Catching Back up Since Fat Tire

I'm signed up for this marathon. I talked my wife and brother-in-law into it. My neighbors are doing it. It's a party. Hard to argue with that kind of fun.

Now, recall for a minute that I have been doing last minute cramming for some mountain bike race that was last Saturday.

When I singed up for all this, "everything looked so easy after the Ironman" (in the tone of Smitty talking about the K2 in Better Off Dead). Yet, here I am having not run a lick in what seems like weeks (OK, is weeks and seems like months). I guess a marathon three weeks after fat tire 40 is harder than it looks. Or it'd be more fair to say, more than I could commit to in this carefree post-ironman training year.

I'm hearing a good bit of, "but JWM you can muster up and do this." Which, of course, I can. The question is, at what price? Never mind that I'm just digging biking right now.

Add to this, I'm sure I have some kind of virus since fat tire. No not the psychosomatic kind. The sinus infection, sore muscle kind. I've also been dropping weight like no tomorrow this week. My guess is not from the virus, but a decompression from my week of "free, good food in Chicago" otherwise known as "how much weight can JWM gain in five days?"

(insert JWM weight tip of the week.. oatmeal for breakfast. oatmeal for lunch (not cause you like oatmeal, but it's laying around work and you're out of pocket cash), then a "reasonable" dinner) By Wednesday you're pretty ready for some Oakland Gyros or other protein infused meal.

I told my loyal fans and now you, if I drop silly weight without getting sick by the marathon then I'm in. If I have to kill 200+ lbs on my knees then I'm thinking "see you at the cyclocross races." One "loyal fan" has already promised me a list of runner's maladies which can only be cured by cycling.

Pretty well caught up.. I didn't mention oncall at work, because it's been pretty good so far. Minus the page I was working on a few minutes ago.

Last Minute Prep (aka First tri since September)

I figured out sleeveless was the way to go last year at IronMan. Sunday's water is going to be somewhat chillier (last hear 56F). So where exactly did I put my full sleeved wetsuit?

Otherwise I'm pretty much set for Sunday morning. Goals you say? My current favorite goal is to nail the transition time. I would have a sub-3 bike goal, but I'm really not feeling it. As always, my goal is to put my toes in the sand, wait for the gun to go off, and have fun.

Who knows, if I start to dig on mountain biking this could be my last tri for a while. I commit to nothing on this though.

I'm in Trouble

It looks like the Fat Tire folks cashed my check. I hope that's not bad news for too many of the rest of you. I guess I (have to|get to) put that 40 mile mountain bike extravaganza on the calendar. I'm excited, but at the same time I had secretly been hoping I might not make the cut. Now, that I know it's game on... I'm grinning.

If they did a "send in your form and we'll tell you in a month or so" entry for Ironman, tri-heads everywhere would be climbing the walls.

Hope to see you there!

In The Shadow of Ironman

Or is it "Confession Time Part II" ?

I'm sending my entry off to Fat Tire 40 tomorrow.

I signed up for Lakefront Marathon today.

I'm 1/2 contemplating which WORS race I have the best chance of surviving. Though if it came down to it, I really dug the very relaxed atmosphere of WEMS.

Not to forget, Trek100, maybe another tri or two for fun, and some promise to the in-law side of the crim last Christmas.

This may turn out to be a pretty busy year yet.

Top 10 Reasons the Cyclists that read this blog should try Ironman

You certainly don't have to. There are easily a top 10 of why not to do it. But, I'd be remiss not to mention these.

1. You are probably from Wisconsin too. This is one local race not to be missed.
2. Ever seen the TdF? Picture going up the hill on the way into Verona with crowds lined on either side, a foot or two away, cheering you on! Where else does this happen? Pardon me if you have actually raced in the TdF.
3. You could probably do the bike section in less than 8 hours drinking and standing on your head.
4. Buy a wetsuit, the swim isn't that bad. Just don't forget to lubricate. If you're really slow, start out front and just grab ankles all the way!
   
5. If you decide it's not worth it for the medal.. You can bow out for the marathon. The bike was all you wanted anyway.
6. If you didn't bow out, you get to run through Camp Randall. Maybe even up Observatory hill (or walk). Camp Randall on the field is something else.
7. There is a remote chance you will get weather as good as I did.
8. If you are semi-single, there is a shot there will be an Iron person in distress. Then you're buds can stop sending your super-mate pictures on their blogs.
   
9. Remember the scene I described going up the hill in Verona? The finish line is even more packed with crowds, in less space. There are stands full of cheering Iron-maniacs. It's a rush!
10. See 2 and 9, that's worth 3/10.

Peace. Hoping to recover for CX season.

IMWI Collage made with Animoto

Wow! What a perfect site for triathlon type photo collages... Animoto

This is a 1st try with just a few pictures from Ironman Wisconsin..

The Setup..

I made it to Madison. Ready for Ironman Wisconsin. All the work is done. What a great venue. Friday and Saturday were filled with a surprising number of signs that Ironman was looming. On my way to the hotel Friday night, I knew it was about 2.4 miles (swim distance) to the hotel from where I was.. I looked down at the "last gas fill up" odometer in the car to gauge when I should look for Rimrock road. The odometer read 140.6 when I looked down. Wooooooo. (cue eerie music).

Also on Friday, I ran into this...


My limited bug experience says it's a praying mantis. Seemed appropriate.

The bike was still at the hotel.. But the racks were up and waiting.


Enough looking around. I checked in and got all my loot. Only to have to go back to the hotel and figure out where stickers go.. Don't put them in the wrong spot, or you might not get your Hammer Gel on race day.



OK, here are the secrets of a first time Ironman athlete.. I tried to keep it simple. What is the minimum I need. No kitchen sinks. Suit, shoes, helmet, shoes, race #'s, and socks. No, I'm not hardcore enough to try Ironman without socks.



I'm not an M-dot tattoo kinda guy. But, I did put this temporary one on so my peeps could find me. Alas, I think it worked once before race day, but no one on race day said anything.



All branded up, and pumped to go. My family showed up. We hit dinner. Then it was back for an early 9:30pm bedtime. I set every alarm I had for 3:30 AM. Unexpectedly I went to sleep quickly. I woke up once at 1:30 AM for breakfast (1 bottle of Ensure). Creamy chocolate is NOT the same as chocolate. In truth, neither are wildly delicious.

Give me time, I'll come up with some description of race day. Safe to say, I was feeling good. I was excited. And I was doing a pretty decent job of staying calm at that point.

One last look around..

I'm heading out to Madison bright and early. I think I have 99% of my stuff. If I don't, I really hope I'm not missing something important or expensive.

I'm excited. Quietly cautious. Optimistic. Expecting to get hit in the face with some reality. I did what I did, and if what I am now is not trained enough, then so be it. Time to smile, grab on, put the toes in the sand and wait for the gun to go off.

Just keep moving.

Taper..

OK, no excuses now.. I'm tapering. Time for a quick entry.

Random day 1 of taper thoughts:

• Yeah, I spent a year training and I'm nervous that it wasn't enough. I realize worrying about it won't matter and I will remain calm.
  
• It's a year, a ton can happen. It will most likely all happen in the last two (biggest training) months.
• Things like the chicken pox scare.. and subsequent vaccine.
• Things like extreme fatigue and a doctor saying, sleep it out.
• Things like a good brother telling you "hmm.. Ironman training, IT pager, and not enough sleep.. Fatigue you say?"
• Still, I pulled it together and did a couple last long (slow) rides.
• I'm well aware of the cutoff times for the swim, bike, and run (9:20am, 5:30pm, midnight)
• As much as it defies what I set out to do, the progress I made, and most of the entire year... I'm most worried about the bike leg.
  
• I know I can run like a slow, slow freight train. Even tired. Even "dang I can't believe I was on the bike til 5:29pm" tired. I will run that marathon.
• As discussed with my better half. I will finish. (because I'm NOT doing it again)
• I can not believe how fast what minimal speed I had drained when I started going ironman long.
  
• When does CX season start ?

See you out there. (follow link on race day for all day live video)

Wha' Happened?

I just woke up. It was shortly after midnight. I'm next to a big dog, still wearing just my bike shorts and a Livestrong T-shirt. My wife probably caught me mumbling something about "vgexport" in my sleep. How'd I get here? Let's back track.

I'd love to say this was the direct result of a week's worth of non-stop ironman training. No holds barred, stick to the schedule, form perfect, another notch in my belt toward September. In fact it was almost the exact opposite. It all started Monday, with a great swim and an unscheduled, somewhat heavy legged run. Without making excuses, that run bled into my next morning's zeal for an immediate very hard brick. No worries, I'll do it at night. That run, ended up taking my week apart.

Most of the week I could blame on work, and more work, and even more work. When I wasn't sleeping I was working this week (and maybe a few hours in the middle of both). This is not a rant about work, only about my ability to organize my time as such. There will be longer work weeks. It's the gig. It pays for such things as crazy endurance races like Ironman. I blame that extra Monday night run. It was just begging me to take it and throw the week off balance.

After Monday, sans an real excuses, there are a bunch of big, ugly zeros in my training calendar. This weekend I worked a good 18 hours (mostly straight, without enough time to do my 3:30 bike on my one break). Then I ended up w/ 3 hours of sleep Sat morning. Nothing that one can take and turn into a good 3-5 hour ride as makeup. No gas. No mental anything. Just TV fuzz in the head.

Three to five naps on Sunday left me more rested, but still out of it.. I gathered enough gumption to head out on the fixed gear for an easy 25 miler. An hour and a half later, I was cold and tired. We made dinner. Then I went to lie down for a second while my wife read the kids books. The next thing I knew, it was midnight.

Deep breath. A glass of milk and some water. A quick blog update then shower, and back to bed. It is Monday, and I start fresh. Let's see if I can get last week's good swim back.

Rest of the week update:

• I got my confirmation letter for the super cool MACC fund ride pre-party.
• Put road tires on the fixed gear bike. My son helped. Ya know, in case I get crazy and take it to the 100 miler ride last minute.
  
• Healing vibes for DZ's Dad.
• And let us not forget why the world is right.. A brand spankin' new, hand made, custom bike was born.

As I look out over the coming weeks. I see some homework. Some 3-4 hour bike rides, back to back on the weekends.. Hopefully many well rested ones. I'm sure I will look at my mountain bike longingly at least once.. Good times are a coming. In spite of this week, things are looking up training-wise. And I refuse to give up my mantra. This IS my year. See you all out there.

Journey to Ironman Month in Review: March 2007

The days: worked out 24/31 days

161 days until race day.

This month's totals.

Swim: 14850 yards (up 4700 from last month)
Bike: 326.3 mostly phantom trainer "miles" (up 136.3)
Run: 28.6 miles (not much change)

34 hours total (up from 22)

Review:

First, it's clear from the run miles which days I was sick. I'm proud that I didn't let my bike slip but once. Recently I have thought this year I should concentrate on sticking the bike. Not (hopefully) to the loss of swim/run.. but in years past, when I got tired or stressed, the bike was the first workout to go. This year it's been the run. Maybe more because of my knees than anything. I know I will need many more miles that March shows.. but I can only ramp up so much at once.. So I won't fret about the lack of run miles.

April 2nd starts my first recovery week. Thank goodness! Hopefully this means I'll start the following week more prepared for "the schedule".

The detractors aka excuse list. I'm glad for work.. Without it there would be no cool tri toys or roof to keep us dry. But it hasn't been getting any easier lately. Anyone know of high paying, secure, computer jobs that are getting easier lately?? Yeah, I thought not. Sleep being a priority in ironman training, it's tough when work conflicts with sleep. I already mentioned the knee, so we'll skip that in this list...

Mantra's (Still).. This is my year. Game on!

Calories

Time to dig in to (what was mostly) last year's uneaten stash of goodies.

Before I can dive head first into any new nutrition plans.. I've got some base miles to put on, and a few piles of "food" to go through. Once some of these supplies are depleted, I can get on with this year's plans.

You can see, I've got some recovery protein bars. I really like the builder bars. There are some fairly non-descript powerbars to fill out the mix. You can see a gel or two in there.. I lived on gels last year (during exercise). For reference, I probably had 12 gels during the Spirit of Racine 1/2 last year. Brand-wise, I'm fairly equal opportunity. I tend to like Clif stuff (except the gels) much more than the competitors. Gu, Carbboom and the like are nice gels. Many, many I have yet to try though.

I'm looking for the good bad and ugly on the Clif Bloks. I dig how you can evenly divide them out over an hour ( about 33 cals per blok ). And how they are so much less messy than shots. My non-scientific guess is, they take up more space per calories than a shot. The "less mess" factor may well be worth it. This year, I'm going to give them an honest try. I tried them on one ride last year. It was pointed out to me, that perhaps I hadn't eaten enough of them. Thus I couldn't tell if they weren't absorbing, or I just didn't eat enough.. I won't make that mistake this year.

Until then, does your basement stockpile look like this? It's hard to beat 70 cents per box. Eek gads! What reason # is this for doing Ironman? "burn calories so you don't waste last year's stockpile of energy bars." I will be the guy with the knife and fork taped to his top tube.

Day 2 - LTHR Bike Test

LTHR is some number that tells you where your training zones are. HR means it's a heart rate. LT is (to the best of my knowledge) the barrier between zone four and zone five. LTHR is a level one can sustain for 30 - 40 minutes (maybe more if you're well trained and/or really want it). Above LT some nasty goo starts to build up in your muscles at a faster rate than it gets cleared out. This is why you can't sustain long intervals above LT. (all of this is "as I understand it").

Here's the part I know too much about (a little dangerous knowledge).. various prescribed methods for determining LT. All seem to include something like...

1. Warm up really well. Including some sprints or efforts which will get your HR going.
2. Go "as hard as you can" for some prescribed amount of time 30-40 minutes. Note, as hard as you can, still means at a consistent HR (not necessarily pace). If you are "normal" you will be far from comfortable.
3. Cool down.. gasp, fold, whatever.. Drink something.

Where the tests (I have read) differ is which average HR to take. I have often heard do 30 minutes hard, taking the average HR of the last 20 minutes. Today's workout was "supposed to" be 40 minutes hard, take the average of the entire 40 minutes. I have heard the coaches logic behind the "40 minutes". Something like, "for strong athletes 30 minutes" isn't enough.

What about today's workout? I figured right out, I wasn't one of these "strong" athletes who needs the entire 40 minutes. So, I went with 30 minutes all on my own. I also did the occasional visual on the HRM to see how I was doing. And sure enough the first 10 minutes I was still warming up to my LTHR.. I suspect this brought my entire average down somewhat. Stupidly, I didn't take my HR averages in any kind of interval to provide actual data to said theory.

My final 20 minutes were all easily in the low to mid 150's, with some spikes up to 160. Yet my "average" said 146. Looking at appropriate zone charts for 146 LTHR, I suspect it's on the low side. Also note that my last run LTHR test was more like 170. Incidentally, I felt I had erred high on that one. I am aware the bike and run LTHR numbers can be somewhat different.

I have another LTHR test in 4 weeks. Hopefully I will have improved my biking and pacing significantly by then. Until next time..

Addendum... These tests are supposed to be taxing. You're supposed to take the rest of the day off. But, dang I haven't run since last Friday. And for the first time in I don't know how long, the snow is _gone_ and it's near 70. Tomorrow it will be 40-ish again. I might have to sneak "off plan" this once and get a recovery run in. Also note, I don't ever recall cheating on my plan by adding a run... this must be a new year.

Someone Talk Me Down From The Ledge..

Grrrrr.. 1/2 a pizza that I didn't need from Little C's. Then I stood fully clothed on the scale at night (all variables which contribute to a higher number than I normally see on the little readout).

Breathe deep. It's just a number. Not even a fairly taken number.

Shoot my 4 year old son even ate more pizza than I did. (He's not over weight, just on a growth spurt). I on the other hand, am not on a growth spurt. Or I should say I don't want to be on one.

This post will serve as a reminder that even if it is "my year", I will falter. What I put in this blog is a goal.

Breathe deep. Move on. Pack my swim bag. Back to the pool in the morning.

Journey to Ironman Month in Review: February 2007

The days: worked out 17/28 days

193 days until race day.

This month's totals.

Swim: 10150 yards
Bike: 190 mostly phantom trainer "miles"
Run: 27.1 all hard fought winter Wisconsin outdoor miles (except 4.5 Michigan miles)

22 hours total.

Review:

I would have sworn I was ramping up running.. but then taking stock in the short month, horrid weather, and just plain busy-ness.. I suppose it wasn't as banner as I had thought. I normally consider myself someone who is not prone to the whims of the elements. Ice on the side walk is a different story though. As weather improves, I will need to get diligent about taking my run to my lunch hour.

Training highlights would of course be swimming entirely new distances (probably in my life), a 2 hour mountain bike ride in very low temps and on fluffy snow with some killa mountain biker crew.. Though, for all I know they headed for a hot chocolate, as they got away quick and I didn't see them until later. Bike trainer and a Superbowl the next day. Say what you will about the trainer, but it's better than no trainer and a bag of chips + super bowl.

Last/not least, the detractors aka excuses. On-call has begun. So go easy on me. I am doing more training on-call than I normally do (usually nothing). Never mind the "bug" mentioned in a previous entry. Also a couple of 7 hour bouts in the car to and from a funeral was necessary. I would say more about what a tough woman the world lost, but that's family stuff.

Next month: The training plan I bought starts. No going back now. It happens to coincide with the new DST laws that the country passed. Thankyouverymuch govt.. Just when morning daylight rides would be almost possible, let's move it up an hour.

Mantra's.. . This is my year. Game on!

346

Let's see how far I get. Or, see if you can guess when I start making up stuff...

1. Because it's there.
2. Because it's my year.
   
3. Julie Moss footage. I really don't know what year I watched an early version of the Ironman broadcast, but I do know it was early. It made some kind of impression on me.
   
4. Eat like an Ironman.
5. I like training long. Race day is just the whipped cream on the ice cream.
6. I wanted to run a marathon. This way I won't get a "It took how long" look.
7. For the T-shirt.
8. I volunteered in 2002. I wanted to take back something.
9. You've done a triathlon. Was it an Ironman?
10. Get it out of my system so I can aspire try other fun stuff like 24 hour mountain bike races.. Or maybe just regular old mountain bike races.
11. Build mad-crazy base for the CX season.
12. I'm too slow to be "just a cyclist".
13. An excuse to have (another) cool bike.
14. I can't say I'm one with nature road riding. I do think there is a spiritual aspect to longer runs and rides.
15. Playing wall tag in between following the black line is often therapeutic.
16. You can't fake it. You either do it, or not.
17. For the days that the flavor of the day is: tiramisu.
    
18. For the days that the flavor of the day is: grasshopper fudge.
19. For the days that the flavor of the day contains : chocolate
20. For the days that the flavor of the day contains : cheese cake
21. For the days that the flavor of the day contains: mint
22. For the days that the flavor of the day contains : fudge
23. For the days that the flavor of the day is : almost any flavor without nuts.
24. For the days in any month that has a flavor of the day which is : with nuts, but the sunday of the month is without nuts.
    
25. Keep at it long enough, I just might learn to swim, bike or run.
26. Gives me something to blog.
27. Procrastination... I have a separate lifetime goal that involves writing/recording an album of music on my own.
28. Because "she" said I wouldn't do a triathlon. She's long since eaten the words proudly, but why let up now?
29. Set an example. (like for the marathoners at work).
30. Never know when your car will break down. This way I'll have the skills o run or bike to work.
31. Killer abs (I can hope, right?)
32. So I can look back to the one workout per day times fondly.
33. Because I'm no longer a contender at the burrito eating competitions.
34. Billiards halls are smoke filled here. Though, a Romine's is pretty clear.
    
35. It's good to have goals.
36. Rebellion. "Ma, 2000 other people signed up." "Well if 2000 other people were going to jump in the lake would you?" ... ahem. 'Nuff said.
37. I'm just crazy enough to think that the discipline I get from doing Ironman might spill into other pieces of my life.
38. For my kids. Who's kids wouldn't want to stay up until midnight?
39. For my wife. See #31 about abs. Haha. Maybe so I can live longer and she can see my smiling face an extra few years.
40. What else am I going to do with the extra 11 - 17 hours per week?
41. It's easy to get inspired by folks like the Hoyt's.
    
42. Because unless you're at mile 90 of an Ironman on a 55 or 95 degree day, "the beast" really isn't that bad of a hill.
43. Because I already got 140.6 engraved on my ipod nano as a goal.
44. Sometimes inspiration can be "local".
45. Or even, actually local inspiration.
46. So, I can hook up with my peeps from online before the race.
47. Because there is a "Burritos as big as your head" restaurant in Madison.
48. I started triathlons in 2001... So I can get it over with and move on.
49. Four halves does not make two fulls, or even one for that matter.
50. Everyone is doing it. Shoot one guy at work has a brother that did it. Another guy at work knows a guy who's signed up. Most of the folks online seem to have done it. That's pretty near everyone.
51. Because she doesn't believe I'll only do one. (see potato chip syndrome)
52. Beats surfing websites with naked people on them.. oh wait, what are those pros wearing anyway?
53. Walking the dogs in the morning leaves me needing more workout.
54. To hear "JWM You are an Ironman!"
55. Two other people in my village are doing it.
56. Inspire some "regular folks" that think Ironman is only for elite athletes. I'll show 'em.
    
57. Because I'd rather do 6 hours on the bike than 6 hours in a golf cart.
58. It's already paid in full.
59. Release. So I don't totally crack. I wasted some hate on a trivial matter today. I don't need that. Turns out, I didn't workout today either.
    
60. It beats the mall.
61. Basement indoor training gives me time to catch up on some old movies, or "The Simpsons" dvd's.
    
62. I need more sleep. This way I'll be forced to get it.
63. Cost justification : Fixed gear bike as a training tool (OK so you don't have to be signed up for Ironman to do that)
64. Cost justification : Road bike as a training tool.
65. Cost justification : Gotta have a sweet tri-bike.
66. Because my singing is horrid.
    
67. Cost justification : Mountain bike to keep training fun.
68. Cost justification : Roof rack for car..
69. Cost justification : nutritionist.
70. Cost justification : swim coach.
71. Winter riding gear.
    
72. Cost justification : run coach.
73. Nothing like a quiet bike ride.
    
74. Cost justification : bike coach.
75. You can sign up for Ironman and train for it. In a year you are done and have that in your pocket. Or you can not sign up, and you won't have it in your pocket.
    
76. Cost justification : message therapist.
77. Cost justification : scouting week in Hawaii (I'm just seeing if any of you are still reading)
78. Cost justification : Triathlon training camp.
79. One hour in a pro triathlete's endless pool. and horrid video evidence to prove it.
    
80. Julia Childs' cinnamon rolls from Alterra Coffee Shop at the Lake.
81. Because my 6th grade teacher said I would never be more than a C student. She gave me straight B's.
82. When else am I going to get 3 nights in a hotel with peace and quiet?
83. Because I'm not taking my pager with on race day.
84. The same reason I drank tequila in my early 20's.. That "What are you nuts? But why?" look.
85. Because you can't take life too seriously.
    
86. Because at some point on the bike, I will hear "It's a beautiful day." surge through my brain. Can you hear it?
87. It's a great excuse to finally put some "real" swim yardage down.
88. Run frequency is a requirement this year.. Or it will be a walk-a-thon. In the past I didn't feel quiet so compelled.
89. That 1/2 will hopefully look more like a race next year.
90. It's now or never for making weight.
91. For the tattoo? (nah)
92. To run through Camp Randall.
93. "Verona’s festival last year alone attracted over 20,000 people and was likened to the “Tour de France”."
94. But please don't paint my name on the road. CHALK!
    
95. Because I don't have cable TV.
96. Because doing Ironman qualifies one to give online advice to folks 3 times faster than me.
97. Because we all die.
    
98. Because I have 8GB of tunes to get through on my Nano.
99. Who doesn't want mad crazy training totals?
100. So the occasional latte won't make a sizable dent in my calorie input to output ratio.
101. What else would I blog about?
102. Because Tri-teacher did it.
103. Because Bill will.
104. Because I won't catch R. Tool Shedmeister in a bike race. I'll just assume he can't run.
     
105. Because MC is done with it.
106. Because I've been telling TTN I'm gonna sign up for six years now. (no sir, I didn't sign up the missus w/o her knowledge).
     
107. Because when Dre' says you need to lift your heel more and lean forward a bit from 1000 miles away, dang it he's right! How does he do that?
108. Because my neighbors were going to sign up for turning 50.. Instead they are heading to France. Suckers!
109. Because when my four year old daughter watches Ironman on the streaming web video and the 1025th finisher crosses the line.. She says "Another winner! Yay!"
110. Because she asks to ride her bike when there is 2 feet of snow. And she still has training wheels.
111. Because when I don't train due to excuses like oncall, I find myself up at 11pm writing a list of 300 reasons to do ironman.
112. Because listing 346 reasons would be crazier than just doing it.
113. Because I'm selfish.
114. Because of you.
115. Because Rachel ended up in a recorded band. Thanks for the cookies.
116. Because keeping millions of dollars safe is stressful work.
117. Skim best friend and a see-roll to go for Roy.
118. Because once a month I have a beer, if I need it or not..
119. I believe everything in moderation. The reason I train for Ironman is my list of "everything" is quiet long.
120. Frazz would do it.
121. I've been to Moab to ride slick rock (long ago). I need a safe way to maintain base until I go back.
122. Because it just wouldn't be as challenging if my kids weren't in there first year of school, aka petrie dish.
123. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the Swim store.
124. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
125. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
126. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
127. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
128. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
129. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
130. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
131. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
132. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
133. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
134. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
135. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the LBS.
136. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the Rodiez.
     
137. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the Athlete's foot.
138. Who doesn't want to spend more time at the Nike outlet store.
     
139. To start writing a list which makes me think I should do run store web design.
     
140. Because one does not need more reasons than miles.
     
141. 140.6 seems like such a good number. So much more alluring than a mere 26.2.
     
142. I should have known I would do something like this by the time I hit 4th grade. Someone brought tootsie roll pops to school, and I spent the day counting licks. 714. I've since heard many other accounts with much smaller numbers.
     
143. Because most days I get up before 7 am and don't even stay up until midnight.. Ironman or not.
     
144. Everyone looks better in the pool. Or a wetsuit for that matter.. Now getting out all soggy after 2.4 miles is a different story.
     
145. Because a double Ironman is too far.
     
146. Because of Dad.
147. One forty seven. 199 less than 346.. but that would just be silly.

I quit the list. Back to the real focus.

Ante Up

Or, "Reason # 347 to sign up for Ironman".

I hit the pool this morning to test the waters on my new plan. It's a few weeks before I have to start my plan, but I wanted to feel ready. Without giving the workout away for free, here's the rough draft.

Warm up 500m of swim, pull and kick.
1100m drills.
700m of "testing out the drills on real swimming".
200m of cool down swimming.

All very do-able. I was just outside 1 hour 10 minutes for the entire workout. Yikes! I guess I have some work to do.

Here's where the ante up comes in. I recall, in high school five page papers were like a death sentence, or just plain pulling teeth. Then, in my first week at college, I was asked to write a paper or two. The new minimum standard was five or more pages in length. For some reason, once I hit week one in college, five page papers were cake. Just do it.

Last year, I bet I didn't swim 2500m in any given day all year. Not even on race day did I hit those totals. This year it's my "first" workout. Welcome to Ironman.

So, if you're reading this and thinking 2500m is too far to swim... Or whatever you have in your life that is too hard. Just sign up for Ironman. It won't seem like such a big deal any more. Or, just do it.

Journey to Ironman Month in Review: January 2007

The days: worked out 22/31 days (12 of last 13 days)

209 days until race day.

Swim: 13450 yards
Bike: 124.2 mostly phantom trainer "miles"
Run: 45.53 mostly hard fought winter Wisconsin outdoor miles

The last 10 days or so, I've been trying out the frequency and character of my purchased ironman plan that starts in March... So far so good.. Sleep will be key. I'm not at all discouraged by an 8 hour week. Seems like a similar week would have not been impossible last year, but harder. Perhaps in the face of 11-17 hours / week, 8 just doesn't phase me.

I'm putting one toe in the water on the 5th/3rd 25k run in Grand Rapids.. We'll see how training toward that goes.. But right now, it looks good. My currently long run is only an hour. I don't think increasing it to 90 minutes will be difficult.. After that, we'll see.

Weather.com is predicting "possibly the lowest temperatures in a decade". Anyone want to ride? Bring your heat.

Feb 1.. slept in.. oops !

26 Weeks

Get out the Credit Card. Click. (Iron Distance '07, Intermediate, Hilly Bike Plan). My March - September workouts are all planned out now. Now I have 2 months to sit in and get ready for the big load. I might be slightly out of my league, but it looks doable.
Some say "race day easy compared to the training". I never believed that, until I saw this plan! Anxiety aside, I trust Rich and Crucible to get me where I'm going.

Can you tell I'm excited?

Back In The Swing..

Quickie blurb..

So long ago I was doing two workouts per day (July-ish). Well, it's the new year and the beginning of you know what. Morning swims and noon runs are great. I really miss that from last year. If you haven't tried it, and you have the means. I highly recommend it. Never mind the unseasonably warm January weather, and my time off from work. Woot!

Hit the showers!