45 Days Part 2 - Swim At YMCA

Right after my run this morning I grabbed my bag and headed to the pool. I was not sure how this swim was going to go after feeling pretty rough on the run. My goal was to just get in the necessary sets and not worry about the total yardage as I had some extra open water swimming on Tuesday. My shoulders are sore from swimming and more importantly from riding in the aero position on my bike.

Today I decided to the workout in reverse. I recently purchased some swim paddles. I finally broke down. Paddles provide a pretty solid workout.

I did the following warm-up
100 free @ 1:47
100 Kick with fins @ 2:02

900 Swim with paddles @ 16:05 - I took my time and just worked on good entry and technique. My lats were tired after this workout

4 x 100 with 30 second rest @ 1:32, 1:31, 1:28, 1:29
100 kick recovery @ 1:57

4 x 50 with 30 second rest @ :41, :40, :40, :40

Instead of recovery swim I chatted with a fellow swimmer

4 x 25 with 15 second rest @ :18,:18, :18, :17
100 Kick recovery @ 1:57

Total Swim Time: 33:10
Total Yards: 1900

I wanted to swim more, but I did not want to overdo it. I have to realize that more, more, more is not always best. I made myself stop at this point and head home to rehydrate and nourish the body.

Two hours of training done by 7 am is a great start to the day.

I still have my big workouts ahead of me this weekend. I hope to stay strong and finish this week on a great training period.

45 Days - 6B46 In The Rain

Woke up early this morning to get the usual 6 mile run in.

It was cold outside only in the 50's. It was overcast and raining. Not pleasant weather to run. I headed to the Y and ran with Emily and Katharine. My legs were tired from the training volume this week so I was quite happy to know they were on the same page of taking it easy and getting in a solid run while battling the rain.

Despite having tired legs they did warm up and feel good towards the end. My shins felt fine. My left hip started giving me issues about mile 5. I may need to hit up Kaminski today and get adjusted.

It felt good to get this run done this morning. Otherwise it would not have happened. Thanks to Emily and Katharine for running with me this morning. We had some good conversation to pass the time.

I hope my legs can recover for the long run this weekend. Proper rest and nutrition should get me back on track.

Off to the pool........

46 Days Part 2 - So I Broke Down And Went To The Track

Right before dinner I broke down and headed to the track. It just bothered me all day to not get the workout in. I hate the track. I really do. All aspects of it. However, I understand the benefits it provides and if I want to run faster, then I must do these workouts.

My legs were tired which is why I did not do the workout in the morning, but in the heat I warmed up pretty quickly.

Here was my workout in simple terms

4 x 100
4 x 200
4 x 400

Here is what I did

.75 mile warmup

4 x 100 @ :19, :20, :20, :21 (I jogged a 100 between each sprint)
400 recovery jog
4 x 200 @ :41, :41, :42, :42 (I jogged a 100 between each sprint)
400 recovery jog
4 x 400 @ 1:26, 1:23, 1:19, 1:18

You can see my first 400 was slower than the rest. The reason being is that I never stopped running/jogging at all during the entire workout up until this point. I just sprinted, jogged the 100 and started again without stopping. I was tired by the first 400. After the first 400, I walked 100 and then started. This gave me better rest time as it is important to get in proper recovery between sets.



I also ran in my new lightweight running shoes. I finally broke down and tried these out. I hesitate to run in these lightweight shoes due to my size and risking injury. However, my tri shoes just don't feel right on the track. When doing the sprints they feel heavy. These shoes feel like slippers even in my size. I felt very lightweight and just floated along on the track. These will be my race shoes and my track workout shoes. I won't use them for anything else, but I really liked running in these shoes.

After I got home I was very sore on my left shin all the way up. I iced both legs off and on the rest of the night hoping that the pain goes away.

All in all I am glad I got this workout done.

46 Days Remaining - Early Bike Ride & I Said No To Track Workout!

My original plan this morning was to get up around 4:15, eat, drink coffee, etc. and head to the track at 5 am for my track workout. My alarm went off and I was just not ready to do the track this morning. I was tired. My body was tired and I knew it would not go well. So, I opted to skip the track and just focus on getting ready for my bike workout.

I am glad I did because I originally thought I had 28 miles, but when I double checked my plan I realized I had 32 miles. 4 miles may not seem like a big deal, but when you add those extra miles to another ride later this week in addition to another long bike ride it all adds up. I was quite happy I did not do the track as my legs would have died.

I headed out on the country roads and did my usual loop until I hit mile 16. The way out was windy. I kept thinking to myself to keep pushing as the wind would be my friend on the way back. The wind played evil tricks as it worked against me even more on the return.

My turnaround point. I stopped for water. No food or GU on this ride.

The sun trying to warm up this chilly morning. I had to wear a long sleeve shirt to ride.

Overall, I had a really good ride. I am getting more comfortable riding in the aero position. I was not quite as unstable as before. I need to get it in to the shop to get fitted more properly, but it really feels good. I cannot believe the difference between this bike and Boris.

I hope to maybe get to the track later today. If not, then I will not fret about it. I have put in some serious miles already and have many more to go this week.

47 Days Remaining Part 2 - Open Water Swim #2 with Hydro Tracker...So Cool!

Finally!

I finally got my Hydro Tracker GPS swim device to work. Actually, I think I finally figured out how to use it. There is not much to this little device. It just sits on my head connected to my goggles. It is small with just a few lights that blink so you have to have faith that it is working. I had much doubt after struggling to make it work, but I got it going.

I met up with the Swim Clinic out at Lake G for an open water swim. I had already ran and swam once today, but I figured I could use all the open water swim practice I can get my hands on. There was a nice turnout and it was a great night to swim. I put my wetsuit on backwards like an idiot so I had to take it off and put it on again making me one of the last to get in the water. Oh well!

This was nice practice to swim in the water for the QC Tri coming up in a few short weeks. I keep forgetting about this race. I need to focus on this race a little bit, but I am distracted by my 70.3 Racince race.

We started off swimming the basic course of the race stopping at each point along the way.

I hit the button on the back of my head and prayed that it worked or else I it might get chucked. It worked! Actually, the info it provides once plugged back into the computer is awesome.

Here is an example of the main screen you get for each workout you upload to the site. You can see that I did not swim too bad in terms of going straight. I am slowly figuring that out more and more. What I like about this is the exact distance, the time, and more importantly my pace. I can see here as my warm up lap that I was around 1:45 for a 100 m swim. I would like to be faster than this. However, my first time in open water like mentioned before I always feel so confined.

Here is another lap of our swim out to another point. This is helpful because I can see my time drop about 6 seconds per 100 m.

You can click View Details and get further data which is cool as well. For this swim I was able to find out the following

In total I swam 2167 yards in 40 minutes or so. Not too bad. We estimated that we were around 2000 so this was a good reminder that open water swimming is not exact science.

Now that I know how to use this device it is going to be my best friend. I love this data and it just gives me more data to crunch and look at.

I was tired after this swim. It was a lot of swimming for one day along with the run. Add to that the work we are trying to do around the house and it was no wonder I was ready for bed around 9.

47 Days Remaining - Tuesday 6B46 and Open Wate Swim with Snakes

Woke up early Tuesday morning to meet up with the CRAZIES at 5 am. I know it is summer time, but it was not too bad getting up early to run. The mornings are perfect at this time. We had a nice group of runners of about 9 to start.

 We moved at a pretty good clip this morning. My legs were tired from the 48 mile ride the day before, but as I continue to run they did start to loosen up. I could tell that my quads were not fully recharged, but it felt good to get this run in and to pick up the pace a little bit after struggling on the run last weekend.

After the run I headed home and talked with Chad and we headed out for an open water swim around 7:30. It was a beautiful morning for a swim. We got a good little swim workout in about an hour. I always feel terrible the first time I jump in the water. I don't know if it is the confinement of the wetsuit and the lack of clarity in the water that makes my heart rate skyrocket and I just cannot get in a groove. After the warmup I felt much better.

Here is what I swam
Swimming is based purely on time so this could be off either way.

Total Swim Time: 36:05

Warm-Up
100 @ 1:35
150 @ 2:14

600 yards @ 10:06
600 yards @ 10:19 (I felt I was swimming faster this round compared to the first round, but who knows)

100 @ 1:24
100 @ 1:25

350 @ 5:47
200 @ 3:13

Total Yardage(guess based on time): 2200 yards

I was getting ready to head out for another circuit and as I prepared to take off I saw something in the water and froze. It was a snake. It was so gross. That freaked me out a little bit. We let it just swim on by and it was not bothered by us at all. I thought that was it for snakes, but after we finished I must have walked over another little snake because as Chad got out he saw this little guy.




The one I saw earlier was about twice the size. Sorry Jeff! I know I freaked you out talking about these guys last night, but now you have some swimming partners.

48 Days Remaining - Cervelo Ride Attempt #2...SUCCESS!!!!!

After my crash and flat tire experience yesterday I woke up early to give it another go today. I headed to Healthy Habits yesterday and got my Cervelo P1 back on track and fixed after my mini crash yesterday.

I woke up at 5 am, ate some waffles, had a cup of coffee, checked the weather and decided to get on with it. I saw rain in the forecast and strong winds so I knew there was no messing around because I could only imagine what would happen if I got caught in a storm!

The winds were already strong. I took off and the bike felt great. I had them fix my pedals and I just pedaled so much more smoothly compared to yesterday. I made my way on Forest Grove and I swear to God my ride about ended.

I am unstable with the aerobars. I forget that any slight movement with my upper body moves the bike. It is a reminder of how much I moved my upper body when riding Boris. Anyways, I found myself heading off the road and within seconds I was dropping off the shoulder straight down about 4 feet into tall grass, shrubs, sticks, etc. I held on and did not crash and was actually able to ride it effectively until I could unclip and stop. I thought for sure I would have a flat tire after all I rode through, but I check things out and it all looked good. So, I kept on, but feeling stupid for going off road only 3 miles into the ride. I swear I am not this bad of a rider, but this Cervelo is a whole new world compared to Boris.

As I rode out to PV Junior High and then further out to the country to McCausland I was just in such a relaxed wonderful state of mind. I had the wind working in my favor as well as the hills. I was cruising it was not long before I hit mile 24 my turnaround spot. I was in the middle of nowhere when I finally hit mile 24. I stopped for a bit to eat a Bonk Breaker bar as I was too scared to eat while riding being how unstable I am on the bike. At mile 21 my chain did pop off and I had to stop to figure out how to get it back on. I don't know what I did to cause it to happen, but it was another moment of dealing with riding.

I rode 24 miles in 67 minutes. I was flying to get to this point. It felt effortless which I would soon learn why, but for the moment I was on cloud 9.

I took some pictures while I was stopped. I really cannot believe how smooth this bike it while I ride.

Here is the view from the saddle.



My view while chopping down on a Bonk Breaker Bar




Now, when I headed back it was a nightmare. The wind was brutal and picking up speed as the storm was moving in. All those hills that allowed me ride at a fast speed were now laughing in my face along with the wind as I had to work like crazy to climb back up. It was a real challenge.

I will admit that it was much, much easier climbing on this bike compared to Boris. It really does require so much less energy to work. I cannot believe it.

I fought and clawed my way back to PV Junior High where I took a quick minute break for some water before finishing up the last 9 miles home.

I made it back in a pretty good time considering this was my first ride and I have much to learn about riding a tri bike.


My legs were tired from the long ride, but I did not feel anywhere near as tired as I had though. With Boris, I would have taken another 15 minutes to finish this course because riding home was brutal.

Despite riding off the shoulder on mile 3, being attacked by redwing blackbirds(one got stuck on my helmet and almost caused me to poop my pants and crash), having my chain fall off, and learning how much the wind can sway this bike(wind did not move Boris) this was an awesome ride. It felt great to get out and get it done.


I came home and 5 minutes later it started to rain. I recovered with some apple cinnamon protein(this stuff is amazing) mixed with ice cream and creatine.




This was a great ride. A great start to the week. I ate like complete crap last week and missed out on this bike ride yesterday so it was not the best of weeks. This week will be better with better eating and some serious training mixed in.

Enjoy the day with friends and family

Here is my route I rode this morning

Note for my self:

Nutrition Intake: Water Bottle of Water, 1/2 water bottle of water, 1 Bonk Breaker
**Working on realizing I don't need as much nutrition as I think I do**

Bike(s) of Coffeechug - Boris and Cervelo P1

Well, Boris and I had a great run together these last six months or so.

Boris and I have been riding strong together for 1700 miles. Never had a crash. Never had any issues once we got dialed in and eliminated the terrible knee pain I endured and the one flat tire.

dfad

Boris and I have traveled almost to Fulton, IL on a flat tire. We have traveled all over Duck Creek and a few times out in the country. Mostly Boris and I were held up inside on a trainer dealing with the dullness of riding and not moving.

Boris lead to a great time for my first triathlon. Good old Boris will not be forgotten, but will be missed as I sold Boris today.

It was a bittersweet moment, but I know good old Boris is in good hands with a Navy guy heading to Maryland.

In other news, my new Cervelo is back in working condition. Thanks to the guys at Healthy Habits for taking a look at it and getting things back up and working. I am going to try another ride tomorrow. I have not had much luck with riding outdoors. This has been my second flat tire in about 8 rides outside. It almost makes want to stick to riding on my trainer, but I know I have to get acclimated to heat and the roads.

So, I will assemble my Cervelo back up to riding position like it was this morning and give it another go tomorrow morning taking today as a rest day. This means my weekly total for this week will be low, but my totals next week will be super high with two long rides in one week.

I just hope that I don't crash and I don't get another flat because that will send me over the edge. Perhaps on this long ride I will have a name for this new bike. Nothing has come into view yet, but how can it when you have only rode 2 miles and bang it up against the curb. We have some bonding to do before a name emerges.

49 Days Remaining - First Ride On Cervelo = Flat Tire and Crash

I woke up this morning excited and ready to ride my bike. I texted Chad and he was going to ride part of my 48 mile bike ride this morning. I was looking forward to breaking in my new sweet ride. I got up and placed all my nutrition and water on the bike as it was already quite humid and warm at 6 am.



Chad arrived around 6:45 and we headed out. The bike felt great. I really enjoyed how smooth the riding and handling of the bike feels compared to Boris.

And then the fun began.........

As we made our way out to Forest Grove my bike started to make this terrible rattling noise. I started checking my aerobars, brakes, handlebars, etc. I could not figure it out. I then decided to check my tire and my front tire looked like it was going flat.

Of course at this point we are going down a slight downhill. I told Chad I was going to stop and check out my bike and started to slow down when my bike slid out from under me.

I could not get unclipped so I went down with the bike.

I hit a curb and bounced right into grass so I was fine except for my shin is a little sore. The problem lies in my bike.



My chain is messed up in terms of being mixed in with this part seen in the picture above.


I also scratched up my crankset as well. I can't tell if it is bent or not, but decided to err on the side of caution and not ride it until I get it into the bike shop.

Thank goodness for Chad. He rode back to my house, grabbed my car and drove out to help me load up the bike.

So, I guess today is going to be a rest day as I will not be riding as planned. I am frustrated to say the least. However, I do believe things happen for a reason so I tell myself that this happened for a reason. Perhaps my body needed the rest today and not tomorrow. Perhaps I needed to crash to give Amanda something to chuckle about this morning when she said, "You have to admit that seeing something as big as you crash had to have been entertaining!"

Quite a few cars did stop and ask if I needed anything so that was a good reminder of how thoughtful people can be.

I guess the bike has some battle scars already and it is slowly earning its stripes. Two miles in and the fun has already begun.

Let the day begin......

My New Cervelo P1 Tri Bike!

I went from this bike: 2003 Fuji League Road Bike worth $359 at one point in time(I paid $80)




To my new ride a Cervelo P1. Yes, I wish I could have gone P2 with all carbon, but life with three kids does not allow me to do so. I am super excited to get this bad boy out on the roads and see how it feels and performs compared to Boris.




I cannot believe I did it! I am a proud owner of a new tri bike. Boo-Ya!!

Time to learn how to ride in the aero position and all the new tricks of the trade before Racine 70.3

50 Days Remaining - Felt Like A Turd With A Turd In His Pocket

I did not have it in me today. Everyone who goes through training has these days. Today was my day. I was up early to eat my waffle and coffee as normal. Met up with Chad, Katie, and John at 4:30 to begin the first loop. My training called for 12 miles with 7 at marathon pace. I knew from the start this was not going to be an easy run.

Mile 1 - The legs still had that tired feeling that I have been battling all week. It is not soreness nor does it feel like I should not be training, but they just don't have that bounce that I have felt the last month or so.

Mile 2 - This is when I knew it was going downhill and would be a mental battle the rest of the way. My left calf cramped right in the middle. It hurt and never really left the rest of the run. Even now after the run with compression socks it is pretty tender from the cramp. My usual cramp that I have dealt with all week in my right calf kicked in and I just had to focus on keeping good stride.

Mile 3 my watch started going crazy on me again and I had to delete some history and reset it to get it going again.

Here is the first part that my watch recorded. Nice and slow. Any other time I would be mad about the mile times, but today  I struggled to keep up with the rest at this pace. Thank goodness I had Katie, Chad, and John out running with me because I would have just quit.

We looped back to the Crow Creek at 6 am and was joined by many others. It is such an awesome site to see others up early ready to get some running done. I headed back out for 3 more miles to get my 12 miles in. Chad came back with and that helped to get me back to Crow Creek.

I never did get to my marathon race pace of 7:54, but that is okay. What is more important is listening to my body. Some days you have it and other days you don't. This is a reminder about the importance of sleep, hydration, proper nutrition, and rest.

I have a big bike ride tomorrow that I will hopefully be completing on a new bike. I hope to have a good ride to end the week of training and then take Monday off to rest and let my body have some downtime. Then come Tuesday it will be back to the grind picking up the training a little bit more. Hard to believe that in 50 days I will be knocking out my first half Ironman.

51 Days Remaining Part 2: Afternoon Bike Workout On Trainer

Ava finally went down this afternoon. Little stinker was loving her first day of summer vacation and did not want to lay down for a nap. Around 2:15 she finally gave in and I quickly jumped on the bike. I wrapped up the end of No Strings Attached and began watching a documentary that is proving to be quite interesting.

Anyways, my bike workout called for 3 x 7 miles @ 56 mile race pace. Being that I have not participated in a 70.3 Ironman yet I don't really know my time. Being on the trainer I decided to ride at a pace that I thought was similar to how I felt during the Bluff Creek Triathlon. I knew that the speed would be much higher due to the trainer, but I wanted to begin to stimulate race conditions. Between each set I rode 2 miles at a lower gear.

I did the first mile warm up and then began. Miles 2-8 were my first split and I was in a good groove. I was riding at a good clip for me even on the trainer. I had to stop after mile 8 briefly as I jumped on the bike so quick that I forgot to fill my water bottle and put on my heart rate monitor. I grabbed those and jumped back on to ride two easy miles and began set 2. Set 2 went good as well. I was able to maintain a good pace and stay strong during the 7 miles. I then had to stop again to take care of Aiden and Addy. This was about 5 minutes. I jumped back on while the kids picked up the basement before going back out to play. The third set was a little more challenging as my legs started to get tired the last few miles. I ended up with a 2 mile cool down and called it a day.

I am glad I was able to get this done this afternoon. This will give my legs some good rest before my 12 mile run at 4:30 am tomorrow. So much for sleeping in this summer break!

Time for a shower because my headphones smell so disgusting and it stains my face of nastiness when I sweat. Ava is starting to wake up so let the craziness begin again.

51 Days Remaining - Friday Morning Swim After Late Night

I got home late from a retirement for a teacher in our building last night. It was a good time hanging around with everyone one more time before the summer begins and we just don't connect as much.

The downside to this is that 4:30 am came very early this morning. I had to swim early as Amanda is still teaching today. I really thought about skipping, but my body automatically wakes up early anymore so I was up whether I wanted to or not.

The plan for today was 3000 yards with a 30 minute continuous swim mixed in.

Warm-Up
100 free
100 pull
100 kick

30 Minute Swim - This went rather well. I swam nice and calm. I grew a little tired in the shoulders around lap 50, but everything else felt great. I ended up with 66 lengths or 1650 yards. Almost a mile. The great thing about this was that it felt easy. It makes we want to do another T-30 test to see where I am at in terms of making improvements in my swimming. I know back in January my T-30 test was 64 lengths are today I swam a little farther, but it felt nice, easy, and relaxing.

After the big set of swimming I still had some more swimming to do. My paddles finally came in. I never use paddles, but the plan calls for the use of paddles quite a bit these next two months. I mixed in the paddles working on my stroke doing the following sets

200 paddles
200 pull
300 paddles
200 pull
150 kick
50 free

Total Yardage 3150

A big day of swimming. My shoulders were dead tired by the end. Off to relax and hopefully sleep when Ava takes a morning nap. Hanging out with the kids today while Amanda is at work. I hope to get a bike ride in this afternoon when Ava lays down(if she lays down).

Don't forget we will be running bright and early tomorrow morning at 4:30 am meeting up at Crow Creek. We will meet up back at Crow Creek at 6 am for another loop. Hope to see some of you there.

52 Days Remaining - Thursday Running - 6B46 and Afternoon Track Workout

Thursday morning came quickly after getting to bed a little after 10 from the bike ride. My legs were tired. They have been tired all week, but they were more tired than usual with the bike ride from the night before.

I met up with the 6B46 group. You could tell we were mostly teachers because we were all a little slower than usual.

My plans called for 9 miles with some track workout prior to running. My original plan was to wake up at 4 am, run on the track and then run with the group.

That did not happen. I was too tired.

So, I did the 6B46 and I am glad I did not do more because these six miles were enough of a challenge. My legs just did not want to get going.

I ran the first two miles with Ben and it sure felt like we were running much faster. We lost the other runners as some cut the run short and others were just not feeling the greatest. I reconnected with Jane and Chad at Hy-Vee to finish up the run with some good conversation and running peeps. My legs did start to come back to feeling normal towards the end, but I can tell that I need some rest and the summer to get here. The lingering effects of the race and the last week of school leads to one tough week.

After wrapping up another school year, I came home and pondered whether to sleep the afternoon away before the kids got home or look at bikes and do a track workout. I decided to try out some tri bikes.

I really fell in love with the Cervelo P1. I wish I could afford a P2, but the P1 is barely affordable with our budget and expenses. It was a night and day difference riding on this bike compared to Boris. I realized right away how much harder I have to work to move Boris compared to this bike. This was amidst some crazy winds.

After riding the bike, I head to the high school for a track workout. I was joined by Tritt

Here is what I did

1 mile warmup

4 x 100 with 100 jog @ target pace of 19-20 seconds. We were right on at :18, :19, :20, :20
400 recovery jog
4 x 200 with 100 jog @ target pace of 39-42 seconds. We were dead on again at :40, :40, :40, :42
400 recovery jog
4 x 400 with 100 jog @ target pace of 1:22 - 1:34. We ran real well despite my legs feeling very tired. 1:24, 1:24, 1:24, 1:25

Tritt stuck around and did some 800's, but I did not push beyond what my plan called for. I felt good for getting this done despite the sun and the strong wind. The one turn was brutal! This is the first time I have ran two times in one day. It was nice to break things up. My left foot hurt after the run and my legs were dead.

This was another big day of training. I am slowly adjusting to my new plans for the Half Ironman. Back to the pool tomorrow and hopefully a bike ride later in the day.

53 Days Remaining - Late Wednesday Night Bike Ride

I finally got my Garmin Watch and Trainer Center Software working again. I was in a little bit of a panic as I thought I lost all my data. So, I wanted to post my run splits from the Bluff Creek Triathlon last Sunday just so I have the data in case something happens in the future. Also, this is a great reminder to myself that I can exceed expectations and my training is paying off. I am still in disbelief that I was able to run sub 7:00 mile splits during the run of the race. I needed to post this to remind myself as I have been struggling in my training this week.


On Wednesday night after a long day of teaching, retirement party, and cranky/tired kids I mustered up some energy somewhere to ride. This was my first on the bike since the race. To be honest I was not that excited to jump on the bike again. I hooked up my bike in front of my computer, turned on Netflix and rode. I had a workout to do, but with how tired I have felt this week I decided to just ride at a comfortable pace for the 28 miles to get my legs back. I felt really good during the ride. Legs felt great once they warmed up. I just struggled mentally to stay on the bike. I watched "No Strings Attached" and it did an okay job holding my interest. I don't know how it ends, but will wrap it up when I ride again.

I finished up on the bike around 10 pm Wednesday and went to bed to get some sleep before waking up early for the 6B46 run. A good day of training with swimming early in the morning and a late bike ride.

Don't Forget The Most Important Element In Your Triathlon Training Is......

As I am working through my training for my first half marathon that looms just 7.5 weeks away I have begun to worry about this and that. I realize that I am far more powerful and in better shape than what I give myself credit for. The key that I learned from my first triathlon last weekend was the power of the brain. I freaked in the water at the beginning of the race, but calmed down and swam well. On the bike I started strong and almost mentally lost my toughness, but regained it to stay on track to ride a great time for myself. The run followed the same situation.

Read an article today about  Chrissie Wellington and her thoughts on mental toughness she says the following:

The message is this: All the physical strength in the world won’t help you if your mind is not prepared. This is part of training for a race — the part that people don’t put in their logbooks, the part that all the monitors, gizmos and gadgets in the world can’t influence. (Source)

So true. I read this and it helped put me back in the right mental state of mind to keep plunging forward, pushing and testing my body to new limits to see what I am capable of. In the end I need to live up to my mantra of GETTING IT DONE! and the only thing that can measure my mental toughness is my heart! I won't let myself down.

53 Days Remaining - Late Night Run and Early Morning Swim

Late last night I found some energy somewhere and headed out for a run. My training plan is being modified slightly this week as I am recovering from my race, yet I feel stressed with my 70.3 Ironman being less than 8 weeks away.

My plan called for a 9 mile run with 3 x 2 miles @ half marathon pace with 400 recovery.

I started off the run and decided to just gauge how my legs felt to decide what I would do. My legs felt tired the first few miles. After the first mile I decided to just run 6 miles as 9 would be too much. Because I was running only 6 miles I decided to plan on making sure my average mile pace for the 6 miles was at my half marathon pace. Ideally, I would like to run about 7:30 - 7:40 mile pace for the half after getting off the bike for my 70.3 Ironman.

Around mile 4 my stomach started to gurgle. As my legs were feeling tired I was able to distract my leg fatigue with my focus on getting home. I ran really well the last two miles. I actually felt really good in my legs. I did fear that I was going to pull a Jeff, but just not have the water to hide in! I picked up the pace quite a bit the last mile to make it home in time. I ran the last mile at a 7:14 pace. I don't have the mile breakdown because my Garmin software on my computer is currently not working nor is my watch. I know I ran the 6 miles in 45 minutes and some odd seconds.

This morning I headed to the pool to swim. The plan was pretty simple today. Swim 2400 yards with 3 x 500 with 60 second rest at 2000 yard pace.

I swam 200 free warm-up in 3:36
100 kick with board - 2:05
200 pull - 3:22

Set 1: 500 in 8:43
Set 2: 500 in 8:22
Set 3: 500 in 8:19

50 kick where I cramped big time in my right leg behind my knee. It hurt something fierce. I was not able to do drill work and decided to just pull buoy it to reach my total yardage

350 pull 6:00

It was a good workout. I need to keep drinking water. I have been consuming water like crazy, but have been cramping like crazy yesterday and today.

I hope to get on the bike tonight and then running again tomorrow morning.

54 Days Remaining - Live Uncommon Staff Breakfast, Busy Morning = No Run

This morning Chad and Katie really took charge to organize a staff breakfast this morning. I was included in the mix, but I will be honest and cannot take much credit besides helping out this morning. Chad and Katie did all the backwork to get it ready. We hosted a breakfast for our staff here at BMS and took donations to help us reach our Live Uncommon goals of trying to raise $700 each. I know it sounds like a lot to raise, especially with money being so tight for so many people, but the money goes to some amazing charities. We have an amazing staff that really came early this morning, grabbed some coffee, juice, donuts, eggs, pancakes, etc. and gave a little of their hard earned cash to help. It was another reminder how AWESOME are staff really is. Nobody can doubt or question how strong of a staff we have here at BMS when it comes to helping students, each other, and the community. It was a nice start to the day seeing staff come down and enjoy the breakfast and start the day right.

Obviously, not all of you reading this were able to make the breakfast. I know I have posted information about LIVE UNCOMMON and helping to raise money before, but I will throw it out there again. You can help out in many ways. Feel free to offer whatever you can to my donation page. I honestly don't care if it is even a dollar. Every penny helps out someone in need and we are supporting all types of charities to help all types of people. I really believe in what I am representing when I wear my LIVE UNCOMMON gear to all my races and training sessions. I am proud to be part of an amazing team of people who are striving to meet their own goals while working even harder to raise money for others in the community. I still have a long way to go in my fundraising so I thank you in advance for any support you can provide.

Here are the races along with links to what each race is raising money for.

The Series Causes
CASI - Center for Active Seniors
5K
March 17
Davenport, Iowa

Run for Renewal
5K
April 21
Davenport, Iowa

Live Uncommon Torchlight Parade
3 Mile (untimed)
June 2 – 8:30 PM
Davenport, Iowa

Race for the Cure
5K
June 9
Moline, Illinois

Moonlight Chase
4 Mile
July 14 – 9:00 PM
Eldridge, Iowa

OUCH Half Marathon
HALF MARATHON, 10K and 5K
August 18
Bettendorf, Iowa

Quad Cities Marathon
Half Marathon, Marathon Relay
5K
September 23
Moline, Illinois

With all that being said, my training is a little off. I did swim yesterday, but that was all I did for the rest of the day. I ate however I wanted so that meant ice cream and a blizzard. It was my last day of gorging. I felt like I needed one more day of eating whatever before getting serious again.

The plan that I have laid out is a 8 week half ironman plan that builds upon my Olympic distance training plan that I just completed the last few months. It is a sequential type builder where the Olympic plan ends and this one continues on. The problem that I have is that I don't know how long of a recovery I should take. This is all new territory that I am treading. I am constantly reading and researching and adapting things based on my body and needs.  I cannot wait too long as my 70.3 Racine race is now less than 8 weeks away, but I don't want to push too hard too soon and risk bad training or a possible injury.

So, I took it as a sign to not run this morning with the 6B46 group. I needed to be at school early so I opted to stay home and make sure I had the kids ready to go as Amanda had to take the kids to the babysitter this morning and this is out of her way. She is awesome! Thank goodness for Amanda.

My body is feeling back to normal. I have no soreness. I still feel a little tired, but nothing out of the ordinary from training, and being the last week of school. My plan calls for a 9 mile run tonight with some track work mixed in. I don't know that I will do the track work, but I do plan on hopefully getting out for a run later tonight if things go according to plan.

By tomorrow I do plan on being back in full swing with my training. I think my body is ready. My mind is ready and I know that I have some serious work to do in order to be ready for a 70.3 Ironman race. I am not ready physically or mentally right now for a race of this size. I have goals and expectations for myself even though this will be my first one.

I feel weird not running this morning. I missed my group of CRAZIES. I will be ready Thursday to join them. I am ready to get back into full swing of training. The nerves of my big race have me ready to get after it. After racing Sunday, I know that I have some weaknesses that need to worked.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for helping out my fundraising efforts if you can. Thanks to everyone who continues to offer advice and keep me in check through my training. I really appreciate it all.

55 Days Remaining - 8 Weeks To 70.3 Racine - SCARY!!!!!

I woke up tired from my first triathlon race yesterday. After battling the wide range of emotions, adrenaline, and four hour car drive I was exhausted. I crashed in bed with Addy as we snuggled watching some TV before bed. You can always count on Addy for some quality snuggle time if you need it.

This morning I woke up not feeling overly sore. My lower back was sore from the back spasms, but that was about it. I felt tired. My body was pushed yesterday and I could tell it was not as fresh as it was just a few days prior. I thought about skipping my workout today, but I could not fall asleep so I decided to go to the pool and GET IT DONE!

My goal was to do the workout, but not really worry about time. To be honest that last thing I wanted to do was get in the pool.

I started off with a 200 yard free warmup @ 3:35, then a 200 yard kick @ 4:12, and then 150 yard pull @ 2:41. I pulled up 50 yards short to talk with Jay a little bit about the race.

I then got into my workout

Set 1: 4 x 25 @ 100 yard target velocity - :21, :21, :22, :21
Set 2: 50 easy  @:51
Set 3: 4 x 50 @ 200 yard target velocity - :48, :44, :44, :46
Set 4: 50 yard easy @ :52
Set 5: 4 x 100 @ 500 yard target velocity - 1:39, 1:40, 1:38, 1:37,
Set 6: 100 easy @ 1:46
Set 7: 800 yard with paddles(I don't own paddles so I swam regular) @ 14:12

Cool down of 100 yard kick @ 2:01


Total yards:2350


My legs were dead. They were dragging like anchors. It did feel good to be moving and loosening up the body. Lots  of fluids today and time shift to my big race. As much as I feel good about my race yesterday it is time to move on and get ready for my big one. My training is going to be intense. 8 weeks of working harder than I have ever worked before. I know I can do it, but it is not going to be easy. Back to running tomorrow with some major increase in workouts and mileage.

Bluff Creek Triathlon Race Recap

Alright, this is going to be a lengthy post as I recap my first triathlon. Most of this is for me to remember what I did and how I operated along with some good stories mixed in.

To start things off we headed out for Ogden, Iowa which is basically in the middle of nowhere Saturday afternoon around 3:00. As I left for the race that day, Ava was once again sick with hand, foot, and mouth disease. It was getting worse as I was leaving. It is never good to leave your spouse behind with three kids with one sick. Great thing Amanda is a trooper and one tough mamma. Jeff, Josiah, Chad and myself met up and we took off. Jeff was battling a cold, Josiah just lost his grandfather, and so we were heading out with many things on our minds.

Our drive to the packet pick-up was interesting. Two times along they way we about left a turd in our pants due to some terrible drivers. One lady decided to come to a complete stop in the left lane of the highway so she could pull an illegal U-Turn. I don't know how we avoided her as well as Jeff and Josiah behind us not ending up in the back of the truck.

On the way, Boris was able to bond and make some connections with some higher class bikes.



We made it to pick up, checked out a few rules as Chad, Josiah, and myself were competing in our first triathlon ever. We decided to hit up our pre race dinner while in town and decided to hit up a Pizza Ranch. You would have been amazed at the amount of food we consumed. It was a feat in itself.

Here is a picture of one of about three rounds of food we ate. Jeff being the smallest of the three put on a miracle display of eating. It was absurd how much food and ice cream we put away. I walked out of there knowing I would be regretting that 3rd and 4th round of food.



From here we headed to the hotel. A good old dandy Super 8 and when we pulled up we realized we were right across the street from a dirt race track. The video below does not do the sound volume justice, but you get the idea.

We also had the great opportunity of seeing this old black Crown Victoria car with a crazy decal job open up the trunk and show a pretty sweet high end bike. We found out she was a pro cyclist. It made for some interesting talk. Even better was when Chad helped her friend get the bike into the hotel doorway and he caused her to completely wipe out and fall over her bike. It was awesome! It was just another event to our day.

Our room was tight. Four of us in one room with our bikes and gear. We made it work. Chad, Jeff, and I went out for a 20 minute run around 9 or so. My gut was ready to explode. All that food and about 15 ounces of water I chugged right before did not sit well. It felt good to shake the legs out, but I was not really able to talk much as I had to focus on my stomach and war raging inside.

We met up with Brian that night as well. He talked about the course and let me know the swim was intimidating to look at. It was also at that point that Jeff told me about the nasty hill on the course. I was nervous at this point.

I slept alright. I was dead tired. Staying up past 10 pm is late for me so as soon as the lights went out I was out. I did wake up many times through the night due to nerves. I was up at 4 am and found my way to the breakfast area and helped myself to some breakfast. I tried to keep things to my ritual at home. I searched the internet on my phone, drank coffee, and ate some waffles.



After breakfast my stomach took a turn for the worse. It was killing me. I almost felt like I was sick and not just nerves. I was struggling. As we packed up I was able to get things under control and started to feel better. I was worried I was going to poop my pants(not that anybody would actually do such a thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), but a few Tums and bathroom breaks and I was good to go.

We got to the park and we made our way to the transitions. Josiah and Chad were on one side for Sprint and Jeff and I were on the other. I just kind of stood around and figured out what I needed to do. I decided to organize my transition. It went from this



to this. I know pretty amazing stuff



I did not do any warm ups. I was too nervous to really move. I was freezing cold. The wind was strong, there was a slight mist, and I brought no longsleeves or pants. I just floated around and finally decided to put on my wetsuit. Thanks to TriSlide that I bought last week for helping with my suit. This stuff was like magic. It did not feel like I have anything on my skin, but it helped my wetsuit slide right off. I put my suit on and that helped to warm me up. We made our way to the bus and headed to the beach for the swim. Right before I took my Pineapple GU and felt set to go.

We got to the beach and I became nervous. Actually, I won't lie. I went from nervous to being flat out scared. I felt like you do when in line for a roller coaster. At first you are excited and ready to go. As you get closer you start to doubt the decision. I was scared. The course was weird in that you could not see the turnaround. It was unknown and you knew it was around the bend somewhere.

We all headed in the water. I swam just a short bit. We listened to the rules and it was not long before we had to get out for the race to begin. There was some interesting things that went on. You will have check the blog of Jeff to read more about it if he discusses it.

Chad, Josiah, and Brian were in the first wave. It was cool to watch them head out. Watching them swim I just became more nervous with each wave. Finally, wave 5 was up and it was time to go. I headed out and tried to gain some momentum and pace. It was not happening. I freaked a little bit in the water. This one guy kept hitting me. I bet he hit me at least 10 times. Each time I was hit I felt the urge to look up out of the water and check things out. The first few minutes I was a mess. I was breathing heavy, looking up all the time, not liking being hit.

So I just stopped.

I knew I could not continue with this mindset. I looked around and just went out by the shore away from everyone and just swam. I swam alone. This does not help me with being able to drag on someone, but I knew my mind needed peace. I gave it peace and I was fine. I was able to get a great routine going and just swam. I swam probably more than the rest, but it was a small price to pay for staying calm.

I left the water and jogged to transition. My calves and hamstrings were cramping and super tight. I got to my station took a GU with water, stripped the wetsuit, sat down and put on my shoes, helmet, and glasses. For some reason I decided to put on my running race belt. Not sure why I did, but I did. The problem was that I took the wrong race belt. I took Jeff's in my mindset of craziness. I grabbed Boris and away we went. After the race Jeff was telling me how he shredded his bag and everything looking for his belt and finally just took off. I cannot believe I grabbed his belt on accident. I think I cost him about 45 seconds in transition. I bet he does not set up by a newbie again! I am just glad it did not cost him his rewards for winning the race.

The bike course was brutal! I am not going to lie. This was the biggest mental hurdle of the race for me. I knew my bike was my weakest link going into the race. I was not predicting dealing with super strong headwinds and crosswinds. I bet they were 15-20 mph. I felt good at first making sure I was getting in fuel and water to alleviate my cramps in my legs. I had water and GU Roctane mix in my two water bottles. I felt good at first until we took a turn and the crosswinds kicked in. I was able to push and keep going and my body felt good. Around mile 8 I started to get back spasms in my lower back. Not bad at first, but they just kept getting worse. I forgot about them when we had to tackle Twister Hill. This hill is a hill that Boris and me should not be allowed to ride on. I was going 42 mph down the hill! That is insane. Me and Boris had to talk it out on the ride to make sure we did not end our lives. The worse was when you hit the valley and had to climb right back up. I bet I was going about 3-5 mph uphill. It was the hardest thing I have done on a bike ever. My quads were on fire. I finally made it up to the top and recovered fairly well. The back spasms kicked in harder and next thing you know we were turning back into more winds.

I reached the turnaround feeling like I had things in control. My split was way ahead of my goal time and I was excited until I finished the turnaround and had wind going right at me. It was a mental test. I had to really dig deep to GET IT DONE!. Turning back on the road to Twister Hill was slightly easier. I had a GU at the turnaround and it kicked in so I was good for a while. My racing plan was to have this GU be my last one. I returned to the hill and really had a hard time getting back up the hill the second time. Around mile 18 I about lost it mentally. I had to verbally talk to myself to keep going. I hit a wall. I was tired of the wind, my quads were burning and I started to worry about my legs for the run.

Finally, around mile 20 we took the last turn to the road that heads back to the park entrance. The wind was gone and I could pick up the pace. It was fantastic. The downside to my bike was that I am not aerodynamic at all. I was passed by 10 riders. All 10 riders were on Cervelo's. I started to curse the name after the 8th one. It is a sign I need a new bike. At mile 22 I took one more GU. I was wasted and thought I should take the GU while on the bike to give it time to settle before running. I think that it was too much on the bike because when I got to the run my stomach was killing me.

I made my way back to transition and luckily did not fall running with my bike. Boris can be a little unstable at times.

I sat down and switched shoes and dropped off the helmet. I started to get mad when I could not get my Garmin watch off my bike. I ended up breaking the strap, but I was still able to wear it for the run and I was off.

My legs felt like jelly for the first few miles. I felt like I was creeping on the run, but my first mile split was 7:06. I was dealing with a major stomachache. I did not take anything for the run. The course was an out and back in the park that we had to run twice. There was a little hill that was just enough to test you. Mentally you knew that you had to go and run it again and that was tough. Around mile 4 my stomach started to get under control. I was able to hold pace for the run which I was happy with.

I was able to finish strong. I was gassed and did not have much left. I crossed the line knowing I ran a great first triathlon. My goal was to beat 3 hours. My internal goal was 2:45.

I finished 2:32:40. I am very happy about this time.

Asides from talking about myself so much in the post I want to make sure I talk about the other amazing people. Chad, Josiah, and Jeff all did amazing. We all took away hardware.

Chad took 1st in the Clydesdale division for the sprint race. He crashed and burned and still took top honors. He had a great race time of 1:17. He crushed the bike and swam like a dolphin.



Hot on his trail was Josiah who ran 1:22 taking third place for the Clydesdale division



Jeff took top honors for the males running the Olympic distance in 2:08.

Poor Brian lost his timing chip in the water while swimming. The site says he was at 1:46, but I know for a fact that he was much faster than that.

 I took first in the Clydesdale division for the Olympic distance and finishing 20th place overall about of 120 who competed in this distance.

Here is the crew. We represented well. Live Uncommon was sited all over during the race and especially for the handing out of awards. Thanks to these guys for a great weekend. Many great stories to remember and some great things that I learned along the way. I will create another post about things I learned as this post is plenty long.

Very happy for my first triathlon. I know that I have some serious work to get ready for 70.3 Racine.


You can find all results here

57 Days - Day Before My First Triathlon

I have my tri bag packed.

I have my overnight bag packed(about two things)

I have a sleeping bag packed since four of us are cramming in a Super 8 hotel room.

I have my wetsuit patched up and bike in my car.

I am ready.....at least I think I am. I have visualized this race a million times. A million times of success. I don't feel nervous. I feel ready. The only thing I am nervous about is running around in public in my little tri outfit. It sure shows a lot of leg!

I am ready to get there, register, and take a quick swim and perhaps a short run. Something to get ready for the course. Follow it up with a good meal and good times with good people.

Tomorrow morning will be here quickly.

On the flipside you have reality. My daughter Ava who has been sick for about 2 weeks now has now contacted Hand, Foot, and Mouth virus. She has spots all over her body. Those don't seem to bother her. She is contagious until the spots quit appearing. So the plans Amanda had to be with her family tonight while I was gone are done for. I just pray Ava does not get the sores in her mouth and give Amanda a long night with screams of pain. I really pray that things go okay here.

Thoughts and prayers to Josiah who is racing this weekend with us as well as his grandfather passed away early today. A great reminder to appreciate the time we have here on earth because you never know when your time is up.

Enjoy the weather. Enjoy your family and friends.

I look forward to sharing my experience with my first triathlon tomorrow when I get home.

I am ready for this taper to end and the race to begin!!!

Hard to believe I began this journey of triathlons 174 days ago when I could barely run 6 miles at a 9:00 mile pace. I look forward to seeing how my training has paid off....I sure hope it has.

My dad sent me this pic today. I told him I hope I look this good while on the bike. Old Boris is not as sweet looking as this bike.