Shamrock Shuffle Through the Snow

Yesterday was the Shamrock Shuffle 8K in Chicago. This is the unofficial kick-off to the Chicago area running season. As luck would have it, we received a late wintry blast Saturday night that carried into Sunday. I awoke to a couple inches of wet, heavy snow. Such is life.

Cole, 9, and I donned our winter running gear and headed into the city. After parking we were able to pick our way to the start area. We managed to stay reasonably dry. I also managed our timing about right such that we were at the start area for only about 10 minutes before the elite runners were off. The start area was a sheet of ice. Everyone was carefully walking/skating their way up to the starting line. The course was a WET, SLOPPY, SLUSHY MESS! The first half-mile or so we tried to pick our way along as we ran. Soon our shoes, socks, feet, and pants were soaked and frozen. We gave up trying to pick our way and just ran, managing to avoid only the largest of puddles.

Cole was a Super-trooper. He ran the race with me last year. This year his goal was to beat my cousin's, Krieks', time from a few years back. So I set a pace that would put him ahead of her time. We had planned our walking breaks at the two aid stations and he kept to form for the first half of the race. We took a couple extra short walking breaks in the second half. I kept track of our pace, letting him know where we were on the course and where we were relative to his goal time. With a bit of a mad dash over the snow covered bridge into Grant Park and down to the finish line, we finished right at his goal time.

The results:
Cole's 2008 time: 51:27
Kreik's 2006 time: 50:20
Cole's 2009 time: 48:42

He was 27th out of 58 in his division (17&under boys, I think) and the fastest 9 year old. Most impressive was that he beat the average time for the race, which was 49:07.

Way to go Cole! He earned a clucks & fries dinner at Red Robin from Kreiks.

The race was even good for me, even running at Cole's pace. Running though the snow and slush caused me to high-step most of the way. The thighs were a little sore in the afternoon.

The Shuffle capped off week 13. The rest of the week was as follows:

Mon., 3/23: Off day.

Tues., 3/24: Upper body and core strength training.

Weds., 3/25: 3000 yards in the pool.

Thurs., 3/26: 6 mile run.

Fri., 3/27: Off Day.

Sat., 3/28: 50 miles on the bike.

Sun., 3/29: Shamrock Shuffle 8k (5 miles).

Let's Here it for Week 12

Week 12 was a good week.

Mon., 3/16: Off Day!

Tues., 3/17: (Happy St. Pat's Day) 1 hour Spinning session on the bike -- high rpm's, high intensity.

Weds., 3/18: 2000 yard swim workout with sprints.

Thurs., 3/19: Treadmill workout -- intensity/distance ladder: a little over 6 miles.

Fri., 3/20: Lower body & core workout.

Sat., 3/21: 2100 yard swim workout with sprints, 35 miles on the bike.

Sun., 3/22: 12 mile run (then Church, Sunday School, & family trip to the water park).

A good workout week. I'm feeling I'm in good shape for going forward. I want to increase my bike power output and increase my "cruise control" run speed. Overall, I think I'm about where I want to be. The next few weeks pick up a bit with some more bricks and more distance.

D6 it is!

Well, the new bike is on order. I decided on the Fuji D6. It's apparently on a SLOW boat from Taiwan. I should get it some time next month.

Week 11 was an O.K. week. Training during the week went well. The weekend got a little nutty and I missed some workouts. Also, my eating was not what it should have been, meaning too many calories. Here's what I did accomplish:

Mon, 3/9: Off Day

Tues, 3/10: Run ladder on the treadmill, about 5.6 miles.

Weds, 3/11: Hill climb ladder on the bike trainer, about 29 miles.

Thurs, 3/12: Short swim, with sprints, about 1300 yards.

Fri, 3/13: Supposed to be strength training -- missed workout.

Sat, 3/14: Hill climb ladder on the bike trainer, about 29 miles. I was supposed to run about 8 miles, but only ran about 1.5 miles due to a sick Victoria.

Sun, 3/15: Supposed to be a 2000 yard swim workout, but I never made it. We were rearranging the girls' rooms in preparation for painters to come this week.

On to week 12....

Time to Go Aerobic

Week 10 Starts the "Aerobic" phase of my training. Due to Heidi going out of town for the weekend and swim team conference championships all day on Saturday, Week 10 was another compressed week.

Monday, 3/2: 1500 yard swim, Lower body and Core strength training.

Tuesday, 3/3: "Big Gear" Spin workout on the bike (about 50 minutes). 7.5 mile run.

Wednesday, 3/4: 2000 yard swim workout.

Thursday, 3/5: 25 miles on the bike.

Friday, 3/6: 8 mile run. I finally got a break in the weather. Yeah -- an outside run! (I'm not a fan of running in the cold, dark, rain, sleet, etc. unless I have to. So thanks to the treadmill, I've been getting my runs in without being out in the less-than-ideal Chicago weather.)

Saturday, 3/7: NISC Conference Championships Swim meet (Cole goes 4 for 4: Freestyle leg of the Medley Relay -- 1st Place; 25 Free -- 1st Place; 25 Fly -- 1st Place; Anchor leg of the Free Relay -- 1st Place).

Sunday, 3/8: Rest Day.

Great Article

Week 9 was a recoverery week. Only one workout in each of swim, bike, run and core strength training.

I want to share an article from http://www.active.com:

11 Tips for Triathlon Success From a Navy SEAL

By Gale Bernhardt For Active.com

If you watched the 2008 Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon on the NBC broadcast, you saw two Navy SEALs parachuting from a helicopter before they went on to successfully complete the race. The two SEALs were SO1 David Goggins and CDR Keith Davids, Commanding Officer SEAL Team ONE.

Make no mistake, the Navy SEALs (Sea, Air, Land) are a special breed, the best of the best. The training necessary to become a SEAL is 2.5 years long. It's not easy. I'll tell you a bit more about that later in the column.

The Navy SEALs were established in January of 1962 as a result of President Kennedy's desire to develop unconventional warfare capability. The original SEAL teams were formed entirely with personnel from Underwater Demolition Teams.

SEALs are charged with conducting counter-guerilla warfare and top-secret operations in water environments. Though comfort in the water is primary to SEAL training—as the name indicates—they also conduct missions from the air and on land, as well. SEAL training, however, is not Ironman training.

Last summer I received a note from Chris Bohnert at the Active Network asking if I'd be interested in reviewing the training plan for a Navy SEAL that was preparing for the Ironman and give some suggestions. I told him I'd be glad to help, if I could.

That connection is how I met Commander Keith Davids.

Keith and I corresponded a few times between July and October, discussing the challenges of training for an Ironman event while holding down a full-time job that includes travel and physical work beyond the normal swimming, cycling and running. While he confronted some of the same issues that every Ironman competitor faces during the training process, several of his challenges were well beyond what mainstream athletes face.

Keith did overcome some significant training challenges, including periods of time where he could do no training, and he successfully completed the event. In perfect made-for-television drama, and completely unplanned, David and Keith ended up crossing the finish line together.

Visiting the SEAL Training Grounds
After the race was over, Keith told me if I was ever in San Diego I should stop by the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado to visit the home of SEAL Team ONE. I took him up on that offer this past February because I wanted to have a look at one of the locations where SEALs are trained.

Some experts consider SEAL training the toughest military training in the world. If not the toughest, then it is definitely ranked within the top handful. Only a small percentage of recruits make it though the infamous Hell Week and move forward to becoming a SEAL.

When I was in San Diego, a new class of recruits was marching around the base. I was there on day 10 and I could see the helmets lining the sidewalk, representing men that had already dropped out. In just a few days, roughly 20 recruits, out of a class of over a hundred, called it quits. And this is a couple of weeks before Hell Week. The hard stuff hasn't even started yet.
Several columns could be devoted to SEAL training, but here I will barely scratch the surface. I'll give you some reference links at the end of the column and I will tell you that Hell Week is 5.5 days of constant motion—physical and mental challenges beyond the imagination. All of the challenges are completed on roughly four hours of sleep during the entire 5.5 days. That is no typo.

The men that survive this training are on the frontline duty ensuring that the USA and its allies are protected from those planning to do harm.

Why Be a SEAL?
I asked Commander Davids why he became a Navy SEAL. What was it that inspired him?
He said that a SEAL officer visited the Naval Academy to educate the students on the Naval Special Warfare program. The officer walked into the class and declared that none of them were tough enough to be SEALs anyway, so he wasn't going to waste his time trying to get them to join. If they thought they could handle being a SEAL, they could visit him at 0500 on the PT (physical training) field. The officer turned around and left.

That challenge—doing what other people cannot do, doing the extraordinary—is what drew Keith Davids to visit that recruiter at 0500. I suspect his attitude is typical of every successful Navy SEAL.

Triathlon Training/SEAL Mentality
Training to be a Navy SEAL is far more challenging than training for an Ironman. Given his experience as a SEAL, and his recent Ironman success, I asked Keith to give triathletes some tips for success. Here is what he said:

1. Eliminate self-limiting thoughts. More often than not, people have preconceived notions about what is possible for them to achieve. They sell themselves short. Abolish thoughts that hold you back from achieving your true potential.
2. Optimize your skills. Everyone begins at a different place and each of us are dealt a different set of genetic cards. Use that to your advantage and optimize your assets.
   Be willing to spend the effort and energy to be successful. Anyone can succeed if they are willing to work at it. Too many people want to reap rewards without the sacrifice that is necessary to achieve any goal.
3. Enjoy the journey. If you can enjoy the pursuit of excellence, you've got it made. Aiming to enjoy only the end result makes it impossible to endure the necessary sacrifices to achieve any goal really worth having.
4. Be a student. The more you understand about what it is you're trying to do and how to do it, the easier it is to be successful. Be a student of your passion.
   Persevere. There are many things that can get in the way of successfully achieving any goal. You have to be willing to figure out how to get over, under, around or through those obstacles. Keep trying.
5. Develop mental toughness. It is not the physical challenges that keep men from successfully surviving the SEAL training, it is mentally giving up. You need to start believing that you can do it, you can be successful. Others have been successful before you, you can do it too.
6. Be prepared to suffer. When you are training for an event as large as a 140.6-mile triathlon, it is a long haul. There is going to be bad weather, aching body parts and times when you are just plain tired. Know that some stress, followed by rest, will make you stronger physically and mentally.
7. Take strength from others. This tip is particularly valuable for race day. Right when you are thinking things are really bad for you, look around. You'll see that others are suffering too. Knowing you're not the only one and that other people will suffer generates energy, if you're willing to accept it.
8. You must want success. Doing something that is difficult requires that you want to be successful with every fiber of your core. The intense desire to succeed helps you overcome obstacles that crush other people.
9. Avoid over-training. It is easy for highly motivated people to over-train. Achievers are often rewarded for doing more and working harder. While you must work hard and do the prescribed work, you must also rest in order to reap the benefits.
   

You may not be capable of becoming a Navy SEAL, but I'm willing to bet you are capable of successfully becoming a triathlete. Some of you are capable of being quite competitive in the sport; perhaps one of the top in your area, the state, the nation or perhaps the world.
Be inspired, inspire others.
"The only easy day was yesterday." - Displayed at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado

http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/11_Tips_for_Triathlon_Success_From_a_Navy_SEAL.htm?act=EMC-Active&Vehicle=Triathlon&Date=03_01_09&Edition=1&Sections=Articles&Creative=11_Tips_for_Triathlon_Success_From_a_Navy_SEAL&TextName=More&ArtText=Txt&Placement=1&Dy=Mon&page=2

Those that know me know that I've been a student of SEAL training for some time. Perhaps it comes from being turned down from military service because of childhood asthma (even though I was recruited by the Air Force Academy swim team to follow in my sister's footsteps -- she was USAFA Class of '89). Perhaps it's because one of my high school swim coaches was a former Army Special Forces guy and author who'd tell us his war stories. Anyhow, I've come to have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for these warriors. Not only because they are, argueably, the toughest and best trained Special Operations Forces in the world, but mainly because of their mental toughness. As the article says, it's not the 6'4", 250 lbs. guy who makes it through the training. It's the 5'9", 150 lbs. guy who it the scrapper. The guy who puts his teammates above himself. Most importantly, it's the guy who will never quit. It's this mental thoughness I strive to develop for myself.

200 Days!!!!

200 Days to go!

That's what the countdown timer says. This is getting real. That is, it's going from conceptual, as in, I'm going to do an Ironman, to operational, as in, what do I need to do today, tomorrow, and the next day to make sure I'm at the starting line on top of my game come September 13th.

One of my b-day presents from Heidi was a DVD from Endurance Nation (http://www.endurancenation.us/) (or see them here: http://endurancenation.blogspot.com/), called the Four Keys to Ironman Execution. I was able to watch it over the weekend. Thanks Heidi. I can't wait to see you at the finish line.

Week 8 went mostly as planned. Here's the rundown:

Monday, 2/16: A rest day.

Tuesday, 2/17: More Turbo Sprints. My best session yet. I've picked up over 1 full average MPH since the first of the Turbo Sprints. Yeah Me.

Wednesday, 2/18: Lower Body & Core Strength training. Victoria and Cole helped with this workout. Thanks kids.

Thursday, 2/19: Swim workout, about 1850 yards.

Friday, 2/20: Upper Body & Core Strength training plus an easy 2 mile run.

Saturday, 2/20: A swim for time workout. 30 minutes and about 2100 yards. Not to bad. Then, 3 hours on the bike. This is where I got to watch the DVD.

Sunday 2/21: This was supposed to be an 8 mile trail run workout. Winter in Chicago did not cooperate, so I was on the treadmill. Heidi was competing in the "Hustle up the Hancock" stair climb in the John Hancock building -- 94 floors in just over a half-hour. WAY TO GO HEIDI! Victoria decided I should not be on the treadmill and should get her breakfast, go figure. So I had a very short 2 mile run on the treadmill.

Week 8 wrapped up the "Adaptation" phase of my training.
Here are my totals so far:
Swim: 13.7 miles
Bike: 275.1 miles
Run: 67.9 miles

Week 7

Quick recap on Week 7. All good. Busy week. The rundown:

Monday, 2/9: Off Day

Tuesday, 2/10: Swim Day. About 1700 yards.

Wednesday, 2/11: More Turbo Sprints on the bike trainer. This is getting a little easier. I guess that's the point.

Thursday, 2/12: Timed run intervals on the treadmill. A little over 4.6 miles in about 40 minutes; plus core strength training.

Friday, 2/13: Upper body and core strength training. Also, happy b-day to me!

Saturday 2/14: About 2100 yard swim workout and an hour on the bike (it was supposed to be three hours, but I had a swim meet to get to).

Sunday 2/15: 6 mile easy run.

Another cool IM video.

Week 6 Review, a little late...

So week 6 went very smoothly. It's been a very busy week this week, so I'm a little late in posting, but here goes.

Monday, 2/2: an off day.

Tuesday, 2/3: Bike Turbo Sprints on the trainer. A little easier this time around.

Wednesday, 2/4: An easy swim workout, about 1750 yards.

Thursday, 2/5: Lower body and Core strength training.

Friday, 2/6: I was supposed to go about 7 miles on treadmill. I was not my normal up-and-at-it self. I ran about 4 miles on the treadmill.

Saturday, 2/7: I traded my Saturday and Sunday workouts again this week. Saturday was supposed to be a swim day. Instead it was a brick day. 40 miles on the bike (trainer) and 6 mile run (treadmill) -- Thank goodness for movie channels.

Sunday, 2/8: I got my swim in, about 2800 yards.

All is going well. I got some nice birthday presents today: a book on nutrition for endurance athletes, some after-run sandals, RoadID bracelet, reflective bands, and a DVD on keys to the iron-distance tri.

Week 5: Another Good Week

I did get a new pair of running shoes last week. I'm back to Asics: Kayano. As life would have it, this was my first running shoe when I got back in to running six years ago. After several other shoes: some Asics, some Mizuno, and a try at Newtons, I'm back where I started. I do have to say that my Achilles tendinitis is feeling a bit better. Maybe it's the shoes.

I got all my workouts in for last week. It was nice to not have to compress the week down into 4-5 days.

Monday 1/26: Off Day

Tuesday 1/27: About 6.5 miles on the treadmill doing some drills and some speed variation work.

Wednesday 1/28: Lower body and core strength training plus a short swim workout. The folks at Triathlon Geek must not be swimmers because their swim workouts so far have been pretty easy, even at the "pro" level. This is fine by me, since swimming is my best discipline of the three. If only I could get the IM people to double the swim distance and cut the bike distance in half...

Thursday 1/29: My first (of four) "Turbo Sprint" bike workouts on the trainer. This involved a series of high RPM sprints of increasing time.

Friday 1/30: Upper body and core strength training.

Saturday 1/31: I switched my planned workouts for Saturday and Sunday so I could take my son and his buddy snowboarding for the day. So on Saturday I did a 6 mile steady pace endurance run on the treadmill. I hope the weather improves soon. The treadmill gets a little boring.

Sunday 2/1: My first true back-to-back workout of the season. Not an official "brick" as it was a swim workout followed by a bike workout. I swam about a mile then road the bike, on the trainer, for about two hours.

As a bonus for Sunday, I got more swimming in. For swim team we had our "silly meet" on Sunday evening; a fun practice for those who chose to come practice instead of watching the Super Bowl. We had some Coaches Races (I won, even then the other coaches made me swim with only one arm. When I had to kick while they swam, it was a close call -- I think I won.). We had some relays where we swam with the kids. For the older age group, I participated in a little water polo and a some sharks-n-minnows.

I also discovered, courtesy of some of the other blogs I follow, the Wisconsin Brick Adventure. A weekend program, June 26-28, in Madison. The idea is to swim the swim, bike the bike, and run the run of the IM course. Heidi even signed on to me going for the weekend. As I'm learning, more so than my other races, the support crew for an IM is a critical component to the training. Thanks Team IronVince!

Overall a good week. I'm definitely feeling like I'm on the right track.