It is alive.....

So I spent most of December working on my waistline. Expanding my waistline, that is. I took it easy, doing only a couple workout a week, if that much. I enjoyed Christmas with the family and we had a nice little getaway to northern Michigan.

What effort I did put in was directed to cementing in my 2010 race schedule, getting my training plans in place, and making sure I was on track for a great 2010.

Official 2010 training started this week.

Looking Back, my 2009 totals were: 108 miles in the pool, 2200 on the bike, and 550 running.

After much internal debate, and checkbook analysis, I decided against a fully coached season. However, my research into coaching has led me to discover a further wealth of information in people and places where I can get some friendly advice and useful information, tidbits, and direction.

Happy belated new year to all. To all a great 2010.

Turkey Trot Race Report

I've run the Naperville Turkey Trot 5k the last few years. In 2007 it was Cole and I. In 2008 it was Cole, Abby and I. This year it was Cole, Abby, Heidi and I. Yes, I keep roping more of the family into this.

This year Cole was at the top of the 0-9 age group. He was aiming for a podium finish. We looked at the results from previous years and figured somewhere between 24 and 25 minutes would be about right. His previous best was 28:04, so I thought this might be a stretch. He told me he wanted to run 8 minute miles and asked me to set the pace for him.

The plan was for me to run with Cole while Heidi and Abby stayed together. We got to the race, parked, got our bags and numbers. About fifteen minutes before race time we headed out to the start. Cole and I positioned ourselves about where I thought we would a) not hinder the fast racers and not have to dodge the joggers and walkers. Soon enough we were on our way.

Mile 1: 8:05 -- no worries. Cole got settled in and was doing fine.
Mile 2: 7:35 -- I think they marked this one a little short. Cole was aching, but hanging in.
Mile 3.1: 9:47 -- Cole was really hurting, but with a lot of encouragement he pushed on. There was not much sprint left for the finish, but he did it.
Final Time: 25:27 --- Nearly a 3 minute PR!

And the results:

               MALE AGE GROUP:  1 - 9
Place O'All Name       No.   S Ag City         Time 
===== ===== =========================================
 1   927 NICHOLAS W  3441 M  9 ARLINGTON HTS 25:27
 2  1361 JACK T      983  M  9 NAPERVILLE    27:03
 3  1549 MATT B      543  M  9 NAPERVILLE    27:43
 4  1609 RON M       2232 M  9 NAPERVILLE    27:54
 5  1667 ERIC B      5564 M  8 CINCINNATI    28:04
 6  1974 NATHAN H    4006 M  8 NAPERVILLE    28:59
 7  2211 RILEY S     349  M  7 CHELSEA       29:39
 8  2331 MICHAEL O   579  M  8 NAPERVILLE    29:56
 9  2402 JAKE S      4137 M  8 NAPERVILLE    30:09
10  2601 MICHAEL V   473  M  8 NAPERVILLE    30:41

Not just a podium finish, but 1st place!

Way to go Cole!

Also, congratulations to Heidi on completing her first 5k. And congratulations to Abby for her 2nd 5k. Way to go girls!

What a great way to start the day. Happy Thanksgiving!

IM AZ Mojo

Good luck to the Ironman Arizona competitors. Rob (#838), I will be cheering you on from home.

Planning for Beyond

I'm working on my 2010 Race Schedule (see new sidebar). So far I'm looking at starting the new year off with a Jan 1 5k or 10k.

Then it's on to the Shamrock Shuffle 8k. Cole and I have run this race together the last couple years. Last time the theme was to "Beat Krieks" and we made that goal. We have to make a goal for this race.

Next up will be the Rockman Half Iron Distance Tri. Last time this was a practice event to get in anther race at this distance prior to IMWI. This time this may be "A" race.

Later in June will be a local sprint tri. In 2008 this was my first triathlon. That seems so long ago now. I'm anxious to get back to this race and see my improvement.

July is a return to WIBA. Yes, this is not a race, but a weekend of hanging out with a great group of fellow triathletes is noteworthy.

August brings the Chicago Triathlon. At Cole's urging, I'm considering the Triple Challenge. That is a sprint tri on Saturday. On Sunday you go off in the first wave of the Chicago Triathlon Sprint distance race and finish in time to start with one of the last waves of the Olympic distance race (so a back-to-back Sprint-Oly race).

Lastly, it will be time to focus on the running for another lap round the city in the Chicago Marathon.

I'm sure I'll put some more 5k's and 10k's on the calendar (and hopefully some open water swim races too), but that is all I have for now.

I'm also considering joining a triathlon team or engaging a coach for the 2010 season. My training to date has relied on self-coaching, online training plans, and using the great resources of friends and local contacts. If anyone who reads this has ideas or suggestions, I'm all ears.

It's OK to Laugh at Yourself Every Now & Then

Chicago Marathon + "Off" Season

I signed up for the Chicago Marathon for a couple reasons. First, it's become a habit. I've run Chicago in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, and now 2009. (2006 was the Marine Corp Marathon, and 2007 was Chicago and the Marine Corp Marathon). Secondly, I didn't know what to expect post-Ironman, so I wanted to have something on the calendar. Even so, the month between Ironman and Chicago was pretty spotty in training. I needed a rest after Madison. I also had invested so much emotional energy into Ironman, that motivation was lacking a bit.

The nice thing about this year, is that the weather cooperated. The last few years, it has been very hot. This year, the temp at start time was in the 30's. Given the spotty training, I didn't know what to expect for a time. I was just going to enjoy my day and rely on my training.

I was on a nice sub-4 hour pace until mile 15. A calf cramp slowed me down. I walked/jogged most of miles 16 and 17. for the last nine miles, I reduced the walk and mostly jogged, taking shorter and shorter walk breaks. Overall time was 4:21.

I was shocked, weirdly surprised, to feel that after Ironman, the marathon seemed pretty short. Only 4 1/2 hours. Piece of cake, right? I was still sore by the end. It was a good race. The other change in perspective brought on by Ironman was that right after the marathon I got my gear, got in my truck and headed back out to the suburbs to make Abby's soccer game. A few seemingly short years ago, the marathon was a whole weekend event. This year it was just a long run on Sunday morning and then on to my day.

Now I'm in my "Off" season. I'm taking a whole week off of training. As of today, Thursday, I'm a little nutty. My friends are making fun of me. Come Monday I start to settle into a Winter routine. I'm debating on joining the Masters swim program associated with my kids' team. Time to work on my cycle power output -- I need to climb hills better. And of course I want to work on my run speed.

Finish Photo

Crossing the Finish Line

Becoming an IRONMAN

Race Report & Wrap Up

I've been putting off writing my race report, at least in part because I don't really want this journey to be over.

Pre-Race

Heidi and I drove to Madison on Friday morning. We got to town and checked in to our hotel, the Edgewater. The Edgewater is on Lake Mendota, on the opposite end of Wisconsin Ave. from the Monona Terrace. There were several racers staying there, but was nicely far enough away from all the nervous energy of the closer hotels.

After a quick lunch at a restaurant on the Square, we headed to Monona Terrace so I could get checked in. Check-in went smoothly enough. Friday afternoon was busy time for check-in, so I had to wait in line, but we moved along. Paperwork; weigh-in; bag of bibs, chip, gear bags, special needs bags, cap... etc. A quick lap through the IM store, but no purchases (I didn't want to jump the gun on getting IM goodies -- bad mojo -- save that for Monday). Heidi and I walked around the Terrace a bit so I could point out where stuff would be on Sunday. Having registered in person last year and having attended WIBA in June, I was pretty familiar with how things would be set up on Sunday.

We then walked back to the hotel and found my folks. After drinks on the deck we headed over to State Street to locate some dinner. After dinner I headed to the athlete's meeting and they headed back to the hotel. Post meeting, I went back to the hotel to make it an early night. I typically don't sleep well the night before a race, so Friday night was my night for some quality shut eye.

Saturday morning we slept in a bit. Not having to get up to work out was nice and not having one of the kids in our bedroom at the crack of dawn was even nicer. (The kids stayed with Heidi's parents for the weekend because of school, football games, and soccer games.) Mom, Dad, Heidi and I headed back to State Street to find some breakfast. There was a home football game for Univ. of Wisconsin, so the students were out and about in full pre-game tailgate mode. Nice entertainment. After breakfast we headed back to the hotel so I could put the finishing touches on my gear bags and Stealth.

Heidi, Dad, and I walked Stealth and my gear bags over to the Terrace to drop them off. The process again went smoothly. First stop was bike drop off. I was happy to see that my relatively low number, 961, put me fairly close to the bike mount end of the Terrace. I got Stealth parked and covered the seat and cockpit. We had a few moments to talk about tomorrow. I told him to rest up for the big day. Next stops were the transition bags. After a double and triple check of the contents, the bags were placed where they belonged. Another quick tour of the Terrace, this time for Dad's benefit, and we were done.

Saturday afternoon was the University of Michigan versus Notre Dame (Odor Dame in our house) football game. We watched the game in the hotel. Michigan victory! Dad and I mapped the bike course out on a detailed county map so he could figure out how to navigate without getting too caught up in traffic jams. We ordered dinner in so as not to fight the crowds in town. I made up my nutrition bottles for Sunday. A triple and quadruple check of my swim gear and special needs bags and it was another early turn in to bed.

RACE DAY

The alarm was set for 4:00 AM. I was up by three for a bathroom trip and to down some of a protein smoothie. I didn't really go back to sleep. We left the hotel about 5. Dad pulled the car up to save some walking.

At the terrace I checked on Stealth and inflated his tires. I tried to increase my juju for the day by loaning out my pump to about half a dozen people who need it. Stealth was good to go, so I headed into the mass of people in the Terrace to find the family. Mom and Dad went up to the roof to stake out a place to watch the swim. Heidi stayed with me. Soon enough it was time to put my wetsuit on and head down to the water. Note, I forgot to Bodyglide my neck which resulted in some chafing. Heidi and I parted ways on the steps, me going down to the start, she going up to the roof to watch -- there were a few tears from each of us.

I followed the crowd down to the swim start and about fifteen minutes before the start I entered the water. I made my way out to about half way between the corner buoy and the ski ramp and a few people back from the starting line. Some small talk with the other competitors, a couple quick prayers and soon enough the final countdown was on.

SWIM

The cannon sounded and off we went. Positioned where I was, I knew it was going to be a little bumpy starting out. Some bumping, tangling up, and jockeying for position in the first couple hundred yards, but not too bad. Sighting was easy: follow the crowd, keep the buoys on the left and the Terrace on the right.

By the second turn, people seemed to find their own place in the water and from there on out it was a pretty nice swim. The water was fairly warm and I enjoyed when a stream of water would enter my wetsuit to cool me down. I only gulped water once as I went to breath and somebody's arm landed right next to my head. About half way through lap two, I noticed some rubbing on my neck. I rounded the last buoy and headed to shore. My swim time was 1:03:23. Having grown up in competitive swimming, it's nice to get the first leg done and still feel very fresh.

T1

Out of the water an up to the wetsuit strippers I went. To my very pleasant surprise I ran in to Steve and Pharmie, who I met at WIBA. So nice to see a friendly face in a sea of humanity. A quick "HEY!" and they shouted that they'd get my wetsuit off. Wetsuit in hand, I jogged up the helix and in to the Terrace. With the help of a volunteer I got my gear, got changed, a sip of water, a quick stop for some sunscreen and I was off to find my bike.

I think I caught the volunteer at my rack by surprise as my bike was the first off my rack. Despite calling out my number, he wasn't quite ready to have people coming his way. No worries though. I did run past my rack and had to back track. Amazingly, I could pick out Heidi's voice and my Dad's voice as I went past the rack. By this time the volunteer realized I was looking for my bike and he was Johnny on the Spot getting it off the rack. Over to the bike mount line I went.

T1 time: 9:34. Not blazing, but I had not intended to try to shave seconds off in transition. While I did not treat the transition as a rest period or intermission, I was very deliberate, and did not rush, in getting done what I needed done.

BIKE

Down the helix and out on to the bike course I went. I took a quick inventory of how I felt and prepared myself mentally for the ride. I'm the first to admit that I'm not the strongest cyclist. So my plan was to relax and enjoy the ride. Whenever I felt my heart rate getting near redline I kept telling myself, "Relax and Enjoy." I had set my watch on the countdown timer mode, where it would sound every 10 minutes. This was my reminder to drink from my Perpetuem. I had water in my Aerodrink on the handlebars and would sip at least every 10 minutes, if not more when the temperature increased. I also had Endurolytes to take every 45-60 minutes.

And I did try something new this race (I know, never do something new on race day). I had TUMS in my bento box should my stomach get funky. After following blogger buddy Rachel through her stomach troubles at IM Canada, I thought some TUMS might be a good idea. My stomach often starts to protest after too much sports drink, gel, etc. I'm grateful that I had the TUMS. I took two at the half way mark on the bike and two as I was headed back into Madison. They settled my stomach nicely.

The first leg of the course out to Verona was fast. I did my best to slow myself down so I didn't blow up later. I saw Heidi and Dad for the first time between Verona and Mt. Horeb, at the the turn on to County Route G. Between Verona and Mt. Horeb, I received a nice bee/wasp sting. Riding along, minding my own business, wham, out of no where, a feel it hit my right temple and sunglasses, then instantly a sting into my temple. I F-bombed the bee, the road, and everything else I could think of at that moment. But nothing short of a catastrophic mechanical failure on the bike or a catastrophic gastric failure was going ruin my Ironman day.

I saw Heidi and Dad again at the Mt. Horeb aid station. Again, to see a familiar face is always a pick-me-up.

My first trouble spot of the day came at the start of the hills at Old Sauk Pass. When I increased the pedal pressure, my right quad and hamstring started cramping up. I quickly downshifted into my easiest gear and tried to spin up the hill. No luck. My right leg was all but locked up in a cramp. It's not glamorous, but I walked the bike up the hill. I figured a) I'm not walking that much slower (about 4 MPH) than some of the folks on the bike slowly climbing the hill (about 6 MPH); and b) I still have a long way to go and I'm not going to push it to the point I drop out. So very humbly Stealth and I walk about two-thirds of the way up the hill before I get back on and spin the rest of the way up. I would repeat this humbling experience a few more of times on the bigger hills.

Back around to Verona, where the crowd was awesome, I got my special needs bag. I switched out my Perpetuem bottle for a fresh one. I passed on the protein bar as my stomach was not in the mood for solid food. I saw Heidi and Dad at the turn on to County Route G again. When I passed the 68 mile mark, I commented to a nearby rider that we were half way done (68 miles plus the 2.4 mile swim being about 1/2 of the 140.6 mile total for the day). He was not amused.

Through Mt. Horeb, again seeing Heidi and Dad and on to the rollers and speedy downhills of Garfoot Road. I saw Heidi and Dad again, just past Cross Plains. I think my high point of the bike was making that turn to head back to Madison. I still had an hour to go, but it was a great feeling. I took note that the volunteer waiving us in the direction of Madison was admonishing everyone to take in only clear liquids for the rest of the way back to town.

Seeing the Capital building come in to view is a beautiful sight. Into Madison, past the traffic jam of spectators on John Nolen Drive and into the Terrace. I think it's a cruel joke that they make you ride up the parking ramp helix to end the bike. But the joy and adrenaline of being done with the bike leg got me up. Bike time: 7:15:25.

T2

At the bike dismount line one volunteer grabs Stealth and another takes hold of my arm to make sure I'm steady on my feet. Into the Terrace I go. I'm handed my transition bag. Between the bag room and the changing room I see Heidi and my Mom. I think I shouted something to the effect of, "I just rode my bike 112 miles; I've never done that before." In the changing room a volunteer dumps my bag out and asks what I need. I do a compete change out of my cycling gear and into my run garb. The volunteer gets my cycling gear into the bag, grabs me a cup of water, anything I need. Out of the changing room and another stop by the sunscreeners. T2 time: 8:19.

Run

As I'm heading out to start mile 1, I hear Mike Riley announcing the male champion as he crosses the finish line. I'm excited, but also thinking, he's done and I've got 26.2 miles to go. I slowly jog mile 1. I walk/jog for several miles. At about mile 3, I see the female leaders. I continue to walk/jog. I made a point to run at least some part of every mile. Some miles it was 3/4 of a mile. Some miles it was 100 yards. Starting about mile 5, I started conversing with Jon. Jon and I would finish the race together. Along the route I saw Heidi and my Dad several times.

As darkness fell I just kept walking and jogging. In retrospect, I probably could have jogged more than I did. Oh well, next time. I was able to chat with so many great people -- first timers like me, an 18 time IM veteran who was having some major gastric issues, a lady who was still wearing her bracelet from IM Louisville two week earlier.

At the aid stations, flat cola and sections of orange were my friends, along with a couple pretzels or chips for a taste of salt.

The half way turn around is cruelly only a couple yards from the finish line. At the special needs station, I grabbed two more TUMS from my bag. I got to see Steve and Pharmie again at the Mile 1 / Mile 14 aid station. Great people and another emotional boost.

By the 2nd half of the 2nd lap, I start to realize that I'm going to be an IRONMAN. Not that I ever really doubted that I'd finish, but now it was finally becoming real.

Adrenaline took over for the last mile! Coming through to the finish line, I think I heard Mike Riley say those magic words, call my name and say that I'm an IRONMAN. I say that I think I heard him because those last few seconds are a blur of emotion. Run time: 6:03:36.

TOTAL TIME: 14:40:15.

Post Race

As soon a I cross the finish line, a volunteer grabs each arm. They make sure I'm OK. They get me my finisher medal, shirt, hat, space blanket, and water. Once they see that I'm not going to collapse, one goes to help other finishers and the other continues to escort me to get my finisher photo.

In case it's not clear from reading this, the volunteers at this event are the best. As volunteers get first dibs at registering for next year's race, many of the volunteers are triathletes themselves. Others, like Steve and Pharmie, are past finishers who dedicate their day to help others join the IRONMAN club. There is something like 3500 volunteers to support 2400 athletes. The volunteers really make the day. It is a long hot day for them as well. In short, I cannot say thank you enough for what they do.

After my finisher photo, the volunteer hands me off to Heidi for a great embrace; hugs from Mom and Dad too. Heidi and I head to the food tent for a much needed bite. I had one very important call to make. I called Cole to let him know that I finished. One of the reasons I started this, or one of the reasons that kept me at this, was the picture in my head of calling Cole to let him know that his dad is an IRONMAN.

Dad had picked up Stealth and my transition bags from the Terrace, so we headed back to the hotel. Getting in and out of the car was a challenge. Back at the hotel, Heidi had to take my shoes off, as I could not quite reach down that far. I took about 10 minutes in an ice cold tub and then a nice steamy shower. Ahhh!

Obviously, I had not eaten dinner, nor had Heidi. The hotel kitchen was closed. Moving slowly, Heidi and I headed back to the square to find some food. No luck on the square, every place stopped serving at 10PM. We find a little dive bar that is still grilling burgers. Cheeseburger, fries and a beer -- YUM!

We wrap up dinner in time to walk over to the finish line to watch the last racers come in. We cheer as Bill, from Verona, crosses the finish line at 16:56. He is the last official finisher (I later find out Bill spent the next couple days in the hospital). A few more determined people complete the distance knowing that they will not be counted as official finishers, but they will know that they completed the distance. My humble congratulations goes out to them as much as to those who finish in 9 or 10 hours.

On our way back to the hotel we do our best to help a couple who can't find where they parked their car. He had finished the race, their kids were crashed in the stroller. I think we got them pointed in the right direction.

We finally crash into bed around 1AM. A glorious 22 hour day.

Monday

Mom and Dad head out to Michigan first thing Monday morning. Heidi and I clean up, pack up, and load the truck. We head out to breakfast at the same place we ate on Saturday. The nice man there remembered me and asked how my race went. So nice.

Before we leave town Heidi takes me on a little shopping trip to the IRONMAN store to grab some M-Dot gear.

Parting Thoughts

Becoming an IRONMAN is a family commitment. Without Heidi's sacrifices in time and money this could not have happened. Without the Cole, Abby, and Victoria putting up with Dad going off to train or disappearing to the basement to ride the trainer or run on the treadmill, there is no way I could have done this. Thank you.

Photo Race Report

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I'm an IRONMAN

"Vincent Wiltse of Arlington Heights, Illinois, you are an IRONMAN!"

It was a long, hot, tiring day. But the only thing that really matters to me at this point is that I made it. To hear those words that I've been dreaming of for the better part of two years was music to my ears.

Packing Day (packing week actually)

This may be my last pre-race post, so a quick thank you is in order to all those whose advice I've sought and stories I've followed. I hope to see many of you in Madison.

Today wraps up my packing. I have the small mountain of stuff that I've gone through many times waiting to put into some form of order for the trip. Of course it will all be promptly unpacked as soon as I get there --- just to make sure all is well and that I didn't forget anything essential. Yes, I will remember to bring Stealth.

Madison bound!

Pep Talk of All Pep Talks

In the days leading up to a big race, I make it a habit of rereading what I consider the pep talk of all talks. Of course, I'm not about to do battle, or fighting for God, King, or Country. But the notion that all of the competitors (pro, elite, age grouper) must overcome the same course is something that I take comfort in. Furthermore, it creates a camaraderie not understood by those who do not step up to the starting line.

The Talk:

St. Crispen's Day Speech
Henry V, Act 4, Scene 3

William Shakespeare, 1599

Enter the KING

WESTMORELAND:
O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England
That do no work to-day!

KING:
What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

The YouTube Version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDZVxbrW7Ow

Single Digits

The countdown continues -- now down to the single digits.

Congratulations to Rural Girl on her near Kona qualifying race in Louisville last Sunday. (I still have hope for you that one of the ladies ahead of you will drop her spot and you go to Kona.)

Congratulations to Rachel on her inspiring effort and finish at IM Canada. Your race report is one of the best I've read. Split times, average Watts, or calories consumed per hour is great training data. But why we race, why we put ourselves and our families through the months and months of long training days, is really what this journey is about. I forwarded your race report to Heidi; she says she sobbed for at least twenty minutes.

As Heidi and I have had our struggles this summer over the training time, kid time, work time, gear expenses, race fees, etc., we had lost sight of the "why" factor. So as I wind down my training, my focus this week is "Why?" I'm not the fastest. Unless I grow turbo legs in the next week, I'm most likely not going to qualify for Kona. So, why do I do it? Race adrenaline junky? Probably. But mostly to prove to myself that I can; those immortal Ironman words -- "I can". I do this to see Heidi at the end of the finish chute. I do this so I can call Cole and Abby sometime next Sunday evening to tell them that their Dad is an Ironman and that they can reach any goal they want for themselves if they want it bad enough and work hard enough for it.

Shout Outs!!!

Good luck, good wishes, good karma, good juju, good mojo, and hopes of good weather to all those going for it at IM Canada and IM Louisville this weekend.

I hope you all have great days.

On Month To Go!!

One month from today is race day.

The last couple weeks have been the big final push before a recovery week and taper time. Workout highlights include a 3 x (20 mile bike and 6 mile run) triple brick and a trip to Madison to ride the course.

I've got Stealth dialed in. I've got my nutrition plan in place. I've got my wardrobe planned.

Now the focus is execution.

Too busy doing it to write about it.

A short catch up on the last couple of weeks --- too much going on to stop and write about it. Training has been good. I've been getting pretty much all of my workouts in (yes, I've missed a few).

Kids' swimming has been wrapping up. Cole's 200 free relay qualified for Junior Olympics, so he's been putting in extra training for that. The meet is this weekend. His football practice starts Monday -- so much for time off between sports. We've got Abby all signed up for Fall soccer. We've got all their gear -- Dicks Sporting Goods LOVE's us.

Turning back to Ironman, I've been able to put a lot of thought into the mental aspect of this adventure. Long rides and long runs give me plenty of thinking time. I have to say, the hardest part of this has been the time commitment and trying to figure out how to get my workouts in while still being Husband and Dad.

I've also been working on locking down my nutrition plan for race day. I'm a big fan of the Hammer brand. As of now, I'm planning on Perpetuem as my main fuel source on the bike (one bottle pre-made on the bike for the first loop, another bottle with just the powder in my special needs bag). I will have HEED pre-made in my other bottles on the bike and some powder packs in my special needs bag. I will have a Hammer bar in my bento box and one in my special needs bag. The last hour on the bike I will switch to gel in stead of the Perpetuem to prep my stomach for the run (sloshing tummy on the run is bad). For the run, I will stick with hammer gels and supplement with on course nutrition. I will probably stash another Hammer bar into my run special needs bag.

Weekend Update

Without the travel to the swim meet, I was able to knock out several more hours of training this weekend. I think the family is getting quite tired of all these hours where Dad is off swimming, pedaling, or running. Saturday I put a couple hours into the bike. Sunday was a brick of 4+ hours on the bike, broken up by making a few fit tweaks to the D6. (I ended up swapping out the saddle that came with the D6 for my Profile TriStryke from the old bike -- my bony tush likes the cutout and the cushion.)

Following the bike was a comfortable 5 mile run. Cole and Abby joined me on my run. They rode bikes behind me while I ran. They stopped off to play on the playground while I ran a few laps around the park. They rejoined me for my last lap before we set off for home.

I'm sorry the kids missed their meet, but I'm glad I got more saddle time on the new bike.

PS. 60 days to go! Yeah! Worry worry worry. Yeah! Worry worry.

Crazy Summer Weeks!

It's been a been a couple crazy weeks here. Last week, as we prepped for a family trip to Michigan to visit my folks and see their new lake house, I attempted to get all my training for the week (Week #27) squeezed into about 3 days. Ouch. Here's what it looked like.

Mon., 6/29: 1 hour of interval training on the bike.

Tues., 6/30: Morning 14 mile run. Evening 2 hours on the bike followed by a 5 mile run.

Weds., 7/1: 3500 yard swim.

Thurs., 7/2 - Sun., 7/5: Michigan trip. I ended up missing a long bike ride. My intention was to try to make it up this week.

On to this week, Week #28. This week, I was again trying to get my training in on the weekdays because Cole & Abby have a swim meet in South Bend, Indiana this weekend. Unfortunately, Cole came down sick this morning, so our trip is cancelled. Hopefully I can squeeze some additional training in over the weekend. My week thus far:

Mon., 7/6: Morning swim, about 2800 yards. An hour on the bike in the evening.

Tues., 7/7: About 90 minutes on the bike.

Weds., 7/8: 45 minutes on the bike and a short 4 miles running.

Thurs., 7/9: An unintended off day -- family goings on.

Fri., 7/10: 5000 yard swim.

As I said above, I will try to get some more training in this weekend.

WIBA Rocked!!!

Last week started the "Competitive Phase" of my training. The idea is to build on the general fitness that I've been gaining over the last months and work that fitness into a race ready mind and body.

Here's my breakdown for the week. With WIBA coming up at the weekend, I moved some workouts around to be good to go in Madison.

Mon., 6/22: Endurance swim, well, that's what the training plan calls it. For me, not so much. Even pushing the set of 3x800 yard swims, it was a pretty mild workout. 2800 yards total.

Tues., 6/23: Long steady swim in the AM: 3000 yards. Hill intervals on the trainer in the PM: 14 miles.

Weds., 6/24: Double brick. 2 x (15 mile bike + 2 miles run).

Thurs., 6/25: Another swim day. 3050 yards. But picking up the D6 was the high point of the day! Peter had everything ready in time for my trip up to Madison. He put in a lot of time with me to make sure everything was adjusted and fitted just so. Thursday night was gear pack time for WIBA. Like most tri dorks, I'm completely over the top about making sure I have the right stuff packed and in the right spot in my bag, on my bike, in the cooler, packed in the truck, etc. And then once everything is packed, I double and triple check --- just to be sure.

Fri., 6/26: After work, I drove to Madison for the start of WIBA!!! We met at the Coliseum bar/restaurant for a weekend overview, course talk, and pasta dinner. It was a fun evening. I met a lot of really nice people. The discussions were a bit of group therapy in that it's nice to know others have the same worries that I have. Probably the best advice from some of the veterans was to not focus on your watch, your splits, etc. Take each part of the race as it comes, keep pushing on, enjoy the day, and get to the finish line.

Sat., 6/27: We started the day off with a little swim. We swam lake in Lake Monona from the Olin Park Beach. Jokingly, we were not really swimming, but rather pulling ourselves along through the weeds. The water was nice and warm. Overall a nice start to the day.

A quick change into bike gear and off to Fireman's Park in Verona for the bike. Rob had donned his Univ. of Wisconsin cycling jersey, so I felt compelled to pull out my University of Michigan jersey. I biked one full loop of the bike course (the race is two loops with an out and back from/to Madison). I can say for certain had I not seen the course, I would be a dead man come September. There are lots of rolling hills, some technical descents, and four real climbs. I would have liked to ride two loops, but I was a little saddle sore from the new bike. The new bike rode extremely well. I just need some more saddle time to get used to it. I'm planning a few more trips to Madison to train on the course. After the bike, I did get in about a five mile run while others were completing their second loop of the bike course. I even had time to blast back to the hotel to shower and destinkify before we grilled out.

After a good day of training, I was hungry. Burgers, brats, dogs, BBQ potato chips, and a couple frosty adult beverages hit the spot. Again the highlight was enjoying the camaraderie of the other folks there. It was a great day!

After dinner, I headed back to the hotel and squared away my gear from the day and prepped my gear of Sunday. A quick dip in the jacuzzi, beer in hand of course, and I was ready to sleep hard.

Sun., 6/28: We met a Monona Terrace (where the IM magic happens) for a review of the transitions and then headed off for a run on the run course. The course if two half-marathon loops, so most of us ran one loop. I, along with a few others, got a little lost on the course, but managed to make our way back to the Terrace and essentially got the miles in we wanted. I can't wait to see the great Madison crowds on the run course I heard so much about. From what I gather, the crowd energy helps to will you to finish line... I might need that.

After the run, I headed back to the hotel to clean up and head home. Others went out to Endurance House for some run clinics, stride analysis and shopping.

What a great weekend! Beautiful weather. Wonderful people. Great training. Even if I don't sign up for IM Madison next year, I'm still going to WIBA. It's that much fun (in the sick way only tri dorks understand). And anyone who it planning to come to IM Madison without going to WIBA is tempting fate. It's must do training.

Thanks to Rob and everyone who helped put WIBA 2009 on.
You Rock!

Long Time...

It's been awhile since my last post. Nothing exciting to post. Last week was a Recovery Week; so only one workout in each discipline. This week starts my "Competitive Phase" of my training. To really make that click, this weekend it the Wisconsin Brick Adventure, aka WIBA (http://www.robbyb.com/wiba): a fun weekend on the course in Madison. I will post my WIBA summary/report on Monday.