107 Days Remaining - Trainer Ride in Garage Last Night and Swim Workout This Morning

Yesterday I attempted my new idea of getting my bike workout in. In case you missed the idea you can read my post from yesterday. Amanda got home from her chiro and massage around 5:45. After getting rid of my lazy bug and letting my dinner and after school food binge settle I jumped on my bike. I set it up in the garage instead of outside as it was getting chilly outside. Addy was out and about on her bike keeping me company. It was nice to talk with her. She is always talking. Nonstop chatter whether to herself or others. She finally just sat in the garage and we discussed about a thousand topics. Aiden eventually came out, but he wanted nothing to do with us as he was mad I would not let him go up to his friends house. He pretty much pouted and avoided me.

The ride was tough. I cranked my resistance another notch than typical and I don't know if that made the difference or what, but I could not get going. My legs felt tired from the start. I did not feel that tired at all, but there is something about getting home and around 4:30 this body just shuts down.

I kept on pedaling hoping that the body was going to get into a groove, but it never really came until the end. I did not do any specific workout, but just shifted up to the big chain up front every 3-4 minutes to work on pushing my legs when tired. I added about 5 times where I stood up and pedaled. My HR was right where it should have been.

Towards the end of the ride everyone left me. I was alone in the garage and it was dark. I felt stupid, but I pressed on. Addy finally came back out and I told her that we could go for a short bike ride before it became super dark. She ran back inside to get ready and that helped to motivate me to push like crazy at the end to make sure we had time to ride. The last two miles I cranked it like no other. It was a nice push to end the workout. I achieved my 24 miles as planned.

Addy, Aiden, and I headed out for a short ride. It was awesome. Last year they could barely ride this little .5 route and last night they tore it up. We have plans for a longer ride this weekend. I cannot wait.

This morning I headed to the Y for my third swim workout. I was not sure about this workout. To be honest I was a little nervous. I am not sure why, but I think it was because I have not swam 500's before nor have I swam sets of this volume before.

Warmup - 400 SW(100 free, 150 kick, 150 pull)

4 x 500 DESC 1-4 with round 4 at T-Pace

I have no idea what my T-Pace is for a 500 so I just went by feel.

I did the first set nice and easy @ 9:10. This was super easy and I had a hard time staying on top of the water.

Second set was a mess. My goggles were leaking like no other so I had to stop after 8 laps, fix them, and then start again. I don't have a very accurate time, but I know I was faster so with my watch times I am going to go with 9:00 even.

Set three was faster @ 8:29. This still felt good, but I could tell my body was slowing starting to tire a little. Overall, this felt like a pace I could maintain for a longer distance.

Set four I wanted to get under 8 minutes. At 250 I was exactly at 4:00. I did not allow myself to look at my watch again, but just pushed based on feel and tried to keep swimming hard. I was happy to see 7:50 as my time. I was tired. Not gassed, but tired. I don't think I could have kept that pace much longer though.

To finish I had 16 x 25 on the :40
I was to swim the odds at 12.5 easy, 12.5 fast and the evens fast. I just decided to swim fast for them all. I did not wait for the :40 mark either. As soon as I finished I gave myself a :20 sec rest and took off again. This was a great finisher.

My times continued to get faster - 19, 19, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 18, 17, 17, 17, 17, 17, 17, 17, 16

I was at :18 and wanted to get 17. I pushed harder while not ruining my form. I really extended and pulled the water. I soon hit 17 and wanted 16, but just could not get it. I tried less breathing only breathing two times and that was what put me at 17 to begin with. I could not go with less air. Finally, on my last set I just went all out. I kicked like crazy and hit 16. I was dead, but it felt great hitting that goal.

Overall, a great morning swim. It was just what I needed. I have another ride tonight, long run with some amazing people tomorrow and a long bike ride. This will give me Sunday off for a rest day which I have not had in a while.

I could not help myself.......

I was looking at my training provided by Dailymile.com and this is what I saw

Now you might be asking yourself - So what? He is just showing off his training.

Wrong

First, there is enough there in my training to warrant any bragging of any nature.

Second, if you look at the daily training numbers there is a nice little sequence I could not pass up based on how us CRAZIES roll each Tuesday and Thursday.

Being the nerd that I am, I quickly added one little touch, cropped out any unnecessary parts of the screen that I did not need and turned this

Into this

I know it is remarkable :) Just kidding, but I could not resist. It is the small things in life that make my day.

108 Days Remaining - 6B46 with another HUGE group of CRAZIES

Last night proved to be another night of neglecting my bike workouts. It was not intentional, but it happened which now pushes my three bikes ride over the next four days. My allergies went nuts yesterday and I was a mess. I felt horrible. I intended to ride once the kids went to bed around 8. I had great intentions trust me. I was ready to go since I missed the last two nights. I was focused.

Then came time for Aiden to read. We always read in our bed. Aiden was on my one side, Addy on the other side,  then Amanda and Ava. Ava dropped off to dream world and the remaining Maurer's listened to Aiden read his book. He finished and we all decided to lay there for just two minutes with no TV or electronic devices turned on. Well, next thing you know I wake up confused to see the light on and my kids in bed with me. I looked around, checked the clock and it read 10:30. We all crashed within those two minutes. I put the kids to bed and Amanda went downstairs to let the dogs out, pick up dinner, make a bottle, and turn off the TV's. I crashed right back to sleep and did not wake up until 4:00 this morning. I felt refreshed and ready to run. Perhaps not riding my bike was the best thing for my body.

This morning I was not sure who was all going to show up. We had a large group with some new people and it turned out to be a great day for running. John B, Lindsey(new 6B46 member), Chad, Katie(she ran 2 miles prior to this run), Jane, Katharine, Phil, Emily, Jenny(new 6B46 member, well one of the original morning runners before we started meeting at the Y), Curt(new 6B46 member), and myself.

11 people! How awesome is this? It will be scary when the day comes when everyone who has ran with us at this time all decides to show up! There is not even sidewalk to handle all that power!

We took things nice and easy for the first half of this run. It felt good to just run and be able to talk and enjoy the company of this group. We took quick pit stop at Hy-Vee and for some reason some of us feel the need to kick it up a notch after this rest. I know that since creating some Segments on the Strava.com website and seeing where I rank among runners who run certain roads or courses makes my competitive juices start flowing and I want to run to be in first. On Tuesday, Tritt decided to further his first place running time on one of the segments by turning into Flash Gordon and taking off like speed demon. This morning I tried not to get into this mindset, but it happened. Chad, Katie, Curt,  and I turned on 56th and the pace just kept picking up. We started running faster and faster. The cool thing was that it did not feel difficult. I cannot always say that. I know Tuesday my legs/quads were fried. They felt fresh today. I ended up running a PR for two miles. The great thing was that my PR was during the last two miles of this run. We finished strong for this run.

What is even more amazing is how all of us run great paces. The group tends to split up over the course depending on goals and abilities, but even the ones that bring up the rear are running fantastic times. This is what is so awesome about the group. We are a great group and I love it that people keep showing up to run with us.

Tonight I WILL get my bike ride done. I devised a new plan to help me make it happen. While the kids are outside playing today I am going to ride my bike in my garage on my trainer so I can still see them, hang out with them to a certain degree, and be able to talk with Amanda at the same time. This will eliminate my falling asleep at 8 pm.

Lastly, here is an image of the delicious beverage of choice after a good morning run. Tritt runs in the morning for this fantastic cup of joe courtesy of the YMCA. He missed out on the run this morning so I thought I would show a picture to remind him of all the deliciousness that he missed out on.

Hope to see many of you on Saturday for our run. Thanks to everyone who showed up this morning. It was awesome!

"I can't!", "I'm sorry, I don't understand you?"

Our daughter Addy has finally found something that she really enjoys -gymnastics. As parents who both played sports and are both highly competitive we really struggle to not becoming the parents who force their kids to do something they don't really enjoy. When Addy wanted to try gymnastics and she instantly loved it, we were so excited. I know very little about gymnastics except that I don't think I could perform half the stuff they do.

Anyways, last Saturday as I was watching Addy I overheard a conversation a parent was having with the owner. I don't know all the beginning conversation and it is irrelevant, but I am sure it had something to do with how to help her daughter learn to not fear making mistakes, giving up, hitting that plateau, etc.

The owner talked about how all kids go through this. He said something that has stuck with me since last Saturday.

He said that when kids get frustrated and become upset when they cannot perform a certain move they like to say, "I can't do that!"

His response is always, "I'm sorry, I don't understand you?"

It is not that we CAN'T do something, but it is more that we have not practiced enough to acquire the needed skills to be able to perform. What a powerful message to send to little kids in his program. It is so true. He corrects every single child that says that. With the little kids he always makes them smile in his true to self way and tells them, "You CAN too!", "Don't say that, that is not true!"

He talked about how working on changing this mindset helps in everything we do - jobs, life, family, homework, etc. It is so true. So simple, so effective.

As adults we need to remember this. We often quit at first signs of struggle. We convince ourselves that something is just not possible. We don't even give ourselves a chance to succeed. We all have those thoughts. We must learn to block that negative talk out and try.

I remember a year ago being hurt and not thinking I was capable of running half marathon, let alone a marathon. I finally erased those thoughts and ran my first marathon. This year I decided to try the sport of triathlon. I surely had much doubt and still have those thoughts from time to time. But, I went big. I signed up for a 70.3 Ironman. I knew that once I forked the money over it was go time. Our ambitions don't have to be this large. Say you want to run your first 5K. You can do it. You just have to get yourself out the door. It is amazing how powerful our bodies our when we learn to turn our brains off. The body can do such powerful tasks when we eliminate negative self talk.

I don't care how great of a gymnast Addy becomes. However, if she can learn the life skill of not believing in the I CAN'T statement than this is a great sport for her. Hearing this conversation further sold me on how important it is for our kids to be surrounded by other great people. Not only is he helping my daughter, but he reinforced me on my own journey in my training and other aspects of my life. I have surrounded myself around so many great people on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays that I feel I am light years ahead of where I would be without them.

My mantra of GETTING IT DONE! fights the notion of I CAN'T. By GETTING IT DONE! I become I CAN or I DID. What are you going to do to prove that YOU CAN?

109 Days Remaining - 800's on the track and a swim workout

We(Chad, Katie, and I) have been trying to figure out way to get ourselves on the track for some speedwork. We have talked about it for quite some time and finally made it to the track. After looking at different plans we decided to go with the Bart Yasso 800's. We took it very easy this morning only doing two sets, but I am happy with easy transition.

I don't typically run more than three days week. I have struggled trying to find time to get in a speed workout throughout the week because I feel like I am away from home enough as it is. Late last night after a few texts we decided to hit up the track around 4:45 am for the 800's. I knew I had to get in a good swim workout in also so I opted to go in earlier.

I was up at 4 am to get ready. I had to make an unnecessary stop at my school because I thought I left Chad's Garmin in my office. I drove there and in a state of panic of not seeing the watch realized it was in my coat pocket the entire time. I made my way to the BHS track and completed a one mile warmup. I was not sure how I was going to feel after being very tired and sore the last few days. My mile warm up went really well and I knew my body was ready.

I was not sure what pace to run and try to maintain as I am not really in marathon training mode right now. I decided to run by feel and get a pace that felt good, but not super hard. I ran the first 800 in 3:09. This felt pretty easy. I was not labored in breathing, but when I saw my time I was very surprised. I was happy with the time considering how easy it felt. I really worked on not extending my stride, but keeping my stride within reason and just working on quicker foot turnover.

I jogged a lap and around this time Chad and Katie arrived. As they did their warm up I ran my second and last 800. I ran 3:11 and this too felt easy. I know I could have cranked up the pace quite easily, but that is not the point in this training. We will keep building up our reps until we are up to 10-12 800's. For the first time I am quite happy. I just need to figure out if I should keep this pace or go a little faster and try to maintain as the reps increase. I need to read up on what to do.

After the run I headed to the Y for my swim workout. The plan called for 3000 yards, but I ran out of time and had to skip the 200 cool down so I ended with 2800 yards. This was a good workout. I liked this one a lot.

Total Yardage: 2800
Total Swim Time: 47:36

Warm Up
4 x 175 (75 open, 50 kick, 50 build DPS) - I mixed the 75 up doing freestyle, one arm swims, 6 kick switch)

It was weird doing a warm up when the body was already warmed up. Being that I was sweating from the run my goggles kept fogging up and leaking. It was driving me crazy.

One problem I noticed today is that my DPS was constantly between 15-16. I need to get this down to 14-15. Perhaps my tired legs are to account for the extra stroke.

My T Pace for 75's is 1:10

Main Set
6 x 150
Each 150 was 100 build with 10 sec RI with 50 fast with a 30 sec RI
100 - 1:31
50 - :42

100 - 1:28
50 - :41

100 - 1:32
50 - :42

100 - 1:30
50 - :42

100 - 1:30
50 - :41

100 - 1:28
50 - :41

300 Kick with fins and board - 6:17(legs and quads were tired during this set)

6 x 100 (75 build with 10 sec RI and 25 fast with 30 sec RI)

75 - 1:05
25 - :20

75 - 1:05
25 - :21

75 - 1:06
25 - :19

75 - 1:04
25 - :20

75 - 1:05
25 - :20

75 - 1:05
25 - :21

300 Pull - 5:10

This was a great start to the day. I was not anywhere near as tired as I thought I would be. I did hydrate in the morning and I brought a GU Brew mix to the pool. I do have to get in a bike workout tonight as I skipped the bike last night after feeling like crap from being tired and allergies. To see my times all below my T-Pace and knowing it did not feel real difficult is great to see. I hope to continue to make strides in the pool as well in my running times.

I need to get my bike caught up with my swim and runs and I will be in great shape.

110 Days Remaining - Windy Tuesday Run With CRAZIES

Started run off nice and easy around 8:40 pace and did our usual pick up knocking this down to 8:04 the second mile. We kept that pace for the next mile and then we dropped to 7:42, and 7:38. Mile 4-5 we were trying to find our way out of the neighborhood that we were running in. We took a wrong turn and spent more time in the neighborhood than we normally do. Mile 5 we ran 7:39, mile 6 in 7:16, and the last .43 of a mile was at 6:43 pace.This worked out well as that meant we did not have to tackle Tanglefoot hill to end the run which was a nice relief. It was a nice push at the end.

My legs were tired this morning. My quads are sore from the long run and bike ride this weekend. I am hoping that they rebound here soon. I was still able to run well this morning, but I could feel the fatigue in my muscles. I hope a bike ride tonight will shake out the fatigue and get me ready for the pool tomorrow.

My Garmin stopped at mile 5 this morning. I must have bumped the pause button. Thank goodness the rest of the crew all has watches to record data. I hope I can get these miles loaded into Strava so I can hit my 100 mile mark.

Last night I ordered my wetsuit. I have talked about ordering my wetsuit for what seems like forever. I finally made the plunge. I ordered the Vector Pro Fullsuit Wetsuit from XTERRA. I used the amazing discount code provided by Jeff Paul. You can check out his blog and the also use the discount code if you are looking for a wetsuit. Right now there is also free shipping. I was able to get a $600 wetsuit for a very cheap price of $240. I am excited. This purchase somehow makes things "final" for me in terms of mentally knowing that I am in this training for real. I know it sounds weird being that I have been training for months now, but for some weird reason having the wetsuit makes me feel official. Perhaps it is because I have never worn a wetsuit, let alone owned one. It should be interesting watching me get into the suit for the first time!

We ended up running 6.43 miles in 50:23 for a 7:50 mile pace. I look forward to continuing with a great week of training.

I did my weekly Tuesday weigh in and am glad to report that despite my after school snack binge every single day, I was able to drop 3 lbs. I am quite happy with this because I thought for sure I was going to gain again this week. This still puts me above my lowest weight of 205, but I have time to knock off the pounds. Ideally, I would like to shed about 1-2 lbs each week leading up to my Olympic Triathlon Race on May 20th. This would put me right at the weight I need for race time. If I just stay the course and keep the junk out of the house, then I know I will hit my mark. Training with a little extra weight does not hurt, but I want to slowly get my body ready to perform wellcome May 20th.

Thanks to Ben, Brian, Chad, Jen, Jane, and Katie for a great run this morning. It is always awesome to have such a great group to run with.

Training Totals as of 3/26/12 and Goals for the Week

I had my biggest week of training yet beating out my largest week back in January 2nd by .5 of a mile.

I finished the week with

97.44 miles on the bike(with biggest ride ever of 50 miles)
27.94 miles on the road(fell short two miles for my week goal)
4.66 miles in the pool

Week Total = 130.04(first time hitting the 130 mark)

Total Training Volume So Far.....1429.42 miles

I also lifted once this week which is something I have neglected for a long time.

This was a great week of training. I felt really good the entire time. I had moments of fatigue, but taught myself to fight through it all. I hope to have another good week of training this week.

My main goal for this week is my eating. Last week I came home from school tired and hungry and just ate complete crap for 20 minutes. This week will be a little easier to control the cravings as the food is not in our house. You cannot eat garbage if it is not in the house. Despite my big week of training I don't know if I shed any weight or not after binge snacking every single day. I have a good plan for this week and I know it will help.

I am also going to have to deal with training with allergies. I hit the wall this morning in the pool. I will need to find ways to overcome this little element.

Some things I learned from last week.
- Sunblock on the bike rides. I have some serious sunburn from my ride yesterday.
- Ride very slow by the parks on the bike path so I don't risk blasting little kids
- I am capable of riding my bike without socks. I had this mental hurdle where I thought I needed to wear socks. No socks will make my transition time so much more efficient.
- More nutrition on the bike. I need to find another place to place a water bottle.
-Bonk Bars are delicious
-Bring money for the Ice Cream Shop in Hampton


Here is to a great week of training. I hope you have some goals for yourself as well.

111 Days Remaining until 70.3 Racine
54 Days until Olympic Tri @ Bluff Creek, Iowa

111 Days Remaining - Tough Swim Workout...Allergies, Allergies, Go Away

After my bike ride and mowing the yard last night I knew my allergies were going to flare up. I was surprised that they have not kicked in yet. I woke up this morning and my allergies were at an all time high. While letting the dogs out I began the Maurer Morning Sneeze Attack. Those that grew up with me know that I can rattle off a long string of sneezes in the morning. This morning I blasted about 30 sneezes in a row and they were forceful.

My head was congested. I had a headache and I could not breathe out of my nose. This was going to make for an interesting swim.

I drank a big cup of coffee and drank some water trying to wake up and get the body going. I left early to be sure to enter the pool right at 5:00 am. I got to the Y and realized...

I forgot my watch

I was bummed because I had speed workout to get in today. I pondered heading back home, but decided to just get the swim workout done by feel. This was a good test because I am going to need to be able to adapt based on feel come race day.

My warm up called for
300 Free, 200 Kick, 100 Free

I made some adjustments right away. I swam

100 Free - my head was so congested I could not breathe out of my nose. My breathing was a mess and I was so out of breath after 50. I stopped at 100 and moved to the kick hoping that I could loosen up my sinuses by warming up kicking.

200 Kick with boards - my legs were dead tired from the weekend. This felt good to just get them going, but I knew they did not have much.

6 Kick Switch - 50 yards
One Arm - 50 yard (rt for 25, left for 25)

200 Pull - working on my form. I need to fine tune my form and wish I did not miss class yesterday. This was good for me to work on stretching it out.

12 x 25 with 10 RI - This felt good and got me ready for my main set

Main Set

4 sets of
300 moderate 20 RI
2 x 75 fast 15 RI

I modified this part. The first 300 was a mess. I was so out of breath. I don't know if it was because I was swimming too fast for my own good or my allergies or a combo, but I was so out of breath after 75 yards. I could not settle down. I felt like I was red lining and almost in a panic state. This swim really messed me up mentally. I finally finished gassed and dead tired. I had to do something to help get through this workout. I decided to do the next 300 using the pull buoys.

The 2 x 75's went great. Each round I felt like I was getting stronger and faster. I wish I had my watch for these because I felt like I was cruising.

My second 300 I used the pull buoy and it went much better. I dialed in a good pace and just focused on each stroke reaching and pulling through the water. I am glad I adjusted because this set helped me on my next 300. My next 300 I went back to the freestyle and just forced myself to find a pace that I would not tire out. I felt like I was swimming slow, but I was probably at more of my T-Pace than I think. I felt much better and was actually able to exhale out of my nose which was helpful. I wrapped this up and nailed another set of 2 x 75's and finished the fourth round with the pull buoys and a big push on the 75's as my body was dead tired. My legs had nothing left.

The next set was 400 kick. It called for 100 easy, 200 moderate, 100 easy.

My legs were burning by the end of the first 300. The last 100 I swam on my back making sure my knees did not leave the water.

I ended with 100 cool down.

Despite the struggles, the workout went by much faster than I thought. Hopefully, I can get my allergies calmed down so I can have another good week of training.

Total Yards: 3200
Time - 65 minutes in the pool

112 Days Remaining - 50 Mile Bike Ride - Longest Ride of the Year

What a beautiful day! I must first say thanks to Amanda for allowing me to get out right in the middle of the day during all the chaos of three kids and neighbor kids to go ride. I headed over to the I Wireless Center to ride the Great River Trail on the Illinois side. My original plan was to ride straight to Fulton, Illinois, but our day was just too busy with things to get done so we did not go to her parents. Instead I just rode half the distance and turned around. It turned out to be a great ride doing it this way and next weekend I will ride to Fulton.

I look like I just smelled a fart. Not intentional!

I started out ready to rock not really sure what to expect. I have completed 40 mile on the trainer before, but riding outside this week I realized outdoor riding is completely different.



In order to get the ride in I did have to miss my monthly swim class that I enjoy. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made and I felt that this ride was more important right now in my training. I headed off on the path and at first it was crazy busy. There were people everywhere either riding, walking, running, or just hanging out along the river at the parks. At first I was getting a little frustrated because I had to keep stopping and going, but after the first few miles things started to open up and I was able to just ride.

You can tell I am a rookie with snacks duct taped to the frame

I could tell my legs were still tired from the run yesterday. My legs were starting to fatigue around mile 10 and I knew I just had to work on fighting through it. Along the way I consumed some electrolyte mix along with water.



At mile 24.5 I stopped as my training called for 48 miles and I rode just a little further to hit the 3M sign. I called Amanda to tell her I would be a little later than expected. I consumed a Bonk bar(very good) and talked with a super sweet old lady who was loving the weather.

Me at the turnaround spot.

I really enjoyed the ride. I rode much better on the way back despite having to really push myself to keep going. The ride went pretty smooth. I ate some GU Chomps about 10 miles into the ride back and kept drinking water. I need to work on refueling my body on the bike so that I am ready to run come 70.3 Racine. My stomach held up good for the most part. A small cramp around mile 35 but  nothing major.

With about 5 miles left I passed a guy heading into the busy park area. He decided to ride my tail(I am assuming he was drafting). I am not sure if he was quite expecting who he was drafting off of because it made me nervous. Little did he know that this was only my second ride outside of the year. Anyways, I was cruising around 18 mph when this little 3 year old kid comes sprinting across the bike path. This guy yells and and I slam on my brakes and skid sideways. It was a scary moment. Needless to say the guy quit drafting and I did not stop to hear what the parents had to say. The kid was oblivious to everything. He was happy as can be and never noticed the split second moment where he about became a stopper for a big man on a bike. I am sure my HR shot up at that moment. Other than that it was a good ride. I felt great.

I am proud for getting this ride in. I know my riding is my weakest sport right now. I just need to keep cranking away and it will improve. Based on this ride this would put me around a 3:15 bike time for the 70.3 race at Racine. Ideally, I would like to really lower this time. I don't know by how much and obviously I have not rode the course to know how that will affect things. This is a good measure at this point in my training and gives me something to work on.

Lastly, I learned two things. One, it is easy to get lost coming back despite being on a bike trail. Hence the reason I rode 50 miles because I rode down the wrong road to a dead end and had to turn around.

Second, I need to bring money with me because in Hampton, IL there is a little shop called Remember When... that is an old school soda shop that serves ice cream and candy. That will be visited by me for sure next time. There were about 20 bikes in front when I drove by.

GETTING IT DONE! was back on track with a great week of training. I have two very, very sore legs that need to recover quickly as training starts again Monday with some serious swimming. Off to mow the yard and get ready for Lego Robotics. Enjoy the rest of your day.

113 Days Remaining - Saturday Long Run with 11 Other Amazing People!!

I sent out an email last notice to the people that have joined the Live Uncommon Revolution and to the other CRAZIES that run with us on Tuesday and Thursday. I was not sure how many were going to show up. We made some arrangements to help out some of the runners who were not quite ready to run 15 miles by creating a meeting point at Credit Island. This would allow them to get a ride back to the start of the run at the Isle of Capri and therefore allow them to run with others and not have to run solo.

Around 5:40 we had Jane, Ben, Jen, Chad, and myself ready to depart to the starting point. I was pretty happy with just this turnout and knew there would be more waiting for us. When we arrived at the casino the parking lot was filling up with cars. We ended up with 12 runners ready to tackle a nice long 15 mile ride(John Byrne, I know this is just a warm up for you, but we don't consider you normal :))

Around 6 am we started our run. I had complete intentions of running very slow this morning and taking things easy. Well, that did not quite happen.

You can see that we just kept picking up the pace. We were having great conversation and next you know we were cruising on our way to Credit Island. I felt good on the way out. Once we hit the island the pace picked up even more and were running sub 8:00 which is fast for me on a run of this length. We met up with everyone as my car for some water and Gatorade. While we took a quick rest to gather everyone and let some take a stop from running my legs started to tighten up quickly. My quads entered this run already tired from the bike ride late last night.

I thought we were going to lose more, but I think the power of the group sucked in a few to keep going. Ben decided to stay in for the long haul. His previous longest run ever was the Bix 7 mile course. That is it. We had that covered at the rest station. Ben smashed this run today. He finished up and he still looked fresh. Jane stuck around for a few more miles before calling it a day, but she has good reason to not go all out even though she is still running quite amazingly.

As we headed back I knew it was going to be mind over matter. My quads were dead at mile 10. I just had to fight through it. I knew my body was capable and it was a good test for me because I know on my race journey in Racine I am going to hit some walls for sure and this was a good little test to keep pushing. We had a group of six up front and Ben strategically bounced off the shoulders of Byrne to drop back as Chad was sucked into the Byrne Radar for conversation. The man is amazing. He just pushes and pushes and talks the whole time. Chad and John started to keep pushing ahead. Chad was giving me crap for running at a faster pace than we talked about and then BOOM he was off to the races on the way back. He is looking strong and is going to kill his PR at the half marathon this year. I think today he ran faster than he did in his half marathon race last year. Thank goodness Katie was around to provided me some much needed conversation to help as a distraction. That is one thing that all of us mention at different times is how important the camaraderie is on these runs. The conversations are amazing and not only help the time go by, but give us a chance to share wisdom, insights, knowledge, stories, etc. How often do people get to talk about ice sculptures, termites, race events, training strategies, weather, religion, and running stories all in about two hours? It is almost like living in the mind of Pennington(a teacher at BMS). That is what makes these group runs so special - the relationships that are formed.

Katie helped me hang on to a good pace to end the run hovering around 8:00 minute miles. It was a great run and even though I have ran farther, this felt like a victory in my mind. A victory in that I was able to push past the mental barriers. A victory in having many great conversations with great people. A victory in that 12 of us showed up and pushed ourselves no matter the pace we ran because who else was out at 6 am running? This is a great group of people. There is so much inspiration to be drawn from each one individually. This group and the Live Uncommon Revolution are well on their way to pushing past the barriers to do something special not only in our own personal training, but in helping others. I thank the 11 others who showed up to help me better myself this morning.

My legs are tired. They are sore, but it is a great feeling knowing that I am able to be part of something special.

I am off to a great rest of the day and to rest up before my long bike ride tomorrow. I am going to ride into Fulton, Illinois(my in-laws live there). This shall prove interesting!

I will post a picture once Byrne gets it up on his blog, but this morning we had the following leaders of inspiration: Chad, Ben, John B., John O, Phil, Jane, Jen, Katie, Emily, Anne, Josiah, and myself. Great job everyone!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Only $680 to go - LIVE UNCOMMON REVOLUTION CHARITY FUNDRAISING

I have not checked my Live Uncommon Revolution page for quite sometime as I was getting frustrated by constantly seeing the $0 donation page. I need to do more. However, today I checked my page to find that I have 2 donations. This made me so happy!!!!

So Happy!

I decided to create another post to please consider donating to all the great causes that the LIVE UNCOMMON REVOLUTION is helping out this year. 7 Races = 7 Charities ranging from CASI(Senior Citizens) to breast cancer. You can view all the races and their charities by clicking here.

Not only am I participating in the races, but I am raising money for all the charities, causes, scholarships for students, etc. because I believe in them. I believe in helping others. I believe that the only way to help ourselves is to help others.

http://liveuncommon.org/default.aspx?function=displayparticipant&id=247&eid=4

The link above will take you to my Live Uncommon page where you can make a donation. I can take money through check and/or cash as well if you are not comfortable donating online.

I view my fundraising like my training. I cannot do it alone. I need others to help keep me going during my training. I need your help in helping me support these causes. You probably either know someone affected by one of these causes or maybe it is even you yourself.

If you donate I will forever be happy like I am in this picture when I spent the day at school with Addy.

I am up for any challenge so if you have something in mind that you would like to dare/challenge me in exchange for a donation I would gladly consider it. I am all for having fun with this.

The one donation option that is not available that fits me is $70.3. I am in training for my first half Ironman of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 run. Feel free to donate that amount even though it is not listed.

Thanks for Phil and the anonymous donor for their donations. I was so excited to see these listed on my page. I look forward to many more.

Have a great weekend.

114 Days Remaining - Short Swim and Weights(Yes, your eyes don't deceive you!)

My training for swimming called for a shorter swim today. After getting back in the pool this week and finally hitting my stride on Wednesday I was at first fighting the training plan and wanting to swim more. However, I stuck to the plan and was glad I did.

I have been super tired this week. Getting back into the routine of school, still catching up from vacation, and the early onset of allergies has wiped me clean. Each night I fight to stay awake past 8 pm.

Last night I had planned a bike workout, but after a Lego Robotics meeting(we are competing internationally) I came home tired and decided to just watch basketball and lounge. My right calf is still incredibly sore from when it cramped earlier in the week. I will get my ride in tonight.

This morning I headed to the pool for a short, but tough swim. My body was tired. I had to focus to get over the midway point of the workout, but once I did things started to click and it was hard to stop so soon.

Warm Up
300 Free 5:00
100 Kick with fins and board - 2:14

4 x 50(25 build, 25 easy) - :44, :43, :43, :42

Main Set
6 x 50 Build with 10 sec RI - :41, :40, :41, :41, :41, :41

300 Free - 4:42(My T-Pace for 300 is 4:53 so this is good)

100 Kick with fins and board - 2:15

6 x 50 (2-2-2) with 10 sec RI - :44, :45, :42, :42, :39, :38(My 50 T-Pace is :48)

4 x 100 at T-Pace(1:36) - 1:28, 1:29, 1:32, 1:32 - I was under my T-Pace, but I felt like I was swimming so slow at these paces. I tired to get dialed in at my T-Pace, but just could not swim slow enough without feeling like I was going to go under

Total Yardage: 2000
Time: 31:33

After my swim I did enter the weightroom. I did a few lifts to get in some lifting.

Bench 2 x 10 @ 45lb plates
Lat Pulldown - 2 x 10 @ 100 lbs
Bicep Curl to Shoulder Press 2 x 10 @ 35 lb dumbbells
Squats - 2 x 10 @ 45 lb plates

Nothing noteworthy, but I was glad I actually did some weightlifting. I need to get in more, but one step at a time.

Getting my body ready for a big weekend. Big 15 mile run tomorrow and a long bike ride Sunday. Look forward to wrapping up the week with some good totals.

115 Days Remaining - 10 CRAZIES **NEW RECORD**.....6B46 Is Going BIG!!

10 Runners this morning showed up to embark on a run with the regular crew of CRAZIES. We had rain, but that did not take away from the dedication to GETTING IT DONE by waking up early and rising to the challenge. With 10 runners and some new ones we took to the roads to complete what I call our CRAZIES Course as we typically run this route at least one of the two days. Tuesday we ran a challenging little course so this was a nice flat run.

This morning Chad, Katie, Jane, Brian, Phil, Katharine, Emily, Jane, Ben, and myself assembled for our run. This run also marked the first that females were the same in attendance as males. Emily who has joined Live Uncommon woke up early to run with us. It was great putting a face to the name. Jane Paul joined us this morning. Not sure if she broke a sweat, but what a honor to have so many amazing runners in the crowd. Talking with Chad we were stating how crazy it is to be surrounded by fantastic runners like Jane, Jen, and Katie who just tear up running. Towards the end of the run as we picked up the pace Jen and Jane just talked like we were walking. One day I hope to get to that point.

My right calf was super tight this morning. It was sore from cramping so bad in the pool yesterday and the bike ride last night. It did not take away from me being able to run, but it was tender. After about a mile it loosened up, but as soon as I stopped running it seized back up.

I was very happy with this run. The second half of this run I decided to pick up the pace. I am trying to get to a point where I can run faster longer. I don't know how to properly do it so I am just taking one small step at a time. I felt good again today. Towards the end of the run I was running sub 7 minutes and felt good. It did not feel very difficult. Breathing was smooth and very relaxed. My legs were tired so I just had to work through pushing through the leg fatigue. My running is feeling good lately. I hope to make progress each week and be ready to catch some people on the run in my tri races.

This weekend I will head out with a group(still in progress) for a long run. I don't plan on running this fast at all. I will take it nice and easy so I don't overdo it in my training. Some of the people I run with need to get in 15 miles for their training so I will aim to do that. I look forward to a great weekend of training.

Thank you to everyone who gave a few extra hours of sleep to come join us. Having 10 runners this morning was awesome! I look forward to watching this group grow.

116 Days - Wednesday Night Solo Bike Ride

I needed to get a bike ride in as I neglected the bike the last two days. I made myself commit to getting out on the roads. I really wanted to do the group ride that Trek offers, but Amanda had to tutor so I was home with the kids. As soon as she got home around 5:40 I headed out before it got too dark. My goal was to get in 90 minutes of riding. I headed out to PV Junior High to battle the hilly roads to work my legs and see where that would take me. I made sure to wear my brightest shirt which is my red Live Uncommon tank from last year.

I made my way to PV Junior High in a little over a half hour and decided to tackle Wisconsin Street. I kept riding thinking I knew where I was, but after about 2 miles I knew I had no idea where I was so I headed back to repeat the route I just completed. The hills were a good workout. I don't know how to rank the hills in comparison to other routes, but I definitely got a good workout in.

d

The hills on Forest Grove all the way out to the Junior High were a killer workout. I really had to drive with some leg power.

I felt 100 times better on the bike compared to Sunday. I was able to stay in the drops without much back pain and really get after the hills. My right calf came close to seizing up a few times from cramping this morning in the pool.

I made my way back to the end of Forest Grove and still had about 13 minutes left so I changed course, rode up 56th street, connected to 53rd out to the roundabout and then headed back home from Tanglefoot.

It was a great ride. I was so glad to get it in. I found it quite peaceful when I was on the country roads and not worrying about city traffic. I will need to get another one of these rides in again this week before getting after a long ride this weekend.

Despite being bummed about missing the group ride I ended up ending my day with a great ride. I am slowly building up some confidence on the bike. It is definitely my weakest link. Once I gain some confidence on the bike, then I need to start thinking about brick workouts because I need to practice running with jelly legs.

Here are the bike stats

I am off to bed to get ready for the 6B46 group run tomorrow.

Maurer Family Has Been Hooked on Geocaching

Last night I took my kids outside to try out Geocaching. Geocaching is simply using a GPS enabled device or a compass to locate hidden treasures and locations that others have created. I wanted to test out the Geocaching.com app as we are exploring geocaching with my 4th grade ELP group. While we wait for more GPS devices I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing.

I tried to explain to Aiden what we were going to do. My explanation did not work out well as he was not the least bit interested. Aiden and I had to make errand run and while I was waiting for him I tested out our location to see if anything was nearby and lo and behold there was a spot about .3 of a mile away. I gave him my phone and told him to navigate me to the spot. We drove to the Family Museum and got out and began to use the app to track down the treasure. This treasure was called Leonardo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This was one of several clues in the series. After wandering and wandering we finally made the discovery. Aiden was so excited. I knew by the look in his eyes that he was hooked. We took one of the treasures and replaced it with another treasure from my car,hid the contents, made sure nobody was looking, and took off home.

When we got home Aiden instantly went to work making his own little treasure to hide. In the meantime I found that there were two more pretty close to our house. I loaded Ava in the stroller and Addy got ready and we headed out exploring.

Aiden brought his treasure in case he found a good spot to hide it.

They were in heaven looking for the treasures. Over an hour later we had tracked down two more treasures and walked easily 1.5 miles if not more. It was awesome to see them so excited and getting exercise at the same time.

She was one proud girl tracking this one down.

Tonight we hope to hide his treasure and get it loaded up on the geocaching.com website. We are also going to explore Duck Creek for me treasures.

The nerds have found a new way to waste time together. Time to get ready to explore.

Here are some pictures from our travels. SPOILER ALERT! A few of these might give away certain hiding spots so if you are interested in finding these then don't look through the photos.

116 Days Remaining - Toughest Swim Workout To Date

Today was a tough workout. I had to really dig to keep going. I felt much better in the water today compared to Monday. On my way to the Y this morning I realized I left my watch at home so I had to turn around and retrieve it because this workout needed times and certain splits. I entered the pool about 5 minutes late, but I was still able to get it all done.

Warm Up - The warm up was no joke. 100 yards of swimming for warm up is almost a workout in itself.

2 x (200 free, 200 pull, 100 kick)
I timed these just to see where my easy pace was at this point in my training. I tried to really focus on form, reaching and getting my stroke back to where it was before vacation. Things felt much better.

200 free - 3:30
200 pull - 3:31
100 kick - 2:02
200 free - 3:16
200 pull - 3:19
100 kick - 1:59

Main Set
12 x 25 DPS every 40 seconds - I hit every 25 in 20 seconds and my DPS was 14 or 15 every single time. I think it came down to how streamlined I was to start my swim. I really focused on reaching out. I thought I would be able to get down to 13 like I did in swim class, but it did not happen

6 x 100 with 20 RI with Descending 2-2-2 - This means that every 2 sets I had to go faster. This was so hard. I started out way ahead of my T-Pace. My T-Pace is 1:36 for the 100. I tried to keep the pace up and it was a mental battle.

 My times: 1:30, 1:30, 1:25, 1:25, 1:20, 1:22

I was very happy with these times. I had to work very hard to get these times. It was the hardest set I have done to date. I was gassed at this point and still had a long way to go.

4 x 75 pull with breathing 3,4,5 - this means that the first 25 I was able to breathe every 3 strokes, the next 25 every 4 strokes, and the final 25 every 5 strokes. I thought I was going to drown when I got to 5 strokes. I had to really work on keeping my mind relaxed or else it made it much worse. I did not swim fast as I used this time to work on my stride and to recover for the next set.

My times: 1:08, 1:08, 1:10, 1:08

4 x 100 Descending 2-2 with 20 RI

My body was worn out by this set. I could tell fatigue was setting in as it was very hard to keep my legs at water level and my stroke in the water my arms started to straighten out. I was gassed and really though about stopping at this point. I had to talk to myself and get my weakness out and get this workout done.

My times: 1:27, 1:27, 1:23, 1:25 - I did get faster, but not by much. I was dead after the fourth set. Almost done

4 x 75 pull breathing every 3. My times were 1:09, 1:09, 1:10, 1:10.

My last set consisted of 2 x 100 fast. I took an extra rest before each one. I had to really gather up the strength to swim hard.

Set 1: 1:19 - I was happy with this. I felt my legs starting to cramp, but was able to finish without them actually cramping. I took a long break of about 30 seconds and decided to try and beat 1:19 for the last set. I had to go all out.

Set 2: 1:20 - I reminded myself over and over that the key to going faster is to stay calm and relaxed. I was calm and swimming my butt off. I knew I was going to beat my time and possibly hit a PR on the 100. However, on the way back off the first wall I caught a cramp in my calf. I kept swimming and the cramp continued to grow to my shin, then, my hamstring on up to my butt. The last 40 yards I was swimming with one leg because I could not move my right with all the cramping. I still hit 1:20 and had I not cramped I would have beat 1:19.

What a great workout. My hardest to date both mentally and physically.

Total Yards: 3200
Swim Time: 48:04(rest time not included)
Total Time in pool: 65 minutes

Board of (Jamaican) Inspiration 3.20.12

It has been too long since I changed my board. I am back on track.

117 Days Remaining - Tuesday Run With CRAZIES....moving quickly my friends, moving quickly

Last night and all day I dragged major butt. I was so tired. My alarm went off this morning and I almost allowed myself to lay in bed for another five minutes, but I knew that if I did I would oversleep being so tired.

I got up and drank a big cup of coffee and took a GU and made my way to the Y. My legs felt tired from the bike and swim workouts the two previous days. I was not expecting much from this run to be honest. Little did I know that as soon as I shook off the rust I would feel fantastic.

I don't know what go into me, but I just felt great after the first mile. I just ran. I tried to keep that nice and calm feeling I had while running on the beach in Jamaica. I did not look at my watch and worry about pace and time. I ran by feel. I was glad to see my times constantly drop during this run. I just kept running a little faster without realizing it. I never felt labored in my breathing or in my legs which was awesome. I am not going to lie, my legs are a little sore now, but during the run I felt great. I kept thinking "I hope I feel like this in Racine, WI". It was a good run for me and for all the other CRAZIES.

We had 7 of us run this morning. We added another new member to the crew. Ben D. joined us and he sure picked a tough morning as we ran a really fast pace for us and we had probably the hilliest run to date. He stuck it out and it was great to have him join. Chad, Katie, Brian, Jane, and Jay all joined in the run this morning.

This was my first run in Iowa since before Spring Break and it was a great feeling to be out in shorts and a sleeveless shirt. It was just a few weeks ago that we were running all bundled up.

This run was a good confidence booster in my fitness after struggling in the pool yesterday. I hope to keep things going and get back on track with my training. I need to get in a bike ride tonight.

Last, I did weigh myself. It has been two weeks since I weighed myself. I forgot two weeks ago and was not going to do so while in Jamaica. I was interested to see my weight. After running so good today I was expecting my weight to be the same or possibly a pound or two under since my last weigh in. I know I consumed a huge amount of calories while on vacation, but I was not too worried.

I had a major wake up call when I stepped on the scale.

Since 2/29(two weeks ago) I have gained 5.4 pounds. It is time for me to really focus on my eating. I have been bad. I came home from work yesterday and just consumed a large amount of junk food. I need to prep some healthy snacks so I eat those instead of the junk. This will be my goal for the rest of the week and hopefully drop a few of these pounds. I now have a long way to go to get to my desired race weight. 5.4 pounds is way too much weight which leads to so much unneeded force on my joints while running. GETTING IT DONE just become more serious and focused as I prep for race weight and fitness.

The run this morning was a step in the right direction. Great run everyone! It was awesome to be back in the group of amazing people.

I do think my shoes are ruined as I thought. I developed a nasty blister on my toe from running.I think the ocean water and sand has done a number on my shoes. I hope to fix them, but if not, then it will be time to break out my 70.3 Racine, WI race shoes that I purchased. I have not trained in them yet, but maybe it is time.

Until next time.....

118 Days - Holy Jamaica Batman, Vacation Has Caught Up To Me

I headed to bed early last night. I was whooped and dead tired. I think I fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow. I woke up bright and early this morning to get back to work on my training. I was not sure where my swimming fitness was going to be after not really having any sort of formal training the week before.

My quads were still tired from the bike ride yesterday(all that stopping and going caught up to me). My legs were tired right away and I knew this was not good.

Things I noticed right away
-I did not feel relaxed in the water. My breathing was heavy and I felt tense
-I did not have my natural flow in the water. I had that feeling like I was trying too hard which just leads to nowhere good in swimming
-My legs were burning so either my kick was worse than before or I was kicking with much more effort than needed.

I started out with a good warm up and just felt tired the entire time until the end swim set where I finally calmed myself down. One thing I realized after looking at my splits was that I was actually way ahead of my race pace. That may have been one reason for the fatigue setting in so quickly. I was way ahead of my times which I guess is a good thing, but that sure did not help during the workout when I thought I was going to drown.

The pool and the air temp was very warm today. I was very hot while swimming so that did not help matters.

Warm Up

2 x 400 (200 Free, 4 x 25 DPS with 15 RI)
200 @ 3:26, 23, 23, 21, 23 (all at 14-15 DPS)
200 @ 3:03, 20, 21, 20, 20 (all at 14-15 DPS) - you can see my split times were quite fast for a warm up

2 x 50 Kickset with boards @ 51 and 49

Main Set 1
2 sets of the following

300 @ T-Pace + :05 with 30 RI going into 3 x 100 @ T Pace with 15 RI
-My times for this should have been 4:53 and 1:36

Here is what I swam
300 @ 4:23
100's @ 1:26, 1:29, and 1:29

Second Set
300 @ 4:34
100's @ 1:29, 1:29, and 1:31

You can see I was way ahead, but I had lost my sense of pace from not swimming in a while. I will get it back by the end of the week. This does help explain why I was so tired.

Main Set 2
16 x 50's (odds easy and evens hard) with 20 RI
My T-Pace for 50's are 48 sec
46,40, 43, 40, 44, 40, 46, 39, 45, 39, 43, 38, 44, 38, 45, 38 - I was a happy to see my time go down on the fast sets

100 Kick set as cool down in 2:05

Total Swim Time was 42:15, but workout took over an hour as I did some talking with Chad and took a few seconds longer break after the 300's

Total Yardage: 3000 yards

I am dragging major butt today. I am curious to see how the body responds tomorrow to the running. GETTING IT DONE! has returned. Rest is nice, but it sure puts you behind.

119 Days - Jamaica Vacation Training Totals and Sunday Afternoon Bike Ride

For my first post pertaining to Jamaica I am going to just share my training. I did not train too much, but I did get off the beach chair and get some training done.

I had purchased a GPS swim device that straps to goggles to track open water swimming. I had it all charged and ready to go, but my first morning in Jamaica I gave it a try and found the battery dead. It somehow turned on during the flight and worn the battery out. I was very mad. Not a great way to start my vacation. I woke up early Tuesday morning and headed to the ocean around 7 am to perform my first open water swim workout. This did not turn out to be a very long workout. First, I was mad because I had no way of gauging how far  I was swimming. Second, I panicked in the water. I jumped in and started swimming. The water was warm and calm with no waves. However, I started looking around and just froze thinking something was going to get me. I was so out of my element. I then gagged on some salt water and was thankful most people were still sleeping. I did swim a couple 100's based on my DPS calculations and then decided to just end it. I ran back up to my room changed clothes and went for a run instead.


My run was awesome. There is something so peaceful running along the ocean. There was 7 miles of beach and I ran 3 miles out and back. There was a really cool nature trail I ran on from beach to beach. The first time I was a little scared as there were Jamaicans sitting around offering weed and goodies. They were harmless, but it did catch me off guard. Running and just seeing beach was beautiful. Everyone was coming out raking the beach, prepping the stores and restaurants. It was awesome. Not sure how else to describe it. The first run I ran in my favorite pair of running shoes and I am pretty sure I ruined them with sand and water. I ran a pretty good pace. It was just perfect weather for running.

Wednesday I did not run as my knees were tender from running in the sand and my shoes were still soaked. I did go to the gym right on the beach and ride a bike. I rode a pretty cool stationary bike that allowed me to ride up a mountain. It was a tough workout. I biked 12 miles in 31:43 ascended 6600 feet and had an average HR of 144. I also lifted weights. Yes, that is right. I actually pumped up these weak muscles. It felt great. I need a beach with a gym here in Iowa. I had a great morning.

Thursday I ran again. I ran in my Five Fingers. My feet were sore and tender from walking barefoot or in sandals all the time. Once I got going the pain went away and I felt fine. It was much easier running in these shoes than my running shoes. However, after I finished my run my left foot flared up in pain. It has done nothing but get worse since Thursday. I am super angry with this stupid pain. I was not expecting setback from Jamaica with injury. Saturday I could barely walk. I hope that it will go away, but I am thinking running six miles on the beach practically barefoot is what triggered the pain.

My Thursday run was a little slower, but I did run sub 7:00 at the end. I was really hitting on all cylinders towards the end.

I always started each morning sitting on the beach to reserve our 8 chairs and sip on some delicious Jamaican coffee. After about 10-15 minutes I would run and always end by sitting on the beach for another 30 minutes or so before waking up Amanda for some monster breakfast. It was awesome.


Today(Sunday) I took my bike outside. I wanted to run, but with my foot hurting I decided not to do so. I rode 29 miles and it was so hard. The wind was against me the entire time. The bike path was packed with people. I really struggled to get my cadence and/or my speed up to where I ride on my trainer. My bike needs serious work or else my race times are going to suck. I have time to get it dialed in, but I must become more efficient my bike. My knees hurt super bad at the end of the ride along with my foot, but I am glad I got out and enjoyed the Iowa sunshine.

I got in some good workouts during this week of rest. I need to get my foot back on track and get things dialed in again. I have my workouts planned for the week and look forward to getting back to eating better, sleeping normal, and training hard. My swims were not recorded but I was constantly swimming in the ocean searching for starfish, stingrays, crabs, etc. We also snorkeled twice so I got some good fin kick workouts in while out checking coral and marine life. It was a great week. I wish I could head back to the islands. Maybe we can swing something next year to celebrate 10 years of marriage. It is back to reality now. Paying bills and hanging out with my awesome kids. I was able to knock out 12 miles of running, 41 miles on the bike, and swimming was unknown and one weight lifting session.

Here are some photos of Jamaica. Good times and congrats to my In Laws for 40 years of marriage. I hope that when we are married 40 years we can enjoy Jamaica!

119 Days Until 70.3 Racine - A Week in Jamaica And I Feel Very Far Behind

Late last night we finally made it back home to Iowa after spending a week in Negril, Jamaica. I had a fantastic time of sitting by the ocean, swimming, eating, drinking fruity drinks, and staying up late. It was a well deserved break from the busy lives we lead. It felt awesome to wake up, drink coffee by the ocean until 10:00 am and just not worry about a thing.

I will be working on a series of posts about Jamaica throughout the week, but just wanted to get back in the groove of posting to the blog and getting caught up online. I only accessed internet once while there and it was amazing how much time that frees up.

This post is short and just really a check in to let everyone know that I am back and ready to get back to my regular posting and training schedule. I have returned ready to train, but also dealing with another foot injury. I am struggling like crazy just to walk normal. I hope it is something minor that will go away once I get back to walking with shoes again, but I was in some pain.

I think my fitness levels have dropped quite a bit since last weekend, but I am trying not to worry. I am going to head out for a bike ride outside to get used to some biking and to practice riding outdoors.

I am not quite back in normal yet and maybe that is a good thing. I will work on keeping the Jamaican vibe of taking things with a positive outlook.

Until my next post, I hope you enjoy the rest of this wonderful weather. It sounds like it was amazing weather with people doing some amazing things with their training and the St. Patrick's Day 5K race.

I look forward to catching up with everyone.

126 Days - End of Week Totals and Looking Forward To Some Rest(maybe)

That darn time change really spun my sleep out of control.

Last night I squeezed in a little power bike workout when the kids went to bed. I was so tired from cleaning and doing all sorts of little things to get ready for our vacation. It was hard cleaning and doing this and that when I just felt like hanging with the kids and watching basketball. But, the kids were outside enjoying the weather and I don't think they wanted to be with us anyways. After scrubbing the floors and debating going to bed I forced myself on the bike. I set out to get 4 workouts on the bike this week and I did not want to let myself down.

I just cranked on the bike and worked on a hard gear until I hit 15 miles. I was tired. My knees were tender from the run in the morning and from doing things all day. I knocked out 15 miles in 35 minutes and was glad I got on the bike.

However, as I was getting ready for bed and setting my alarm for a 4:30 wake up I realized that the time change messed things up and put that wake up call at about 3-4 hours of sleep. Not good.

My alarm went off around 5 am, but I did not move. I was sore and tired. My legs were fatigued from the bike ride just a few hours before.

Finally, around 6 am I got myself up. I was already an hour behind and knew I was not going to get in a 40 mile ride. I forced myself on the bike and started one of my Spinerval workouts. After about 20 minutes of shifting gears, standing, going high cadence, etc. my knees told me that 40 miles was not going to happen. Perhaps this was a good thing because amazingly so we still have tons of things to do today. This house is more organized and clean than ever before.

When I decided to pull the plug on the 40 mile ride I was around 15 miles into the workout so I just told myself to keep riding at least until I completed one hour. I was able to do just that. I completed 22.06 miles in 60 minutes.

My legs are tired, but I was able to get four workouts in on the bike with three workouts in three days.

Overall, this week was nothing amazing, but I had a great week totaling122.31 miles of training in 9 workouts. This is my third largest volume in a week since I started training.

I ended the week with 4 bike workouts for 96.12 miles
I ended the week with only 2 swim workouts for 3.2 miles
I ended the week with 3 run workouts for 22.99 miles

My training totals after 15 weeks

871.61 miles on the bike
321.76 miles on the road
52.95 miles in the water

Total Volume: 1245.85 miles

This blog will be empty for the next week as I head to vacation. It is going to be hard leaving my kids, but I know they are in great care with family and friends and being able to hang out at home.

Have a great Spring Break. I hope I am able to come back feeling refreshed and rejuvenated to get after my training. I also hope I don't become a complete slob and am able to get some runs and swims in. Most importantly I hope to come back and find that I finally have received some donations for all the causes of Live Uncommon Revolution with starting with the CASI St. Patrick's Day 5K Race. Just click on the link over in the sidebar.

Until I return, keep striving with your goals and GETTING IT DONE!

I just hope the beaches are as splendid as the Iowa beaches we ran by along the Mississippi River yesterday.

127 Days - Saturday Morning Run With Outstanding Group of People

This weekend the Leadville guys(John and Rick) were out of town so we organized our own run today. I sent out some emails after figuring out a few details with Katie and Chad and hoped for the best. We met over at Starbucks and was very happy to see a nice group of people show up at 5:30 am on their weekend and Spring Break to join us for a run. That is dedication. At 5:30 we headed out in of the largest groups we have had for a long run - Chad, Katie, Jane, Jay, John, Josiah, Phil, Anne, and myself. 9 people out Living Uncommon. We ran downhill as navigated some road to make our way to the river running through the East Village. It was good to mix up our regular run routes and run some new roads.

As we made our way to the Arsenal Bridge we decided to change our intended path and go bridge to bridge, but once we jumped on the bridge we realized the bridge was open to go all the way across. You will notice a slower time on mile 4 and that was our turn around getting everyone on track with our planning mistake. It was not a big deal, but next time perhaps we should look ahead and be sure the bridge is passable.

We made our way to our halfway point in 45:27. That was a good pace. I was not planning on running too fast, but we started off at a good pace due to running downhill and it just took off from there. We made sure everyone made it and we headed back. We took off and made some good time.

We really picked up the pace on the run back. The great thing was that it felt nice and smooth. I did not feel like I pushing my limits. I felt really good. As we made our way up the Middle Road hill I thought my heart was going to shoot out of my chest, but it was good push. As Byrne always says this is a Character Builder and this hill is a good one. We ascended the top of the hill and I tried to calm my breathing and finish the run strong and was able to do so. We ended up cutting off 6 minutes on the way back. That is a great negative split. I was very happy and the 10 miles seemed like nothing. We were talking about how it was not that long ago that our workouts were 3-4 miles and here we are running 10 miles and it feels good.

It was a great morning and a great run. It was awesome to see Josiah join us. He was a great source of motivation for during my first marathon last fall and without him helping me along I am not sure I would have made my goal of under 4 hours. He ran well today as he told me it was a faster pace than he has ran in a while.

After everyone made it back we headed indoors for some coffee. I like this part best as we just take the time to not only train, but to take a few minutes to shoot the breeze and get to know each other a little bit better. I think this helps with the training. As we get to know each other more and more it helps us stay motivated to showing up and helping each other feeling more comfortable with pushing ourselves beyond our own limits of our mind. Being that we had some new people join us - Anne and Josiah and Jay for a long run it is nice to take time to get to know them.

After some coffee talk I grabbed the donuts for "the kids". I did sneak in some tasty pastries, but the kids were excited to have donuts. I dread the day I go for a long run and forget donuts.




I hope everyone has a great week. I head for vacation tomorrow and hope to get some miles in the water and along the water, but that may not happen. I am treating this week as a rest week as I have not taken a day off since February 4th. It is important to rest and I must give the body time to recover. I still have two bike rides to get in before leaving in addition to the extensive To Do list that was created by Amanda this morning.

Good luck training. Good luck to everyone running the 5K next weekend. I look forward to coming back and seeing some amazing times. GETTING IT DONE! is in effect and we took care of things this morning.

128 Days - Ditching Pool For Bike Workout

This morning I had to give up and sacrifice a swim workout for a bike workout. I skipped the last two nights of riding the bike. Being the last week in the quarter my week was a monster between Lego Robotics Parent Meeting and our ELP Showcase. I came home late from school both nights and crashed.

Last night Ava decided to get up like 4 times so my sleep was bad. I knew that if I "planned" on riding tonight it would not happen. There is too much to do and get done with our vacation only days away. I MUST get some bike rides in as I know I won't be on a bike for the next week.

This morning I made myself get on the bike and I completed the last of the Spinervals DVD's that I own that I have not tried yet. This might have been the toughest workout I have done. No joke! It was hard.

I completed Spinerval 14: Totally Time Trial. Here is what I knocked out bright and early at 4:30 in the morning after being awake since 3:15.

They call it the race of truth - athlete versus the stopwatch. There is no better measure of a cyclist's fitness. Perfect for any rider getting ready for a time trial or simply wanting to increase their lactate threshold!

After some warm up drills and few other things there was 4 x 15 minute bike sessions that were nothing but a butt whipping. I have never sweated so much in my life. It was great. I needed it.

That makes for two bike rides this week. I would like to get in two more before leaving Sunday. I have a long run tomorrow along with packing and getting the house ready. I hope to knock out maybe another ride tonight or tomorrow with a longer ride Sunday morning before we leave. Time is of the essence.

Strava Website and App - Coffeechug Likes Strava

The other while browswing online I came across the app Strava which is also a website. I created an account because I want to participate in the Strava GU Challenge.

Here is the info about the challenge. Basically, I want to win some free GU, plain and simple.

GU 100,000 Mile Challenge

03/09/2012—04/09/2012

• 1Day
  Until Challenge Starts

• 2389
  Participants Entered

Let's run as many miles as we can March 9 to April 9.

Put your legs to the test with GU. From March 9 to April 9, rack up as many miles as you can. The more miles you run, the more awesome your prize will be. Hit 100 miles: 8 pack of Peanut Butter GU Energy Gel
Hit 150 miles: 8 pack of Roctane Ultra Endurance Energy Gel
Hit 200 Miles: Mixed box of 24 Energy Gels
Most importantly, if everybody in the challenge runs a combined 100,000 miles within the 31-day period, all participants will receive a special GU VIP card for discounts (up to 35% off) and special offers on GUENERGY.com so you can stock up for the season.
During the challenge, GU will randomly select 5 athletes who post inspiring photos and stories about their training to receive a special GU Gift Pack. All you have to do is post a photo or story about why you love running on the GU Facebook page.

So, I created an account and started loading up some of my runs and rides on the website to check out how it all works. I don't run with my phone so the app does not do much for me in terms of recording my data. However, the site works excellent with my Garmin data. I can simply export my data and Strava loads things up super fast and easy.

I don't really need another location to track my data. I already post my data on this blog, record on my Garmin Training Center and Dailymile. But, I find myself on this site more and more. I really like the layout of the data. Being a person who loves to analyze my data and also being competitive this site gives me my daily fix.

I took some screen shots of what the site offers.

Here is a layout of the run from today. I like how it automatically generates this for you. Yes, Garmin Training Center does the same thing, but Strava provides other key data in a better visual layout in my opinion.

I like how the mile splits are graphed. I enjoy looking at the elevation and all the other little details that serve as nothing more than additional data for me to explore.

This little graph shows how my speed changes as the elevation changes. This will be important later in the year when I start to tackle more hills in my training.

My favorite part of Strava is this piece of data. It constantly records your personal best of different distances. For example, today I thought we had just a typical run with nothing special. When I loaded the run into Strava I realized that the last push in the run created some new achievements in my half mile time. This was good to see that we did indeed push hard and maybe there was more to the workout than I thought. It also told me that this run was my 3rd fastest 10k time. That is what I like.

I just wanted to share my thoughts on Strava in case you are looking for something new with your data. I don't get anything for my little promotion so there is nothing behind this post other than I like to share things I like. I don't know if this site will replace anything that I currently use, but I do think it is one that I will continue to use to help look at my data in a different way.

Garmin Training Center records all my data from my watch which is the base of all data collection.

Dailymile I use to share my runs with my training friends and I really like the social aspect of that site.

My blog is the heart and soul of all I do so that is not going anywhere.

Strava satisfies the nerd in me and also keeps my personal competitive data at my fingertips.