a pretty good ride today. As stated in earlier blogs I have scaled down alot on the biking mileage in order to stick to a pretty regimented training plan to be ready and injury free by the time June Half Iron rolls around. Had an interesting experience on the bike today and thought it may be worth passing along what I feel to be a bit of cycling etiquette to any newbies out there.

About 4 miles into my ride I caught up with and passed a fellow rider. No big deal right because we have all passed and been passed. Well I notice he stepped up his pace and got in right behind me. Now I dont mind if someone wants to ride with me as long as they understand that cycling etiquette dictates you take your turn up front to draft for me. It became obvious that he was just trying to take advantage of my draft as I constantly looked over my shoulder to see him. And I know this because I purposely slowed a bit to see if he would take over,,,,he did not. At this point I didnt care if I burned my legs out, I was going to drop him. I am by no means a speed merchant on the bike but a little incentive can help. I picked up my pace a pretty good bit and it took me about 3 minutes and he was gone.

Now I dont mind at all pulling if I am with friends and I know their cycling level is below mine. I would rather pull them along and make sure they have a good experience on the bike. But a stranger just jumping in behind me to take advantage of me pulling and he not taking a turn.....I dont think so. Am I being too hard on the guy?? And yes, I would have made an exception if it was a hot single girl :)

This morning I tried for the first time turkey bacon. Picked some up in the grocery store because I have seen it is a healthier alternative to regular bacon (and yes, I love regular bacon). I have been trying to make some changes in my diet and pork is one of the things that I have decided to cut out. First round of turkey bacon in the microwave,,,,burnt. Apparently it doesnt take as long to cook as regular bacon. The second time around was a little better. I must say it wasnt bad. You can definitely tell the difference and regular bacon is better. But I can see it as being a good alternative. Taste was pretty good, and with a little experimenting on how to cook it, it will probably get better. I want to try it on one of my favorite kind of sandwiches,,,,a BLT. Or in this case a TBLT.

Todays Workout:
Ride - 15 miles
Run - 4 miles

Body feelin tired today

2006-01-27T18:49:00.000-05:00

Today was a very tired day for me. I have been on a pretty ragged pace the last couple of days with work, and training, and I was supposed to do weights and ride today. But my legs were feeling really tired so I opted not to do weights until tomorrow and as I got on my trainer to ride tonight I could feel the fatigue in my legs and the rest of my body.

The lessons I have learned over the years, usually the hard way is to listen to my body. I decided to go ahead and ride on my trainer for 45 min but I did an incredibly low pace/cadence. Basically I broke a sweat but never got tired,,,,just bored. I figured my body was telling me it needed more rest so I should listen and not push it today. I figure some of that came from yesterday's workout, running in hills. Anyway, hopefully I saved my legs a little for tomorrow's workout and the rest will pay off.

Todays workout:
45 min on bike trainer

Running in the hills

2006-01-26T20:29:00.000-05:00

Today was some hill training. Not on purpose but rather just because I decided to take another route running today. OH THE HUMANITY OF HILLS. Ok now that I got that out of my system, yes I do not like hills. I know some people thrive on them and others are just used to them because of the terrain they live in,,,,,but I am in flat as a pancake Orlando, so I am not used to them. I wasnt in my normal area today to run so I encountered some hills that I didnt quite count on. I am sure my pace slowed going up the hills but I am happy to say that I did not stop to walk up any of them,,,,unless of course my watch told me it was time to walk, but unfortuneately for me I think that always came during a flat section.

Anyway, I guess its good training and I have to get some hill work in every once in a while just to keep me honest.

Today's Workout:
Swim 1,000 yds
Run 4 miles

To be in Florida this time of year

2006-01-25T19:44:00.000-05:00

I must admit there are times during the year that I do not enjoy living in Florida. The summers here are brutally hot, which makes training rather difficult at times, and the Fall is not much of a Fall, its more like extended summer. But today reminds me of the benefits of being in Florida during this time of year. My dad was traveling to D.C. the other day and he told me when he arrived it was 27 degrees. As I was driving home from the gym tonight, I put my windows down to enjoy the 70 degree weather outside in January. I thought about the folks that have to endure training in snow, or just living with it for that matter. Yeah, yeah you may say it toughens you up, but I could say the same about the heat here in Summer. I dont know if any place is perfect, but for someone who does triathlon and needs to spend time outside, I think more and more Florida is one of the better places to be. Now I just have to find the right place in Florida.

And by the way, I am a Florida native, not a transplant. Not many of us left around here. In fact my brother and I used to attend Altanta Braves spring training games in March, and when the Yankees played there were more Yankee fans in the stadium than Atlanta fans, and this was Atlanta's home field. Its like I tell my friends, Florida isnt really the South once you get south of Ocala (which is about an hour North of Orlando), but I guess that just adds to the spice of life.

Today's Workout:
Gym - weights
Bike - 50min on trainer

Feelin Good Today

2006-01-24T21:29:00.000-05:00

Today was one of those good training days. Although I slept in (7:30am) and didnt get to my workouts until late in the day it was still a good one. I have been spending some time working on my core and hip flexors and I am thinking it may be starting to pay off a little. Traditionally I have had trouble with pains in my running, but I have been working on my biomechanics and I am starting to be able to manage more of how my body is moving while I am running. I still find myself using ice and heat on a fairly regular basis, but the pains are not near as bad lately as they have been before.

I did have a little hiccup earlier in my swim time. I got to the gym at 6pm to get in the pool only to discover I hadnt looked at the aquatics schedule to see that an aqua fit class was about to begin,,,,,no lap swimming until it's over. So I came back an hour later....not that big of a deal but didnt really like swimming that late.

Today's Workout:
Run 4 miles
Swim 1,000 yards

Gym Etiquette

2006-01-23T08:51:00.000-05:00

I ran into an "acqaintance" the other day at the gym and based on a coversation we had I got to thinking about gym etiquette. So here are what I consider to be a few gym eitquette rules.

1. If someone asks you for a spot, you help them out.
2. When you are done with a piece of equipment, wipe your sweat off for the next person.
3. When you are done with weights, put them back where they are supposed to go.
4. Dont try to talk to someone while they are in the middle of lifting.
5. Dont talk to someone more than a couple of minutes (if they are really trying to get a workout in, too much talking allows the body to cool too much)
6. Dont comment on how much somebody lifts, its more important to be there on a regular schedule than to care about how much weight one is lifting.
7. If you are not sure how to use a machine, ask or read the instructions. You think you look cool acting like you know how every machine works,,,,,think about how you look when you are using a machine the wrong way.
8. When in the locker room, put a towel around yourself. There absolutely no reason on this earth to think I want to see your family jewels.
9. Always allow somebody to work in sets with you or share a swim lane if there are no others.
10. Most importantly,,,,,always flex when a hot girl comes walking by :)

First Day of Group Running

2006-01-21T07:10:00.000-05:00

I just got back from my first outting running with a group. I have never trained with a running group so I wasnt sure what to expect. It turned out to be a good experience overall. There were about 50 people that showed up of different running levels. From what I understand the group would have been about double that but there is also a local 5k going on this morning and alot of folks are using that to get in some of their miles.

My group consisted of around 8 people. Turned out I knew a couple of folks in my group. I recognized alot of faces just because of being out at races and the gym but many of them I didnt know their names. Everyone seemed really nice, but the only downside is I think I may have been placed in the wrong pace group. I think I should be in the 10min pace group but was placed in the 9min. Needless to say I was huffing and puffing a little, but once my body got warmed up I was able to hang for the run. I only did 4 miles this morning, because I am trying to stick to a strict schedule that has been laid out for me for upcoming races in a few months. the rest of the group dropped me off at 4 and continued on to do a couple more miles.

When I told them I was stopping at 4 they asked if I would like to go a couple more, and I told them I still needed to go home and get on my bike for a while. One of the folks looked at me and smiled and said,,,,,"Oh, you are one of those Tri guys." I answered with a proud, yes I am. Apparently when you join a running group like this, us Tri guys are in the minority. Most of them are training for Marathons or Half Marathons. Quite honestly makes me feel a little proud to be part of a smaller Tri community.

New Running Group

2006-01-20T08:13:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow morning I start with a new running group. I have never run with an organized group before but I get tired of running alone all the time. The group is organized through a local running store and they usually have alot of folks participate. Luckily we get divided into pace groups so the slow folks like me can all run together. The down side for me is I am not a morning person. No matter how hard I try, I just like my sleep in the morning, and tomorrow we meet at 5:45am (yeeesshh!). I can get up when I have to but I am ususally an afternoon trainer.

My brother just recently sent me a DVD about an Ultra Marathon. The Badwater 135 out in Death Valley. Its a documentary about the 40 people chosen to participate in this INSANE event. Well I must say, it was a very interesting documentary, although I think I saw some of the most gross pictures on TV I have seen in a while. They seem to spend alot of time with the camera focusing on their feet showing blisters, popping blisters, toenails gone bad, people throwing up. Ok, the throwing up I can handle,,,,,but all those gross feet,,,,,,YUCK! Aside from that however, very interesting story. Ironman I can understand, but this I dont. The winner had a time of 27 hours and change. Yeah, dont think I will be undertaking the Ultra Marathoner life anytime soon. And yes, I know the Ironman is actually more miles, but give me a bike and a swim in there any day to offset having to run/walk/jog for 135 miles in Death Valley conditions.

Feel pretty good

2006-01-18T22:07:00.000-05:00

Ok, I must admit I have felt pretty good the last couple of days in training. I just did a short run yesterday because of the problems with pain I have been having so I spent most of the time focusing on my body mechanics and form and I think it may have helped some. Today was just weights and spinning (riding on my trainer) for 45 minutes.

My brother sent me the 2005 Hawaii Ironman DVD so I popped that sucker in the player while on my bike. It was great to have the latest version. I think I may have actually been riding harder while watching it, but I felt pretty good the whole time. This is the benefit of training. Those days that your body feels really good and you know its telling you "thanks" for leading a healthly lifestyle. I was thinking today how I wish many of my friends could understand all of the benefits of some sort of exercise on a regular basis. I had to learn the hard way by waking up one day years ago and realizing how much I had let myself go. Nothing dramatic but alot for me.

Well hopefully things will stay on a positive track for a while. As a side note, my business has gotten off to a positive start for 2006, so lets hope the momentum keeps going for a little while.

One of my favorite quotes

2006-01-17T15:05:00.000-05:00

I am someone who really likes quotes to motivate and inspire me sometimes. And there are a few that I like more than others. One of them you see at the header of my blog by the founder of The Ironman. But I wanted to share this one that many of you may have heard before that is referred to as "man in the arena"......

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whos face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiams, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place will never be with those cold timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

- Theodore Roosevelt -

With training (or any other goal) comes sacrifice and sometimes pain. Find what inspires you to press on.

Happy ML King, Jr. Day!

2006-01-16T09:16:00.000-05:00

Well today promises to be a slow day. With alot of businesses closed I can probably use today as a catch up day and of course training. Today is a weights and run day so things should be pretty relaxed. I think I must have been some sort of idiot for going out in the wind and cold to ride on Saturday. The more people I talked to (cyclist stronger than me) even looked at me like I was wierd for going out in it. Well as bunnygirl said,,,,thats what indoor trainers are for.
I think I may find a soft track to go run on today. Been feeling a little in the left shins so I think it would benefit me to find a soft surface.

I have already been ribbed by my friend Stacy about the upcoming IM FL as to whether I can beat her or not. You see this is a no win situation for me. If I beat Stacy's time its no big deal because all I did was "beat a girl" in my friends eyes. But if she wins I get ripped until the day I die. This is of course because none of my close friends do triathlons and dont realize dynamics that go into the long races or the training involved. They basically view it like she and I started a sprint on the same starting line and she broke the tape first. I have always been faster in the swim and bike than Stacy, but she has always been a better runner than me, and we all know that running is where you can make the biggest difference in the race. Anyway first things first. Stacy, you gotta find a way to get into IM FL before you can race me! Yep, thats right, she missed the window to get in so she is looking to buy somebody's number. If anyone out there comes across one in the next few months, send the info my way.

Bottom line, its all in good fun. When I race I do my own race and dont worry about who's passing me. And Stacy and I have done many races together before, and although on some level we are looking at our watches and in the back of our mind competing with each other, we have always had mutual respect for each other on the course and there is always a hug at the finish line no matter who came out with the better time. Plus its easy to answer my non-triathlon friends when they give me a hard time if Stacy has a better time......I just ask them what their time was,,,,it ususally takes care of the ribbing. :)

Blown Away!

2006-01-14T12:26:00.000-05:00

Ok, confession time. I blew off my run after my ride today because I think I faced the hardest headwind I have ever encountered this morning. I was only supposed to do a short 10 mile ride then go run. As I am driving out to the starting point of my ride I am noticing my car being blown around quite a bit,,,,,not a good sign. Then I see white caps on a lake,,,,another bad sign. I start to take notice of how bad the trees and bushes are being blown and the reality starts to set in that I am in for a rough ride.

Before I set out, another gentleman has just finished and he looked at me and told me "Its brutal out there,,,,especially on the way back." When I set out to ride I noticed that most of the wind was coming from my left and it was blowing me to the side, so it was a bit of a stuggle to maintain a straight line, I am thinking to myself, no big deal I can deal with this and perhaps the winds are subsiding a little, so besides struggling with the side winds I felt pretty good. But I couldnt help remembering what the other guy had said before I left......."....especially on the way back."

His words could not have been more prophetic. As I turned around to head back, I was slammed with an incredibly hard headwind that would not let up the entire way back. I felt like I was riding uphill the whole way! I couldnt believe this sidewind turned into a headwind. I have been riding in wind before, but this was the hardest I had ever experienced. I tried to think positive thoughts on the way back but the wind kept slamming harder and harder. I noticed my speed had dropped by 10mph on the way back. A couple of times I had a little refuge when I found some coverage on either side of the road, but many times when I came out of it, it seemed I got slammed even harder. I notice when I passed some joggers, they had actually stopped to turn around and stand with their backs to the wind because they were having a hard time with it as well.

This is one day I am glad my ride is over!

Fluid Trainer

2006-01-13T19:26:00.000-05:00

Well I think I may be getting a fluid trainer. I have been using a magnetic for the last 3 to 4 years, but I did some work for a local bike shop and we worked my fees out in trade, so I am going tomorrow to look at a fluid trainer, and if I end up getting it will be passing along my magnetic to my brother in Nashville. I think he will like having a trainer since he has to endure more cold weather than I do down here.

Had an all day meeting today that started early this morning so I only got my gym workout in and didnt ride. But thats ok, I will be riding in the morning, doing a small brick. 10 mile ride then run 4. I have cut back on my miles for riding to go along with a training plan a friend of mine put together for me. It feels a little weird knowing that I can ride longer distances but I am doing my best to reign it in a little because the training plan is designed to have me working up to the Half Iron distance in June so I wont be overtraining.

Still having some knee pain in my right knee while running but trying to take it easy on it and incorporate more walking breaks in my running to cut down on the impact. Also been playing around with my body positioning and mechanics to see if that may help some too.

Well happy Friday the 13th to all. Have a great weekend.

Onward and upward

2006-01-11T08:48:00.000-05:00

Came across this cartoon. Thought is was appropriate considering my post yesterday.

Ok, my grumbling about running is officially over for now. Got it out of my system, time to manage or figure out the pain issues. Today is not a running day so I will get a little extra rest from the beating. Today will be weights and bike so I have something to look forward to. Thanks to some fellow bloggers out there giving a little encouragement and suggestions to help manage the running difficulties. If there is anything I have learned over the years of training for racing it is to do your best to keep a positive attitude, because there will probably be set backs at one time or another.