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.

Rockman Race Report + Week 23 Summary

D6 Update:

Going back, here's the D6 story (and why there's no pictures yet). So my bike shop was able to get a size 54 D6 Race (the model I ordered) and a size 56 D6 Pro (the more $$$ model). When we measured me up, I fell in the middle of the 54 and 56 sizing. So Peter ordered both sizes with the intention of finding the best fit. So we tried the 54 to no avail. So I need the size 56. Which left me to either upping the $'s (something Heidi's not in favor of -- after all we need things like food too), or waiting for the size 56 D6 Race. Hmmmm. What to do?

Week 23: Another good week. Grooving now and ramping up for September.

Here's my workouts for the week.
Mon., 6/1: An Off Day.

Tues., 6/2: Swim day, 3500 yards.

Weds., 6/3: Low gear, High RPM Bike workout, about 37 miles.

Thurs., 6/4: Hill program workout on the treadmill (not too many hills around here). About 5.5 miles.

Fri., 6/5: Swim workout. This was supposed to be an open water swim, but I did a long pool swim. 4000 yards.

Sat., 6/6: An Off day. (Prep for Rockman)

Sun., 6/7: Rockman Half Distance Tri. See Race Report Below.

Rockman Race Report:

Rockford is about an hour twenty from my house, which made for a very early morning. Of course I was awake before the 3:45 alarm went off. The truck was loaded up on Saturday evening. I had my smoothie, grabbed my bottles out of the fridge and hit the road a little after 4. I arrived at the park about 5:30. We had to walk in from the parking area to the transition area, not a short walk, maybe 1/2 mile, with the bike and all my gear. I got my number, got marked up, found a spot on the rack, and set my area up. All the folks around me were very nice and we passed the time as we set up and waited for race time.

Swim:
The swim was a two lap lake swim around a triangular course. The lake was a bit on the chilly side getting in. I managed to position myself well for the mass start. There was some bumping in the first 100-200 yards, but nothing too violent. I tagged on to the first chase group behind the pros and did my best to just draft and take it easy on the swim. It started raining while we were in the water. No big deal (we were already wet), but our transition gear got nice and soaked. The swim was uneventful. I just drafted and took it pretty easy. Sighting was no problem. I only swallowed water once. I reached the beach feeling good.

Swim Time: 31:25

T1:
I was using this as a gear test for IM Wisconsin, so I did not wear a tri suit, opting instead for bike shorts and a separate jersey, plus sock in the shoes. I took my time getting situated, no rushing.

T1 Time: 3:39

Bike:
The rain continued for about the first third/half of the bike. The course was an out and back on fairly rural roads. The roads were pretty smooth and only a little bit of gravel at the intersections. The course was mostly slowly rolling hills with about 3-4 short, but steep, climbs each way (out of the saddle, little gear, 9MPH by the crest and big gear, 35+ MPH on the way down). I managed to stay on the aero bars for most of the ride, including some climbs where I saw others out of the saddle. The goal was to work on my IM pace, so I settled in to a nice 18-20 on the way out and a little slower on the way back. More uphill or tired? The rain stopped and it got a bit muggy. The fresh possum road kill at mile 54 was a nice touch.

For nutrition I used Hammer Perpetum as my main fuel source. Hammer Heed and water for hydration. No stomach problems. I had mixed my Perpetum bottle to hold about 3.5 hours of fuel. I didn't finish it all. I went through two full Heed/water bottles.

Bike Time: 3:11:25

T2:
An easy swap out of bike and helmet to running shoes, race belt and hat. Again, working on IM gear, I didn't rush the transition. I used regular, old-fashioned, tie laces, not speed-laces.

T2 Time: 2:17

Run:
The run was a meandering course throughout the Rock Cut State Park. We were on roads and paved bike/walking paths. It was a hilly course. My plan, again as IM-MOO prep, was to start with a real easy jog for the first few miles and then run from there. My one complaint about the race was that there were no signs showing distance. Every time we passed, or got passed by, someone with a Garmin someone asked, "How far are we?" On some of the paths, there was no wind and with the sun out after the rains, it was down right steamy. The aid station folks were pleasant enough. They had Heed, water, Hammer gels, salt tabs, oranges, and cola. I ran solidly for about the first 7-8 miles (again not sure because of the lack of distance signage). I took a few walking breaks during the last few miles.

Run Time: 2:14:52

Good race. Nice prep for September.

Total Time: 6:03:41

100 Days to Go!

The countdown contiunes:

Today is 100 days to IM Wisconsin!!!

Yeah! Yikes! Yeah!

Other good news:

It's Here! It's Here! The D6 is Here!!!

Pictures to follow. I'm going over to Campbell Street Bicycle Shop (http://www.campbellstreetbikes.com/) tonight to get the fit dialed in. The only dilemma is whether to give the new bike it's debut at the Rockman Half-IM Tri this weekend. If I can get some saddle time in Friday and Saturday, then it's game on for the new ride.

Week 23 Summary:

I'm continuing PT on my left calf. Between Lucas' torture sessions, electro-stim, and lots of ice and heat, my calf is loosening up and taking some strain off of my achilles. What a feeling. Yeah.

Mon., 5/25: Triple Brick Day -- 3 x (2o mile bike + 3 mile run).

Tues., 5/26: Bike drills and ladder on trainer.

Weds., 5/27: Swim day, short sprints, about 1600 yards.

Thurs., 5/28: Long run day -- the plan was to get the run in early in the AM (kids had late swim practice in the evening), but my sleep won out over the alarm clock. Zzzzzz. No run today.

Fri., 5/29: Swim day, 3200 yards.

Sat., 5/30: Bike, low gear, high RPM -- about 8 miles.

Sun., 5/31: Bike: 38 miles.

Overall an OK week. Woulda, coulda, shoulda made that long run on Thurs. Woulda, coulda, shoulda gone further on Sunday. Life happens! Picking up and moving on. So far I'm on track for this week. Rockman (http://www.rockmantri.com) this Sunday.

Gettings Stronger, Going Longer.

Around the festivities of the kids' race, I got some great training in last week too. With a little more than 3 months to go, I'm hitting stride and in to the heart of my training. It feels great.

Despite my best efforts to minimize the impact of my workouts on family time, I think it might be a bit more than Heidi bargained for. Perhaps there should be an "Ironman Widow/Widower" support group.

My Week 21 Accomplishments:

Mon., 5/18: An off day.

Tues., 5/19: Swim workout, about 2750 yards with a lot of sprinting. My friend Kate swam with me. It was nice to share the workout.

Weds., 5/20: Running workout at the track. Last day of Sprint Supersets. Yeah. About 4 miles total.

Thurs., 5/21: 20 miles on the bike. High RPM spinning.

Fri., 5/22: Swim workout, about 3200 yards.

Sat., 5/23: 14 mile endurance run.

Sun., 5/24: See below: Multisports Madness Kids' Triathlon w/ Cole and Abby. No workout, just running around as a proud and excited parent.

Mon, 5/25: Happy Memorial Day. Thanks to all the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who gave their all so I have the FREEDOM to do these workouts and races for fun. A triple brick day: 3 x (20 mile bike plus 3 mile run).