Most likely my final post for 2011 considering my dedication to this blog these past few months so I’ll recap what I can.
Riding home after spending Christmas up north (Kristin’s driving, I’m letting her). It’s always fun up there with family, but there’s always something missing when I don’t have my boys. They’re with Lindsay this year. Arrived Friday evening, had burgers at the VFW and then proceeded to eat all weekend. Definite post-holiday purge is in order! Sunday was the fun day with gift opening, de-decorating and the annual bonfire. Everyone celebrates Christmas by packing up all the decorations and taking down their tree, right? In years past the bonfire has been more of a New Year’s Eve bonfire, but with Mom and Dad wintering in AZ now they take off shortly after Christmas so they can arrive in AZ as close to Jan. 1st as possible. Can’t blame ‘em for that!

Prior to this I finished up my athletic year with a marathon in Huntsville, AL. Went into it with lofty, but unknown expectations. With all the training I did this past year I definitely wanted to PR (4:07 or faster) and would’ve been disappointed had I not. Beyond that I wasn’t sure what sort of time I would get. I’ve never gone sub-4:00 so despite my good training year I didn’t know how realistic that was for me. My training lately had been in the 8:10/mile range which equates to about a 3:35 marathon, but I didn’t know if I’d be able to sustain that over 26 miles. My next goal level was 3:45ish and then if everything went perfectly and the stars aligned I thought maybe a 3:30ish was doable.
Arrived in AL and got settled at my hotel, hit the small expo and went to dinner. The weather prediction was for a cool start (low 30s) and warming into the upper 40s, but windy. The big dilemma at the start was if it would be warm enough to just run in shorts of if I would have to wear my tights. It was 33 so it got a little nippy, but I figured I was there to “race” it and shorts would provide the best results there. Bared the legs and took off!
I started with the 3:45 pacer and stuck with him for the first mile. The 3:40 pacer started a little further back (Alabama math?) so I latched onto him once he caught up at that first mile. Got warmed up over the next couple of miles and was feeling good. At mile 3 I told myself to just run my race, but remember that I was “racing” so I slowly sped up and separated from that pacer. I was hitting my watch every mile and was consistently in the 8:03-8:09 range. Gradually I started reeling in the 3:35 pacer and caught them at mile 10. Stayed stride for stride with that group, but once we turned into the wind at mile 16 I ended up dropping. I couldn’t sustain it and with no one to draft with/off of I slowly started to fade. I maintained 8:30ish/mile for the next few, but then around mile 19 McBlister made its presence known on the ball of my foot. The final 7 miles became more of a struggle dealing with that, altering my stride, but by then I knew I was going to at a very minimum PR and go sub-4, it was just a matter of how much under I could get.
With about a mile and half left the 3:45 pacer passed me back and I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up. Damn it, wasn’t going to hit that mark. Settled into a pace I could maintain the rest of the way, as much as my blister allowed, and trudged across the line at 3:49. Pretty happy with the overall time, but not ecstatic. I knew I left a few minutes out there and even with it being a PR knew it wasn’t my “perfect race”. I guess that’s part of what keeps me coming back.
Alabama was state #11 (#14 marathon overall) and a PR at 43 years old. Can’t complain too much and feel blessed that I’m physically able to continue to do this!

So, in recap, all the training this year paid off. Even though the times below didn’t win me any age-group awards, I’m just happy it shows that I can still improve at my advanced age.

May: PR ½ marathon 1:48
June: PR Olympic distance tri 2:33
July: PR ½ Iron distance tri 5:10 and PR the ½ marathon run portion 1:46
September: Finished (and PRed cuz it’s my first) the Ironman 13:32
December: PR full marathon 3:49
Remainder of 2011: recover from a mentally draining training year, as much as physically.

Up next, Nashville in April. Should be a fun with a fun group of people going (11 as of now). I’ll try to post more often and before that though. Happy New Year, Everyone!

Not Tits for Tat

So, I'm 2 months into the whole internet dating thing. I've had a few dates, but nothing solid yet. A few more emails with others, but nothing that's moved beyond that. Some my decision, some theirs. The thing that's confusing me the most though is the lack of response when I contact someone. Now, I'm not saying the lady needs to drop what she's doing, write me a novel and hand deliver it, especially if she isn't interested, but to me it just seems like common courtesy to at least acknowledge that you received my wink/email. No response just seems mean. You're online dating, you know winks and emails are how people first connect. Not responding is akin to if you were physically face to face with someone, they tried to start a conversation with you or asked you out for a drink/date and you just stood there staring at them and then walked away without saying a word. Match even has a feature where you only have to click 1 button and they'll send a form letter email declining the invitation. How simple is that? If someone initiates contact with me, first, I'm flattered; second, if I'm interested I'm going to let them know sooner rather than later; third, if I'm not interested I'm still going to thank them for the interest, but let them know. They took the chance, stuck their neck out. The least I can do is say thanks, but no thanks and not leave them hanging there. That's just me though. I actually think more highly of those women who respond with a decline than I do of those who don't respond at all. I'd be interested in hearing why women don't respond. Is there a good reason why? I'm not going to cyberstalk you or try to talk you into rethinking your position.
Okay, enough of that rant.
The one lady I saw multiple times started out great. We saw each other on a Saturday night, found out both our birthdays were coming up that following week so we took each other out for birthday lunches and were both genuinely interested in seeing each other again. 3 dates in 6 days with interest for more! Things are looking promising, right?! Well, it turned out I had my hunting weekend, then came home and had a couple of social functions (non-dates), scouts and watched the kids on one of my non-scheduled nights and she didn't take too kindly to me only providing her with 1 night to see each other in a 2 week period. She actually said she felt "insulted" and accused me of seeing multiple women! I laughed at that (it was in an email, not to her face)! In her defense, she doesn't have kids so she probably isn't the most tuned in to the schedule of a single parent. I can't stop being a parent just to appease someone I'm first getting to know. Maybe if/when a relationship starts getting serious I'll be more inclined to accommodate schedule changes, but not within the first week lady! It was good to find that out early I guess, save some headache later!
On to the next, whenever that may be. I'm keeping my parameters somewhat strict. I don't want to date just to date. There actually is a long-term purpose behind this courtship thing so I want to reel in a keeper. Just gotta keep casting.

My exercise year is finally winding down. I'm heading out in the morning to Alabama to run the Rocket City Marathon! This will be state #11. When I picked this one out and signed up back in October I was pretty excited. I have to admit now though, I'm actually more looking forward to it being over and just getting home than I am about traveling and doing another marathon. Usually I get pretty excited about them. I've spent the whole year training though and I need the mental break more than anything, more than physically even. I just need to step back and not be dictated by my workout schedule. It'll be nice to not worry about that for a few weeks. I'm not retiring by any means, just will enjoy the off season.
With that said, I'm not going to lolly gag my way through this one just to get it over with. I'm actually hoping to do well and I'll be disappointed if I don't PR and break 4hrs. I haven't done that yet. All the training this year will hopefully pay off this one last time and I'll be able to enjoy the off season that much more.

With that said, logging off so I can throw everything in my bag and get to bed. My chauffeur is gonna be here (not quite) bright and early to take me to the airport. Good night and let's hope AL becomes my new favorite state!

IM Is Easy In Comparison!

I think I’m embarking on something more daunting, scarier, harder and definitely more unknown to me than Ironman. I’m attempting to jump back into the world of dating. Up until a couple of weeks ago, it's probably been 3+ years since I’ve been on a date and even that recent outing needs an asterisk as it wasn’t anything official. More on that in a bit. I haven’t been opposed to dating over the past 3 years, just haven’t focused on it. I bit the bullet the other day and signed up for a Match.com 6 month membership, give it an honest effort. Skimming through all the profiles; trying to decide what to write for my profile that describes me yet will also attract someone I’m interested in; fretting over what to write in an email to a prospect that will entice her to want to write back – all that is hard work! Doing this part of the mating game isn’t particularly fun for a guy like me, but I know it’s necessary in order to get to where I want to be, and that’s to have a significant other in my life again. I miss “her”, whoever “she” is.

If you know me, you know I don’t talk much. I feel though, deeply. I know what love is and I want to feel that with someone again. I’m ready and I don’t want to waste any more time. 6 years is too long to go without romance. I know I want someone here with me. After the big D, I’ve felt the necessary feelings to know that. I’ve expressed those feelings. I’ve felt sorrow when those feelings haven’t been reciprocated. I need to grow a thicker shell, but at the same time continue to stick my neck out so as the rejections come in I don’t slink back in to my comfort zone of saying “I don’t have time/interest/money/desire to date”. I know with the way the online dating system works there are going to be more rejections before things even have a chance of getting started than there will be potential dates. Just the nature of the beast, it’s a game of numbers. It doesn’t mean I have to like it, but I better get used to it and learn how to cope with it.

The *outing* I alluded to was just that, a social outing with a friend with no romantic pretense. Well, that’s not totally true. I may have had multiple motives, but I didn’t let her in on them so as to not make things uncomfortable. The night was advertised as a celebration of things we both had recently accomplished, just friends going out. As the night wore on things were going great and I started seriously thinking “why not”? I got butterflies. I got giddy. I couldn’t sleep. I was smiling and I was thinking this is nice to be feeling these feelings! To make a long story short, I did ask her out, she sounded interested, but after a few days of not being able to plan anything the answer became apparent. You win some, you lose some, I thought, at least I threw it out there and I emotionally moved on.

That turned out not to be totally true too and that surprised me. I eventually did receive verification from her that we wouldn’t be going out. It saddened me to actually hear it, but I wonder why. I thought I had already moved on and it’s not like we had even started any sort of romantic relationship yet to move on from. It’s strange to feel feelings for something that isn’t even there. Maybe it's just wanting what I can't have. That’s the part of dating that sucks – trying to figure out when to open your heart so you can move a relationship forward, needing to expose yourself first in order for something to develop later, and when not to so as to protect yourself.

And therein lies my Catch-22. I think of myself as a romantic so I’m destined to open my heart sooner, but am I just setting myself up to getting it knocked around? If Ironman has taught me anything though I guess it’s perseverance and to keep plodding along. I’ll keep at this dating thing until I find “her”, have to keep at it! I have too much to offer “her” to not have “her” here with me.

What's Next?!

Well, I guess it's probably time to move on from IM and start thinking about life post-140.6. Despite my last post, everything about the day was great! I've forgotten about the pain and only remember the joy. Yes, the swim was scary, but I just laugh now thinking back to the chaos and realizing how much fun I had once it was done. It was the scariest and coolest thing, all at the same time! Yes, sitting on a bike seat for 6 straight hours is a long time, but it flew by and certainly didn't feel like that long. Yes, the run wasn't quite ideal, but I will learn from it and didn't have to do the whole thing alone. Plus, this was my first IM so no matter how I did I was going to set a PR and I know that 13:32 also leaves room for realistic improvement!

I've had a few workouts since. Been back in the pool a couple of times and hope to maintain where I'm at there by only going once or twice per week. Put the bike back on the trainer in the basement since the evenings are getting darker earlier. I truly believe the biking is the greatest contributor to my faster running so I'll continue with those workouts, hopefully all winter. Have done a couple of shorter runs and this past Monday night I was finally able to run with the "fast guys" at run club! I was never able to do that pre-IM. Just another indicator all the training paid off.

Throwing around some ideas in my head about a tattoo. Nothing for sure yet, not even the decision I'll get one, so we'll just have to wait and see where that leads.

I've started looking for a December marathon to run so I need to nail down a date and get back to a set schedule. It's only been 2 1/2 weeks since IM so I know I'm still recovering and will try to honor that so I don't breakdown, but I miss the structure training provides and going to bed after a rigorous workout (sometimes showering first). Probably won't do 2-a-day workouts for awhile yet though.

Enjoying a few more social, guilt-free beers too. Life is good!

5:55:29

Sitting here wondering where to start with this post. It’s been over a week since IM and I think I’ve gone over the run portion mentally a thousand times already. Playing the What If…Could’ve…Should’ve…game.

Q: When is a run not a run?
A: When it’s a walk.
That’s what’s gnawing at me the most – how much I actually walked instead of ran.

Let me back up a minute and make a disclaimer, if I may: I’m ecstatic with my overall finishing time of 13:32! It was my first IM, I had no idea what to expect doing that distance and from everything I’ve been told the only thing to concern yourself with the first time around is to just finish! When I look at it in the big picture like that, I still get goose bumps and a Cheshire cat grin. I am an Ironman, have the medal and t-shirt to prove it, and no one can take that away from me (well, I s’pose someone could steal the medal and t-shirt, but you know what I mean)!

Okay, now that that’s over with, time to get down to the analysis of The Walk.

The last 30 minutes or so that I spent on the bike I started to visualize the run and what it might entail. I mentally went over what I took in for nutrition while on the bike and realized it probably wasn’t enough. I was drinking enough, but I didn’t eat enough considering everything I had already put my body through and what was yet to come. I took enough food along with me, but just couldn’t choke it all down, nor did I have the urge to eat. I ate, just not enough. Something I’ll have to teach/force myself to do next time. I think part of this was due to the warmer than expected day as well. Remember back a couple of posts how I said it was going to be in the upper 70s and approaching warmer than ideal temps? Well, it turned out to be in the mid 80s which is definitely warmer than ideal. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t the end of the world and I had definitely trained in warmer throughout the season, but I could feel the heat was taking its toll.
I wobbled off the bike, walked into the building to grab my T2 bag with my running clothes and headed to the changing room. I somewhat took my time, but not 48 minutes worth, got dressed and stretched my back before heading out. Stopped to get re-lathered with sunscreen and hit the biffy again. I didn’t have a strong urge/need to go, but thought it’d be better to get it out of the way so once I started running I wouldn’t have to stop. I was able to relieve some and take note. I mention this, not for your reading enjoyment, but to paint a picture. Even in a biffy, a guy can tell to what extent he’s hydrated by assessing the color of his tinkle. I could tell that, not only did I not eat enough, but I was edging towards dehydration based on the darker-than-I’d-like-it-to-be urine. Hmmm.
Wow, this post is going places I didn’t think it originally would!
I took a glance at my watch and noticed it was 2:33. Pleasantly surprised with how my performance had been up to that point I was quickly able to figure that if I could just pull out a 5 hr marathon I’d be right around 12.5 hrs total, smashing all my expectations. I had a shot! Excited about that, I exited the stall, said “Let’s get this over with!” and hit the ground running!

Here I am, 20 yds into the 26.2 mile run. Notice the nice tan lines from biking. Sexy, huh?!

It always takes me 1-2 miles to get my running legs under me and into a rhythm in a triathlon and today was no exception. I was able to somehow get a decent stride going right away as evidenced by this picture, but I think I owe most of that to the thick crowds along this section and the downhill slant after the first couple of blocks. I certainly didn’t feel as good as this looks.

When I got to the first mile marker I looked again at my watch for the first time since starting the run. 7:50 mile 1! WTF!?! How did I pull that out?! I questioned the accuracy with where they had the mile marker sign, but could only chuckle at running “that fast” that first mile. It’s not necessarily what I wanted to do, would’ve rather started out slower and gotten faster as the marathon went on. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold that pace and forced myself to slow down. By then I was starting to get some running feeling going in my legs and lungs, but I didn’t necessarily like what I felt. I knew I was in for a struggle.
I came upon the first water stop and made the decision that due to a number of factors – heat, nutrition, getting tired – I would walk through each one so I could get liquids, and “rest” while still moving. The one thing I was adamant about doing was making sure every movement was directed forward. There would be very minimal lateral movement and absolutely no backward movement, even minimize stopping altogether, just keep moving forward! At this early stage, food didn’t sound appealing so I just grabbed water, Pepsi and Gatorade. After a block or so I started running again, but it was a struggle. My stomach wasn’t my friend and when I ran I got nauseous and lightheaded.
After a very short distance the route came to a slight rise in the road and looking at that I knew it wasn’t going to be my day. I wouldn’t say I love running hills, but I typically don’t mind them and usually do a fair amount of gaining or passing others going up them. When this small, short rise looked more like Mt. Everest, I knew I might’ve won the swim and bike course battles, but IM was going to win the run battle. I would just have to hold out hope that I would eventually win the war. And we’re only at mile 2.
From here, it became a matter of walking a lot more than I was running. I picked my runs stints to be on flat or declining sections and then would have to walk 5-10x as long to recover from however long I was able to run. At mile 3.5ish we wound through Camp Randall, the UofWI football stadium, and I claimed a small victory when I was able to run that whole lap. Unfortunately though, my run stints became shorter and my walk stints became longer.
Observatory Hill – mile 6ish. A beast of a hill! A major climb, with a false flat section and then right into another climb. I’m walking up this 2nd climb section and I hear someone yell, “I seeee yooouuu McCarthy!” Yup, I know that voice and know it means she has my camera. $%!*&^#@)*$@! I don’t like getting caught like that and if someone calls you out, you better step up so I started hoofing it faster up the remainder of the hill.
The other triathletes around me at the time thought it was funny though, glad they could get a chuckle out my demise. Thanks, Kimmi, for entertaining the others!

1 last major climb and then a steep descent. Even that downhill hurt to run because of the steep grade so it just became another section I had to walk. You know it’s a bad run when even downhills aren’t your friend!
State St was next and a section I was looking forward to. This section is flat and a rowdy, loud spectator section so it re-energized the batteries somewhat. I was able to run this out and back section and saw some Team McIronites cheering so that helped. Upon exiting State St I saw Tim for the first time as he was just entering. I was wondering where he was at ‘cause I expected him to pass me on the bike. When he never did I was wondering if something had happened to him. It was good to see a familiar face and we gave each other a look that said all it needed to say, neither one of us was in our happy place. He was only about a mile behind, if that, so I figured he’d be catching and passing me soon enough. We’re through mile 8.
The next few miles were all pretty much the same – ran when my stomach and head allowed, but for very short segments; walked when I needed to. There was another out-and-back section so once I hit that turn-around I’d see who was behind me and how far back. I figured Tim would be right there. He was a little closer than the first time I saw him, but hadn’t closed the distance as much as I thought he would. “Hmmm, he really is struggling as much as I am” I thought.
The run course, like the swim and bike courses preceding it, was a 2 loop course. What this meant was that the turn-around for lap 2 was near the Finish line. As I approached the end of lap 1 I was able to muster some longer running stints, feeding off the crowds again. Team McIron was nearby and they certainly did their part! Heading out on lap 2 I actually felt like I might be improving, started feeling somewhat better as my stomach issues were dissipating. Miles 14-16 actually felt somewhat normal and my run stints nearly doubled in length.
And then came the jaunt through the stadium again. I vowed to run that entire section again, getting moral little victories when I could (okay, okay, this also happened to be a section where one of the official photographers was and I didn’t want any pictures taken of me walking! I'm vain that way.). When I got done with that lap and started walking up the exit ramp I didn’t think I was going to make it up! I got extremely lightheaded, vision became blurry and my steps got shorter. I thought I was going to pass out and it kind of freaked me out. At that point I promised myself I wasn’t going to run again until I got to the next water stop and tried to get some food in me. The full IM distance is 140.6 miles when you add up all 3 segments. I remember thinking “they don’t make 130.6 bumper stickers so don’t get a medical DQ at this point you schmuck! Just swallow your pride, do what you have to do to get to the next water stop and reassess there.” That was a long, lonely, depressing walk.
Eventually I did make it to that next stop, grabbed drinks and this time started grabbing potato chips and pretzels, something, anything to get more food and sodium back into my system. Walked another full mile plus to the next water stop and repeated the intake. By now, I’m back to the frickin’ hills and my leg muscles are all starting to hurt, fatiguing, tightening up and I fear cramping if I try to run. I figure my Sherpa is still up there at the top with the camera. Somehow I scaled the climb again, she was there, along with Kristen (Tim’s GF) and I told them to tell Tim to “hurry the F up and catch me” so we can get through this together. Fortunately, he had closed the gap and was only a couple of minutes behind and when they told him he did muster up a little more to get up to me.
He found me just before entering State St. again, mile 19ish, and it was a much needed lift in my spirits. We walked and talked and were able to distract each other enough to make the miles tick down. This picture captures perfectly the way I was feeling! Wow, I am really short when I stand next to tall people!

Together we helped each other get closer and closer to the finish. As we got within the last mile and a half or so and it became apparent we were going to finish and become Ironmen, it dawned on me the appropriateness of Tim and I together at that point – he and I stood in line together 52 weeks prior and signed up for this madness; although we didn’t train together every single workout, he was the closest thing I had to a regular training partner as we did many long weekend rides and made 2 weekend trips to Madison during the year together; we constantly bounced ideas and suggestions off each other via email. It felt fitting that what we started together way back when, we were now finishing together!
As we came up to the Capitol and only had 2 more turns before the final stretch into the finishing chute we were able to muster our last bits of energy and run those final few blocks, had to put on a good show for the thick crowds!
I crossed the Finish Line in 13:32:29, a 5:55:29 marathon split. Not quite the 5 hr marathon I was thinking after T2 in order to hit that 12.5 hour mark, but at that point I couldn’t care less. I finished and I was an Ironman!
After being on Cloud 9 for 30-45 minutes after finishing I started coming down. My body had had enough of me and was beginning to revolt. I figured I needed proper nutrition, but nothing sounded good and just the thought of food made my stomach more upset. I opted to rest. Don’t I look good?
When I was finally able to get up again, I went into the bathroom to jump on the scale. I weighed myself that morning before I left for the race so I wanted to see how much weight I lost during the race by weighing myself after. Taking into account everything I ate and drank throughout the day, I still dropped 7 lbs! In one day. I was beat up and battered, but I won the war and had a grin.

Coming soon: The Final Finale

6:07:09

After spending 8:42 in T1 getting ready to bike, completely changing clothes and making sure my nutrition was tucked safely in my pockets, I headed out of the changing room and onto the terrace. The atmosphere was electric and you couldn't help but feel pumped! Stopped quick at the sunscreeners to get lathered up and then it was off to my rack to jump on my trusted steed. Everything went off without a hitch and I was soon rolling down the pavement, heading out of Madison towards Verona and the awaiting hills.
The first 16ish miles were pretty uneventful, just had to get the bike legs under me after swimming, but being mindful not to push too hard, especially so early. Again, there was some jockeying for position as there were many bikers around and drafting isn't legal. If you got caught committing a penalty (there were officials patrolling the course) you had to stop at a penalty tent and serve up to a 4:00 penalty depending on the infraction. When you get passed it's your obligation to fall back to a minimum of 4 bike lengths and if you're doing the passing you have to get it done within 20 seconds. With the crowded roads this early on it was a little difficult to abide by all the rules, but there wasn't any blatant disregard that I witnessed. For the most part, triathletes are pretty good at policing themselves. I was warned by an official at one point to fall back, but thankfully didn't get shown a penalty card. I didn't think I was doing anything wrong, was boxed in after just turning a corner, but penalties aren't challengeable so I tapped the brakes a bit and let those in front of me get a little further out front. No biggie.
After leaving Verona the smaller, rolling hills began. I was rolling pretty good, feeling strong, and passed others more than I got passed; a definite confidence booster.
The first major spectator spot was Mt. Horeb, approx. mile 29, and I knew there would be my cheer crew there along with Tim's, my main training partner throughout the season. Entering Mt. Horeb is the first somewhat significant climb. I shifted into granny gear and just spun on up, picking people off as I went. Team Juice (Tim's cheer crew) saw me coming and let out a cheer and of course that fired me up so I rode strong by them.



Just a few blocks down I could pick out my orange wearing maniacs and we were able to wave and yell at each other as I zoomed by. Feeling good and strong at this point, averaging 19.5 mph!





Shortly outside of Mt. Horeb the real hills begin! There were some quick descents where I hit 37+ mph followed immediately by granny gear climbs. It was a technical course in that you have to know where to expend your energy and pay attention to shifting gears so your chain doesn't fall off, a lesson I learned on some training rides out here earlier in the Summer. Those lessons paid off and I didn't have any such issues on Sunday!
Shortly down the road there was a rapid S-curved decent where if you didn't know the course beforehand you better have been paying attention to the "Slow Down" signs otherwise you could've easily ended up in a tree on the down slope! I'll admit I used my brakes a fair amount through this section even while still clipping along around 30 mph. Got through there safe and sound and back to flat roads approaching Cross Plains.
Team McIron's 2nd cheer spot was near Cross Plains, approx. mile 42. I knew where they were going to be and I was able to spot them from a distance before they spotted me.

The orange shirts again, and the Irish flag waving at the end of a long pole were easily identifiable. They saw me coming, we yelled and waved again, it recharged my batteries and rolling by I went. At this point it became a mental game. I knew the 3 toughest climbs lay shortly ahead so I just told myself to take 'em 1 at a time and soon enough it would all be over.
The first one wasn't too bad, or as bad as I remember during training rides. Tim and I have an inside joke about that hill (it's really not that funny, you had to be there the original time for it to mean anything so it isn't worth explaining now) so I just talked to myself about that and with the crowd along the edges here it was fun to climb. It's even more fun to pass people on the uphills when there's crowd. I wasn't purposely pushing hard to "show off", but it just happened that my effort carried me past others.
There was another major hill where the crowds got a little thicker so their energy helped there and the 3rd major climb, considered the "Tour de France" hill was even more fun. Along this one the crowds were really thick and the bike lanes to get up were tight. We could reach out and grab someone on either side if we wanted. They were cheering and yelling for everyone and genuinely wanted you to push it and do your best. There were a lot of guys that were dressed up in dresses, bras & underwear, superhero costumes, anything to lighten the mood and get a laugh. It was a nice distraction to see the crowds really getting into it and gave extra motivation to want to perform well for them.
Shortly after this climb we were rewarded with the fastest downhill section of the course. I topped out with a white-knuckled 44 mph! I hit a small little bump and thought I was going to lose it and go ass over tea kettle! Took mental note of that section and vowed not to hit that spot on the next loop.
From here there were some uneventful, but quick miles and we were shortly rolling into Verona again, approx. mile 54. This is the major spectating spot as there were shuttle buses hauling spectators from downtown Madison out to Verona. I knew I'd have a few more Team McIron members out here so I wanted to show them I was still going strong. It's also a fast section, smooth road with a slight decline, so I was worried I wouldn't see them, or more so, that they waited all that time and wouldn't see me. Didn't want them to think they were out there for nothing! Thankfully, we did see each other, they were loud, and once again I was re-energized.
Lap 1 done.
Lap 2 didn't go quite as well, not that there was any drama or it was disaster. The exertion was starting to take it's toll and I made a conscious decision/effort to take the 2nd lap a little slower to hopefully preserve some energy for the remaining miles and the run that was still ahead. I struggled a bit from miles 65 thru 80, but was able to catch a 2nd wind after that. I truly believe it had a lot to do with my cheer crew and feeding off their energy! I saw the bulk of them again in Mt. Horeb and Cross Plains and then the same cheerleaders in Verona (thanks Marcy, April, SAB and John for hanging out there for 2+ hours waiting for me to come around again!). I was also talking to myself a little bit and got a stare or two from others who passed me. Just repeating 1 simple worded mantra told me by a fellow triathlete who's better at this whole endurance event game than I am (thanks, Jens, it worked!).
Finished up the 2nd loop (avoided that 44 mph bump!) and started heading back to downtown.
At mile 110ish there was 1 final bridge to go up and over and then it was smooth sailing through a parking lot and along the lakefront. On the opposite where the bridge met the road there happened to be another good bump. About 50 yards in front of me I saw a guy hit that bump, lose control of his bike, go down, and the guy right behind him didn't have a chance to react either and he ended up crashing over that guy as well! They both went down hard! There was a policeman controlling traffic at the nearby corner and he immediately called the medics, but how sucky would that be to crash at mile 110 of 112?! I paid a little more attention to that spot as I rode by and finished up my ride w/o incident.


Riding up the helix to enter T2 I started shifting my focus to the run and what that would entail. I already knew I was probably in trouble because of my nutrition, but I was just going to have to tough it out and see what the whole "running" portion was going to bring. First things first though, getting off the bike and getting used to using my legs to run and not ride! I'd pay good money if anyone got a video of what my first few steps looked like. I know they weren't too graceful and I wobbled and even chuckled at myself at that point. Ahhhh, good times.
Finished the 112 mile ride in 6:07:09, an 18.3 mph average. I'll take it!

Coming Soon: The Run!

1:13:34

So much to say, but I don't know where to start. Should I go back a couple of weeks and confess my apprehension about even getting to the start line because of my back strain? Should I write about all the trivial things leading up to race day like the daily tips I sent out to my cheer crew and last minute bike repairs? Or, should I spare everyone the build-up drama and just jump right into Sunday morning?

We'll get right to it. You're welcome.

Had the alarm set for 4:20 a.m., but I never heard it. I was awake at 4:10 on my own so I decided the extra 10 minutes were better spent getting ready rather than trying to get just 10 more minutes of rest. Really the only thing I had to get ready was myself. This race was different than other triathlons in that I had already dropped off my bike and transition bags the day before so I didn't have to worry about any of that equipment. Kinda nice.
Got out of bed, stood in the shower for a few minutes to refresh and jumped out. Threw on what I would wear under my wetsuit, an outer layer to stay warm and prepped some breakfast - oatmeal, fruit, bagel, yogurt - and what I would carry and eat on the bike - 2 PB&Js, some homemade energy bars, cut a banana and mixed my water bottles with the appropriate powders. By this time my sherpa helper, Kimmi, was up and at 'em and being her cheerful self that early in the morn. We went through my bags and lists one final time to make sure I had everything and headed to the car for the 10 minute drive to downtown Madison. The day was supposed to be gorgeous weather-wise so there weren't any worries there. The last I heard (or paid attention to), the highs were going to be in the upper 70s w/ minimal wind/breeze. Approaching a little too warm by a triathlete's standards, but certainly manageable.
We parked the car, got bodymarked with my race number
and while I went to prep my bike, Kimmi went to drop off my Special Needs bags a couple of blocks away. I did my thing with my bike - topped off the tires with air (140 psi in case you wanted to know); made sure the computer was working (speed, cadence, etc.); put water in my aero bottle and put my other premixed bottles in their racks; and took the plastic bag off covering my seat (didn't want a dewy moist seat for 112 miles). My trusty steed was ready, nothing else to do, so I gave it a final love tap and asked it to behave once I got done with the swim and for just a few hours after that.
The plan that morning was to meet my family, aka Team McIron, at 6:00 a.m. so I could see them before I got in the water. It was as much for me to say my final goodbyes in case something happened as it was for them to wish me luck. They arrived on time, all donned in matching orange shirts and crazy hats.
We had about 10 minutes together and then I bid them farewell and said I'd be back in "about 14 hours. See ya then!". Probably could've held out and hung around for a few more minutes, but I wanted to get in the biffy line so I wouldn't wait until the last minute. This also allowed me some alone time to gather my thoughts, calm my nerves and separate from the commotion for a bit.
Took care of business on the throne (you really wanted to know, didn't you?!) and headed towards the water. This section of the tri is what had me worried the most. I consider myself a pretty decent swimmer, but that's based off 50 meter splits in a lap pool with a lane to myself. This time I was going to be with over 2,500 of my closest friends that day, all starting at one time, already in the water! After watching this mass start in previous years, it's pretty intimidating and scary even from dry land. It literally looks like a washing machine! I was scared about being able to hold my own with all the hands, elbows and feet flying around. I tried not to worry about it, it is what it is, I knew that when I signed up so just told myself to buck up and deal with whatever comes. Finished putting on my westuit and went straight to the water to get into position, no more procrastinating! I was in the water at 6:37 with a 7:00 start time.
I had already decided I was going to try to keep a tight, inside line. Some were talking about starting wide and angling in towards the first corner because it might not be as crowded starting out there. I felt it was going to be crowded no matter where you were and the corners were going to be a cluster f*ck no matter what angle you came at 'em from so I might as well swim the shortest distance. I warmed up and swam out to the Start line. I stayed about 15 yards back and about 10 feet off the very inside edge. I had a nice pocket to myself and was able to relax for a few minutes before the cannon was fired starting the race. Once that cannon went off, HOLY HANNAH, all Hell broke loose!
Within 3 strokes my little pocket of lonesomeness had disappeared. I was up in the masses ahead of me and the masses behind me all felt like they wanted to get in my wetsuit! It definitely was the slugfest I was warned it would be. There was very little room and nearly impossible to get a good, full extension stroke. My arm turnover became much more rapid and I fought with the best of 'em to protect my space. I took a couple of blows to the back, buttocks and legs, but nothing that really kept me from moving forward. After a couple hundred yards though, still jam-packed, I took an elbow (I think) to the face. Luckily, I was rotating to breathe so it didn't hit me square, but did manage to hit my goggles. Immediately I felt that something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out what it was. "That's weird", I thought. "My goggles are still on, but I can't see out of my right eye. They don't feel broke so I wonder what happened?" It took me a couple of strokes to figure out that just the goggle on that one eye had gotten flipped inside out and was pressing on my eye! Thankful that it wasn't shattered, I tried flipping it right side out again, but continuing to still stroke and swim. I didn't dare stop swimming lest get run over by everyone behind and around me! I couldn't get it to flip so I was pretty much resigning myself to swim just being able to sight with one eye for another 2.2 miles when the goggle fixed itself. Hallelujah, minor crisis averted!!
With that behind me I re-concentrated on what was going on around me. I started hearing something and couldn't figure out what it was and then it dawned on me. It was 2,500 other swimmers! Wow, that many swimmers all at once is LOUD! Having never been in that situation before I didn't even think about it and know it would be like that. If anything, I figured the water would probably muffle some of the sound. So not only does it look like a washing machine from above, it sounds like one when you're in the middle of it!
Up next came the first turn. "This is gonna get interesting", I thought. No matter how many swimmers are in a race, there are always human traffic jams at the corners. Who wants to swim extra yardage by taking it too wide, right? I made up my mind to try to take it as tight as I could (most traffic right there too) and just deal with it. Once I got there it was tighter than I imagined it would be, but I just kept fighting (i.e. swimming). There was no time, nor room, to wait for others to get through so I just kept stroking, but with my head out of the water so I wouldn't get kicked. If I could take a stroke and work my arm and shoulder in-between those in front I was then able to pull myself through (i.e. over) and get by. It didn't always work on the first stroke and sometimes took 3 or 4 and eventually I made it around the corner. Whew, 1 corner done and I survived it! Just a short stint later though and we were at corner #2 and doing it all again. After this one though it was the long back straight-away and we were able to separate and thin out a little bit. There was still jockeying for position going on and clean water to swim through was no where near to be found unless I went really wide. I stuck with my strategy to swim the inside line, fight a little more now rather than swim the wider, longer distance.
Corner 3 came and so did the same bottleneck conditions. Corner 4 came, same thing, but now we were on lap 2 of 2. I was jazzed that the first lap was done and I was still feeling good and felt like I belonged! I was swimming strong, feeling good and not letting anyone push me around.
I don't think it ever really thinned out enough to where I wasn't constantly hitting or getting hit until the final backstretch on that 2nd lap. Everyone was swimming close enough to each other that if I wanted to steal a kiss I probably could have if I timed it right and the person I was swimming next to breathed when I did. The men all had 1 color swim caps on and the women had a another color so it wouldn't have been hard to differentiate. I should've tried just to see what would've happened. :) Maybe next time. After turning corner #6 of 7 and getting 20ish yards beyond that I got bonked on the head. The lady who did it was kind enough to say "I'm sorry!" but it really wasn't necessary. "Just part of the experience", I thought and I kept going on my way.
Turned the final corner and started heading towards shore. At this point, knowing I was going to be sitting on my bike for the next 6 hours I started kicking harder and faster to get the legs warmed up. It felt like I skimmed across the water and finally struck terra firma. Exited the water after 2.4 miles in 1:13:34, right in the window of my predicted time!
Once on dry land it was the strippers turn to go to work. Sorry guys, it's not what you think. The wetsuit strippers where there to help us get our wetsuits off, all I had to do was hold my arms out so they could peel it off my upper body, lay down when they told me to so they could peel it off my lower body and then let them help me stand back up. From there, just a short little jaunt up 4 flights of the parking ramp helix to T1 and time to get ready for a leisurely 112 mile ride!
After surviving that swim I now have tons more confidence for any group swims I'll do in the future. Measely little 50 person group wave starts will (hopefully) feel like child's play!

Tomorrow's post: 112 miles of rollin' rollin' rollin', keep them wheels a rollin'

The End Is Within Sight

Sitting in the hotel room, the night before IM, wondering what tomorrow will bring, wondering what I'll bring tomorrow. As I thought, this past week has been a whirlwind and flown by. The culmination of everything is kinda surreal and I want to say this weekend feels real, but I still don't know if I understand what I'm about to embark on. Ah, I take that back. It feels real. I know what I'm about to do and let me be honest, it's FRICKIN' SCARY AND AWESOME AND I WOULDN'T WANT IT ANY OTHER WAY!

My cheer crew just came through to wish me good night, good luck and all that jazz. Having everyone here makes it that much more special and a little extra motivation to push through the wall when I know I'll want to quit. I know at some point I'll start to question things, consider dropping, but I'll dig deep for myself and for the others who are along on this journey too.

Team McIron:
Mom and Dad
The Best Aunt Jan
Kristin
Liss and Ken
Carmen and Thomas
Kayli, Conner and Devon
Tracey Patterson
April Seifert
Shawn Anne and John Buttschau
Marcy Sackett
Jen and Mitch Wall
Amiee Decker
Kelly Hanson

And, last, but most definitely not least, IRONSHERPA Kimmi!!! Thanks, Kimmi, for being here and holding my hand through this.

This hasn't been the deep and meaningful post I thought it might be. Still too many things bouncing around in the noggin' so let's just end it and say it's gonna be fun to post a recap sometime next week. Check back soon!

Happy IM everyone!

Somebody Please Tell Me How To Feel!

I'm all over the board emotionally. That might surprise many of you who may have thought up until this point that I don't have emotions, or don't emit them. Ah ha, I do!

My quandry is with the Ironman and what I'm feeling with just 6 days to go. I'm excited, nervous, eager, scared, confused, panicked, cocky, doubtful, apprehensive, chomping at the bit, you name it. About the only thing I am not is indifferent.

I think the most confusing thing is is that I haven't felt this way in a long time about an event I'm doing! That's because, up until now, all my events the past many years haven't been new to me. During my many moons, I've completed many triathlons, a dozen marathons and even some 24+ hr relay runs. Sure, the Ironman is "just" another triathlon (that's what I'm trying to tell myself), but it's not. Wait, did you just understand that last sentence? If you did, please explain it to me cuz I don't know if I understand it! Because this distance is new to me, I don't know how I'm going to do, what I'm going to think of it, what I'm going to think during it, or how I'm supposed to feel leading up to it. I've lost some control just because of the fact that this is new and I don't like losing control (it's a guy thing)! Sprints, Olys, marathons - I need to physically train for them, but my mental game doesn't need to come out until the morning of. I've physically trained for the IM and am ready in that regard, but this will be so much more mental than anything I've done previously. I only hope I have what it takes "between the ears" to get through it too.

Just have to survive this first one so I can learn the ropes. I'll let you know in 7 days.

Updated Totals

June:
Swim - 25,290 yds; 14.4 miles
Bike - 434.3 miles; 23:30
Run - 108.6 miles; 15:00
Total - 557.3 miles

July:
Swim - 29,262 yds; 16.6 miles
Bike - 485.1 miles; 24:34
Run - 105.6 miles; 14:58
Total - 607.3 miles

August:
Swim - 17,050 yds; 9.7 miles
Bike - 301.5 miles; 16:50
Run - 68.0 miles; 9:35
Total - 379.2 miles

Cumulative, thru August
Swim - 205,927 yds; 117.0 miles
Bike - 3,098.9 miles; 170.7 hours
Run - 673.1 miles; 98.1 hours
Cumulative - 3,889.0 miles

August really dropped due to 1) hurting my back and missing/cutting back on workouts for 2 weeks and 2) taper started. FYI, just didn't want you to think I was slacking off.

Next Weekend

Wow, guess it's been awhile since I've been here again cuz when I logged in even my profile picture was gone! I guess Blogger thought I quit or died. Nope, just had to keep you all guessing again on when I would post.

Next weekend! Wow, that sounds weird to say. Up until now it was always 'weeks' or 'months' until IM. Not anymore! It's next weekend!! Today was even the final Saturday. Did my final long workout of the season today before race day - 3 hr ride w/ Tim, ~50 miles. From here on out the schedule calls for everything to be under an hour, with most of them only around 30 minutes. Gotta love tapering!! I'm not sure what to do with all the free time though. Suggestions?

This training season has been fun. I've already made the decision that I will do another Ironman someday, regardless of how this one goes. I've liked the structure all the training provides and having that kind of big goal out in front of me. Getting back into pretty good shape hasn't been a negative either. Even a guy likes to hear he's looking good and younger! I'll hopefully only take a year off from this distance and eye one for 2013. Focus on some 1/2 iron distance tris next year and a couple of more marathons. I'm sure my boys won't mind me being around a little more next year (at least I hope they don't).

There have been some pitfalls though. Well, maybe just 1. Hurt my back 3 weeks ago, in week 32 of 36, so the timing wasn't necessarily the best with that. Boneheaded move on my part thinking I should help move a piano just 4 weeks before the biggest athletic event of my life! Paid for it with some strained muscles which forced a longer taper period than I planned, but at this point it won't keep my from doing the event! Prior to this mishap I was starting to believe I could focus on setting a pretty decent time (for myself anyway) in this event. Now though, my main focus has just been on making sure I can finish (making sure I could even get to the start line!) and just try to go out and enjoy the whole day. I know the muscles won't be at 100% full strength so even if they feel okay I can't expect them to perform at max output.

Next weekend! Looking back, the past 35 weeks seem to have vanished in a snap. Can only wonder what the next 7 days will be like!

A Few Updates

May #s:

Swim: 25,150 yds or 14.3 miles
Bike: 480.5 miles or 27:30
Run: 92.8 miles or 13:05

Cumulative
Swim: 134,325 yds or 76.3 miles
Bike: 1878 miles or 105 hrs 50 minutes
Run: 390.9 miles or 58 hrs 30 minutes

Weight: dropped 4.8 lbs in May, 21.8 total
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June 11-12 MS 150

Rode my bike 150 miles from Proctor (near Duluth) to White Bear Lake over 2 days for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The first day, Tim and I used it as a training day and rode hard-ish. It was a fairly flat ride so we pushed hard until the lunch break stop around mile 45. Stopped and had a sub sandwich about 10:00 for "lunch" and then pressed on for the final 30ish miles. Caught up to another pair of riders and we "pelotoned" with them for 10ish or so miles, each taking a turn and then falling to the back. It was a fun way to ride and kept the speed up as a group vs trying to individually. We were clipping along around 23-24 mph in our 4-some until we dropped them and finished up on together. Tim and I averaged 20.7 mph over that first day and came in as the 3rd and 4th bikers overall. Not as impressive as it may sound, but we walked around with puffed chests. Maybe, if you're lucky, I'll expound on that in a further post.
Sunday found it to be a much more casual ride with the full team of 7. We stopped for lunch about mile 39, then again around 65 and finally at the finish. It was a great weekend for a ride - made a few more friends, solidified others and got some good mileage in on the saddle. Just have to make sure I don't get a false sense of security because it was sooo flat, Madison will be nothing like it!

Just wanted to get that down on "paper". Gotta get up early for swimming, but will hopefully write more tomorrow night about my first tri of the season (PRed the Olympic distance, there's your teaser!).

Team Chubby!

Memorial Weekend in Madtown went rather well, if I do say so myself! Tim and I left town early Friday afternoon and had a good trip all-around. The drive down went quick and not without a chuckle or two and a story that become the theme for the weekend.
We had to stop for gas about an hour or so from Madison. As I'm pulling into the gas station, we notice a single female parked by a pump not dressed too outrageously, but she just had "that look" about her that said stripper. Tim mentioned something along those lines and we didn't think anything of it and pulled in a row over to fill up. As I was standing there at the pump, Tim went inside to buy a snack, followed quickly by 'the girl' running into the store (not because Tim went it). She came running back out, moved her car to the other side of the pump I was using and then ran back into the store. Kinda strange I thought, but who am I to ask why so it was just a fleeting thought. I finished filling up, she came running back out, Tim came out (not because she came running out, but was done with his purchases) and I went in to empty my tank. After a couple of minutes I came back out, got in the car and we started driving away.
Tim starts out the conversation at that point with, "Yup, she was a stripper.", or something along those lines. I look over and said, "Really?". He then proceeds to say how she was having trouble with the pump (first time filling up with gas?) and couldn't figure it out. She was calling Tim for assistance, but he tried to ignore her, but to no avail. He said she started out with "Sir? Sir? Oh wait, Man? Can you help me?" Who calls out "Man"?! Maybe she realized Tim didn't look old enough to call him Sir. Anyway, he finally stops ignoring her, gets out to assist her and he hears her reading what the pump is scrolling across the screen. Yup, definitely must be her first time. She gets the pump to finally pump and then asks Tim where he's from.

Her: Are you from around here?
Tim: No, we're from Mpls.
Her: Are you going to Chubby's?
Tim: No, we're going to Madison
Her: Oh, okay.

Tim went on to tell me that while he was inside and she came running in apparently she was having trouble with the other pump and using her credit card and the pump told her to "see the cashier". She then had to switch pumps, run back inside to use the ATM and pay cash. She kept saying how late she was for work.
Being ditsy, dressed provocatively, going to work on a Friday evening, and then asking if we were going to a place called "Chubby's" (in a way that implied that she was working there) can only mean that, yes, she is a stripper, or works at a such an establishment. From that point on, chubby was the word of the weekend. It probably didn't help that we were camping that weekend and thus, had to "pitch our tents" when we got there.

Now, on to the training and the real reason for the trip. We happened to pick the same weekend that Madison was holding their marathon on Sunday. We originally were going to bike the main part of the course on Saturday and then run on Sunday, but since the marathon interrupted our course we had to switch our days around. No big deal. We rode from the IM start out to where the loop begins in Verona and back, about a 34 mile round trip, and got familiar with that section. It's a manageable section that felt, for the most part, uphill on the way out which hopefully means it'll feel downhill on the way back. Could've just been the wind that day though. There is 1 nasty hill on the way back though that'll be interesting on race day. That'll come about mile 105.
Off the bikes, took about a 15-20 minute transition and off to the run. On Race Day it'll be the same running loop 2x. This particular weekend we were just going to do it once though. Before the weekend, I made a laminated copy of the course just to have to familiarize myself with. Glad we had it! There are a few turns and neither one of us had done the whole thing in the past. We were each familiar with some of the same sections, and some sections only 1 of us knew. We were able to figure it out and got a nice 12 mile run in. 34 mile ride, 12 mile run, not a bad BRick!
Saturday night saw gorgeous temps, clear skies and s'mores by the campfire.
Sunday saw a late start and rain.
Our intent was to break down camp, pack up and drive out to the bike loop in Verona and be riding by 9:00. Karl and his girlfriend, Jen, also come down for a training weekend (Karl did the IM last year and is doing it again this year) and camped with us. We were bouncing questions off him all weekend and it was nice to have him there for course familiarity. The only issue with training groups getting bigger is that there are more people that you end up needing to wait for.
We broke camp and drove to Verona, but we didn't end up starting to ride until almost 10:30. Once on our bikes, it only took about 3 minutes before it started raining and didn't stop the whole first loop (42 miles). It didn't rain as hard as my training weekend in Rochester, but this was a much more difficult course and the wetness just added to it. Within a couple of miles of finishing the loop we saw/heard lightening and thunder so once back to our cars we opted to wait out the storm. It turned into a 45 minute wait so we had time to eat and drink, but also time to get cold, especially from already being wet. Karl opted to call it a day and started packing up.
Tim and I didn't really say anything to each other about riding a 2nd loop other than say let's see what the weather does here pretty soon (Tim had his iphone w/ him so we were able to track the storm. It turned out to be a bigger storm we were actually riding in than what we thought at the time!). After the clouds finally stopped dripping, we decided to head out for our 2nd loop. We drove all that way, we wanted to make it worth it and get the miles in! We both admitted about 1/2 way through that 2nd loop that if the other would've said let's call it a day and not head out again, the other probably would've agreed without a second thought. Now that it's over, I'm glad neither one of us spoke up!
It turned out to be a pretty good educational loop for me in that I knew what was coming up because we had just finished riding that first time so I was able to apply that knowledge right away this second time around. It was also eye opening in that the hills seemed hillier because I was more energy depleted. Something I'll have to train for and keep in mind for race day.
Thankfully, the 2nd loop stayed dry from above (just wet from road spray), we finished in about the same amount of time as the 1st and we called it a day. Cleaned up as best we could, found a local pizza joint and devoured a meat lovers and hit the road to come home that same night so we could have Monday off to recoup.
All in all, a good, eye-opening, course educational weekend. I have a better sense of what the bike portion will need from me, what I can put into it and some time splits to give to the family and any of my spectators.
The biggest thing I came out of there with though is that I'm getting more confident that I'll be able to do this sucker! After riding 119 total miles over the weekend, covering the whole course in 2 separate bits and experiencing the run course I thought that if the race was just a week way, I'd be able to finish it! It may not be pretty at the end, but I would be able to finish! 3 more months of training and hopefully I'll be able to work on getting it to a somewhat respectable and "pretty" finish.
Team Chubby tamed the beast this weekend!

Review and Preview

Last weekend I headed down to Rochester with the boys for a training weekend. I was able to unload the kids onto my sister (thanks Liss!!) while I headed out for my longest weekend yet - 4.5 hrs on Saturday and 3+ on Sunday. Plus, the Rochester area isn't exactly flat.
The forecast all week leading into the weekend called for rain so I was pretty prepared mentally for a wet workout and by the time Saturday rolled around was actually, dare I say, looking forward to it! Mother Nature didn't let me down either. About 5 minutes after I jumped on my bike for my 3.5 hr ride it started drizzling. Nothing major, but enough to make me pay attention more than normal. Fine, I thought, I can handle this. At that point I was actually more concerned about the wind. It was a crosswind coming from the SSW and a majority of my route was E to W and back with a loop in the middle. I got to wondering if I'd rather have a crosswind the whole time, either direction or would it be better to have a headwind and then a tailwind? I think the headwind/tailwind scenario is a better one.
Well, the first 2 hours went well and I was holding my own. The wind was more of an issue than the rain, that just made things wet. At that 2 hr mark things got interesting though. As luck would have it, I was at the farthest point away from where I parked, out in BFE, and all I can see coming towards me is a wall of gray! For the next 15 minutes I pedaled in my granny gear (on flat roads!) straight into a blowing downpour, or it would actually be more appropriate to call it a diagonalpour. With the wind, the rain felt like pins and needles hitting my arms and legs. It brought back memories of when we'd get caught in the rain waterskiing and trying to make it back to the dock.
I did think about stopping, but didn't really have any place to pull off to. I could've just layed in the ditch and let the storm pass, but then I thought this is why I wanted to ride in the rain, to see if I could, what it was like, get used to it in case race day has crappy weather. So, I rode on. Not my best decision, but I won't tease you and make you think anything happened. I got through it, but 20/20 hindsight says I probably should've stopped and waited it out.
That storm lasted about 15 minutes, it rained off and on for another 20ish minutes after that and then for my last 45ish minutes on the bike the sun slowly made it's way out and it cleared up. Just in time to get warm and humid for my run! Yippee!
Remember that crosswind I was talking about during the first part of my ride? Well, it decided to turn into a headwind on my way back. Yup, it switched directions and made this bike workout one I won't forget anytime soon.
So, I get done biking (my longest ride ever, personal best distance and duration!), clean up/dry off and head out on my run. By now, the sun is out and heating things up, just another less-than-ideal workout condition. I would've preferred it stayed overcast. Running after biking is always a strange feeling, odd sensation - the legs don't feel like they're working, but somehow you're moving forward. The whole 50 minute run I didn't feel like I was holding a very good pace, but once I got done I was more than pleased that I held an 8:15 pace for 6 miles! If I were a bettin' man, I would've thought they were more like 9:15s. Good thing I didn't put money on that.
Sunday's workout was even more interesting. I signed up for the Rochester Triathlon on June 19th so I wanted to run/ride the course to get a little familiar with it. I ran first this time and it was pretty uneventful. The course is nice in that I can break it up into little segments and just move from one segment to the next. There are a couple of interesting "off road" portions that I'll make sure to mention in any post race survey, but that's for another day.
The ride was brutal. Sunday was even windier than Saturday and it just made the hills seem even steeper. With the course layout, it was a tailwind first which only meant a headwind coming back. I'd much prefer the opposite order! Add on top of this hard workout some nutritional mistakes I have since learned from (eat more!) and it made for a very long, slow ride! With the wind as strong as it was, there were actually times I was slowing down while going downhill!!
I finally got back to my car about 20 minutes later than what it normally takes me to cover that distance (40k) and said good riddance to Rochester until the 19th! I like to think I persevered and powered through Saturday, but the elements dominated me on Sunday.
I've had a good training week since - some long swims, a nice BRick on Tuesday with a 30 mile ride and 6 mile run right after (@ 7:45s!) and another 8 miler at sub 8's tonight. This is all leading into what I hope will be a fun and worthwhile Memorial Weekend.
I'm heading down to Madison to ride and run the course with Tim and Karl, 2 other IMers this year. I'm using it as more of a learning weekend than hardcore training. I just want to see what the bike route is like, experience the hills I keep hearing about, and get a lay of the land for the run route. There is a 30-40% chance of wetness, but after last weekend I'm more concerned about that because we're camping in tents, not because of the rides or runs we'll do!
Check back next week and I'll let you know how my first foray into the belly of beast went!

CC Gaffes

I was biking on my trainer the other morning and had the t.v. on, but muted, while I was listening to music on the radio. Closed Captioning is kinda funny to read, especially with live television. Here are a couple funnier goofs that were typed out:

N-double A-C-P (wouldn't it have been faster to just type AA, and w/o the dashes?)
Crap apple tree (not sure I want to eat that fruit!)

Gave me a brief chuckle during an otherwise monotonous workout.

The Fish That Got Away

So for a couple of weeks in April (maybe even dating back to late March?) I was doing most of my swimming in the evenings in New Hope. I soon noticed that around the same time, 7:00ish, on Mondays, Wednesdays (and 1 Friday when I was there) the same female would show up and also swim. Could tell she was possibly training for something or at least it was a serious workout (for her), not just casually swimming. She wasn’t the fastest, but knew what she was doing. I never really saw her without my goggles on, without her swim cap on, we never swam in lanes next to each other and never started/finished at the same time. It was hard to pinpoint her age, especially cuz she had a cap and goggles on. Anyhoo, the last time we were both there she did happen to end her workout first and get out of the pool and take off her cap. As (not-so-good) luck would have it I was at the other end of the pool, but had time to “rest” at the wall and flip my goggles up. From what I could tell she was in the right demographic ballpark and I liked what I saw. I’ll admit, the past couple of weeks I’ve purposely delayed some of my swims to happen in the evenings in hopes of seeing her again. I didn’t purposely do that yesterday by oversleeping, but I wasn’t all that disappointed when I realized what day it was and that maybe she would be there. Unfortunately, she wasn’t, and I haven’t seen her in 3-4 weeks now. I’m thinking I probably won’t again, especially with my training schedule getting longer I’ll need to be more diligent about getting there in the mornings.
So, it begs the question, how does one successfully go about asking someone out when you're at a health club? Too often, too many people, men & women, are in the club and you know they're there just see and be seen and it's quite pathetic at times. I've always had the mindset I'm going to the gym to workout, not hookup, and I'm going to assume most others have the same approach so I'm going to respect that. When someone does come around that catches my eye, am I then supposed to wait outside until they get done and stalk them to their car so I'm not a hypocrite? Kidding (sort of).

This biking thing is getting better! Had my longest, and dare I say it, best, ride yesterday. I headed out to meet the twins, Karlene and Nicole, on the Liberty Tri course, a local 1/2 iron distance tri. The bike loop consists of a 28 mile route you do 2x. The first loop I kind of rode with them. Being a little stronger than them I was able to pull ahead on some segments, but then I'd stop and wait at each turn. The second loop I rode straight through, it was planned that way, and held a nice steady pace. Did I mention it was windy? Oh yeah, it was windy! Mostly a crosswind which I seriously had to adjust for and some wide open roads with a headwind that literally kept me from speeding up while going downhill. No lie. This course wasn't flat either, a lot of rolling hills with a couple of climbs I had to bust out the granny gear (for you non-bikers, the granny gear is the easiest gear). So, with the wind and the hills, being able to hold an 18 mph average over 50 miles, I'm pretty happy with that!

And because I just didn't get enough hills yesterday, I did more repeats on the ski hill by my office today for a short 45 minute ride! I'm going to own Bush Lake Rd by the time this training season is done. You're gonne be mine, Bitch!

Lessons Learned?

So a couple of days ago I was thinking back to my 1/2 marathon last weekend, going through it mile by mile, and a smile started forming and then it got bigger...and bigger... I made the realization that that race was now the owner of my best finish ever! By finish, I don't mean crossing the finish line or my time. I mean the last couple of miles of any race I've done with significant distance. Over the last 2ish miles I only got passed once! I did most of the passing! In most of my previous marathons and longer tris I usually hit "the wall", be it from going out too fast, poor nutrition, poor training, take your pick. This time around I started slow, kept a nice even pace throughout, (properly trained heading into it!) and I was the one passing people at the end! The 1 guy who did pass me I recognized from a few miles back. He was running with his wife back then and I could tell he was holding back so I wasn't too disappointed he got me back. Over those final 2 miles I just kept telling myself to stay relaxed and just get that next person in front of me...and then the next person...and then the next. I just kept getting 'em, what a great feeling! I want to end every race like that!
The pendulum has swung to running as being my strong suit/favorite right now. Early in the season it was probably biking, then running creeped up there, then I had a breakthrough in swimming so I felt that was where I was gaining the most benefit, but now I feel like it's running again. Funny how it can change in just a matter of a couple of workouts. I had a good training run on Sunday and another one today. Sunday's ended up being shorter than what the training schedule called for, but I got started late and was meeting a training partner to go for a ride immediately after so I didn't want to keep her waiting just so I could finish my run. I headed out on an out-n-back route to make sure I'd be back in time (vs a route that's a loop, harder to gauge how long it might take). Once done with the run, I didn't immediately know how far I had gone until I got home later and mapped it out online, but was curious because it felt fast-ish. Granted, my HR was a little higher than what a training run calls for, but not too far out of bounds, maybe 5-7% higher than it should've been. It turned out I did a 7:45/mile pace for that run and it didn't feel like I was working all that hard! Woot woot!!
The ride immediately after that run was interesting, to say the least! It started sprinkling, but since we were both there we still headed out, thought it would be good to get some training done in adverse conditions. Never gonna know what race day weather will be like so get prepared for anything! Sprinkles turned into a drizzle (or is it the other way around?) which turned into a steady rain (but not a downpour).
We came to an intersection and had to cross some railroad tracks. Now, if there's 1 thing you want to do when on your bike and your faced with RR tracks in the road that is to cross them at as much of a 90 degree angle as possible. Unfortunately, these tracks cut through the road at an angle and throw on top of that being slippery from the rain and you guessed it, someone fell. No, it wasn't me, but my partner did. Her front tire slipped into the groove between the track and the road and down she went.
Granted, we weren't cruising along at 20 mph and it came out of nowhere, but she still fell and absorbed the bounce with the side of her body. Before you ask "well, why didn't she just put her foot down?" it's not that easy. When you're wearing bike shoes and clipped into your pedals, the hardest thing to do is get unclipped once you know you're heading down.
Bike crashes are kinda surreal and strange to see happen. I've witnessed 2 now - CC had a doozy of a crash 3 years ago careening out of control on a downhill, swearing the whole way and now this fall, I hesitate to call it a crash. I was riding behind Nic and had just got done crossing the tracks when I saw her bike basically stop and then she started tipping over to the right. I had to quick turn to avoid her, but remember thinking "Huh, she's gonna fall. Look at that. There she goes." And she never said a word. Fortunately, there wasn't any blood, we don't think she broke anything (although her wrist is still sore a couple of days later) and her bike is still functioning as it should. Just makes me hope that if I ever crash, it's into a lake or better yet, a big pile of down pillows!

So, About This Biking Thing...

disclaimer: I really did start this the next day after my previous post! However, I'm just getting back to finishing it up now, on 5/8. In the future, I won't make any bold statements about when I'll be posting, I don't want to disappoint all you faithful readers. All 2 of you are still out there, right?

Biking is fickle. One can put in approx. 1,400 miles in 4 months, but not go anywhere. That's literally and figuratively how I've felt with my biking. Literally, because most of that has been done locked into my trainer. So while I'm getting saddle time and my ass is making a new BFF, I've been stuck in one spot looking at the same scenery (unless I've been prepared enough and stopped by a Redbox to pick up a new movie). Figuratively, because all that time in the basement spinning, spinning and more spinning I thought it would translate into Lance Armstrong-like comparisons once the rubber met the road this Spring. (not literally, but you know what I mean)

I was excited to finally get the bike outside and see/feel what all the trainer rides have done for me. I felt like I was getting stronger, was able to pedal harder for longer, used higher gears (or is it lower, i.e. harder?) and actually noticed more muscle mass in my legs. It didn't quite translate into all that once a real ride came about. My first ride I thought I'd just keep fairly simple, just get used to actually moving forward, clipping in and out of the pedals again and needing to actually pay attention to my surroundings. It was a fairly uneventful ride, but once I got done I could feel the difference in my legs between an indoor trainer ride and a real ride outside. I'm not sure I could've run a 5k at that point and here I am training to run a full marathon in the IM after just 112 miles on the bike?! This first ride was pretty flat, just getting outside miles, so it was a little disconcerting to have weak legs at the end.
Issue #2 came on ride #2. The hard thing, at least for me, with a trainer is it's hard to simulate hills. Maybe I'm not torquing enough tension onto the roller? I thought I had some pretty good workouts on the trainer, but once I got outside and actually rode up some hills I realized there's no substitution for the real thing! I went on this ride with Tim, another Ironman-wanna-be-in-training. He's younger, in better shape than I am, but still being a competitor on the inside, I thought we were fairly equivalent in our biking abilities. The route he choose had some moderate, at best, climbs. I don't know if I just attacked the hills wrong, was in the wrong gear starting out or just plain wasn't ready for my workout, but it felt like I was struggling with every single incline! Tim and I would be riding along side by side (when car traffic allowed), but as soon as a hill came along I quickly resumed my rear position, and not by choice. I realized after this ride that I need to work on hills, I need to focus on the quality of the ride (make sure hills are part of the route) and not just quantity (time). Anyone can ride on roads that are like pancakes as long as their ass can withstand it, but I'll need to be able to deal with non-pancakes.

So, that's a brief recap of my first couple of rides outdoors a couple of weeks back. I'm happy to report now that I'm not feeling quite so down about the biking thing. I've had a couple of decent rides since then, another one with Tim that had some moderate-to-hard climbs that I did better with (he still dropped me going up), and a couple of workouts that I just did hill repeats on (rode up and came right back down only to ride right back up again! Yes, on purpose). I think it'll come, just gotta give it more time.

Another #s update: I didn't blog about my weight in March because I didn't lose any. Didn't gain, but didn't lose either, a little disappointing. April saw things drop a little again so that's good - dropped 4 more lbs so I'm currently sitting around 176, down 17 after 4 months.

April (is for Fools)

It's a new month so I guess that means it's time for my monthly post. Oops again.

April was a good training month. Felt like I had a breakthrough in the pool and became more efficient with my stroke; finally was able to get the bike outside a couple of times, but not nearly enough (thanks Ma Nature); and my running has gotten, dare I say it, speedy (for my standards anyway).

April #s: 497.6 miles
Swim: 30,750 yds, 17.5 miles
Bike: 395.5 miles, 22 hrs 40 minutes
Run: 84.6 miles, 13 hrs

Cumulative #s thru April: 1,757.7 miles (yikes!)
Swim: 109,175 yds, 62 miles
Bike: 1,397.5 miles, 78 hrs 20 minutes
Run: 298.2 miles, 45 hrs 25 minutes

Opened my "racing" season yesterday with the Lake Minnetonka 1/2 marathon. This was my first time doing this race, and despite it's main sponsor (Wells Fargo), it fit good into my schedule and a good chance to gauge how my training has been. After looking at the course profile I knew it wasn't going to be the flattest course, but it wasn't killer hilly either, just a lot of rolling type hills. I went into the race with somewhat high expectations. A lot of my training runs leading up to this event were feeling pretty good and at a pretty decent pace, 8:00-8:30/mile. My PR for this distance was 1:51 (8:30 pace) set 4 years ago and I was hoping to PR this time around. Race morning brought with it chilly temps in the 30s and 20+ mph headwinds so there was actually a windchill factor too (did I fail to mention this was MAY?!)!!

I started out with CC, who had already done 4 miles previously so she could get in her 17 total needed. The first mile was on the slower side @ 11:00, but most of that was due to normal race congestion and bottlenecks at many of the corners. After that it was my plan to speed up and race the event and shoot for a 1:45-1:50 finish so I started increase my SPMs (strides per minute) and weaved through the crowds. I settled into a comfortable pace and just ran my race.

At mile 5, after taking out that first mile anomaly, I figured out I was running 8 minute miles. Mile 8 came along and was still holding steady right at 8s, mile 10 same thing and I knew I was going to do it. If I had know the course a little better I may have kicked it in a little more, but I was pretty happy I was able to maintain a comfortable, consistent speed. The final 3 miles breezed by and I hit my time goal, crossing in 1:48, a new PR for 13.1 miles!!

This race, but more importantly the results, have proven the training is working. Who knows, maybe some more PRs will fall yet this year! Now, I just need to make sure I keep at it and don't stagnate. My running is getting there, swimming feels better, biking though...rethinking my first 4 months of this discipline. That'll be tomorrow night's subject (yes, I'll blog 2 days in a row!).

It's A Numbers Game

March #s:

Swim = 22,275 yds or approx. 12.7 miles
Bike = 22 hrs 5 minutes or approx. 397.5 miles
Run = 13 hrs 55 minutes or approx. 94.4 miles

Cumulative:

Swim = 78,425 yds or approx. 44.6 miles
Bike = 60 hrs 5 minutes or approx. 1,002 miles
Run = 35 hrs 20 minutes or approx. 213.6 miles

Whew, that makes me tired just typing and thinking about those cumulative numbers! I guess that's why you need to break down the training into sizeable chunks and not look at it as 1 whole.

Now that it's past and I look back on March, I'll just say good riddance. It's not that it was a terrible month, but I was definitely good out of the gates in January and February, but lost some mojo somewhere along the way in the middle of March for a couple of weeks. I'm happy to say I was able to find it again and have been going strong again for the past couple of weeks. I haven't yet, but if you go back and reread an earlier post I think I alluded to thinking that this IM training wasn't going to be too bad and didn't know what all the whining (that's too strong of a word, but it fits to give you the picture) was about from some others when it came to getting through it mentally as much as physically. Well, I guess this is where I insert my apology to those who have come before me and warned me this might happen. There were a few days when I just didn't want to get in the pool and justified any excuse not to - "getting up at 5 a.m. is too early, I'll go during lunch", "gas prices are too high and the pool's too far away", "swimming is such a small part of the overall race I can afford to miss a workout or two", etc., you get the picture. This really did only seem to be affecting the swim portions, you can see that in the totals comparing month-to-month. I think the main reason behind that is because biking in my basement and running are easy enough to do and don't require commute time. That's a pretty lame excuse.

A lot of my March workouts were also done alone. This didn't help. As introverted and comfortable with just being with myself as I am, even I need social interaction. I got to thinking about this during one of my longer spin sessions on a Saturday morning. It started out with just thinking how hungry I was at the time and how nice it would be to have someone there who would have a nice, big, hot breakfast waiting for me once I got done (and no, before you go all "equal rights" on me, I don't think the only place for a woman is in the kitchen...they're also allowed in the bedroom). Kidding, I'm just kidding!! Anyhoo, back to my thought...it would be nice to have a meal waiting and actually wanting (needing?) to have a conversation. From there, I delved back into my "reasons" for not currently having a girlfriend - not enough time to pursue a relationship, not enough $$, I'm focusing on the kids, I'm putting myself first, etc. Once again, lame excuses. I want someone there I can talk to, I want someone there in Madison I can share this experience with (outside of family and platonic friends), I want someone there I can show off to/for.

I think part of my problem is that I'm not truly grown up and I'm still "stuck" in my younger years. Let me explain. I'm 42 years old. Because of this active, athletic (if I can be presumptuous enough to call it that) lifestyle, I feel younger than what I envision a 42 year old should feel like. Because I feel younger than what I think I should, I'm inadvertently attracted to women who are younger and not necessarily my peers. The problem is, the younger gals aren't attracted to the older guys, but I don't "see" myself as an older guy. When looking at online dating profiles of people in my age range, 38-45 yrs, almost all the time I would've guessed they were older. If I'm thinking my peers look older than what they are and I'm dismissing them because of that, then I've been fishing in the wrong lake. I asked a close friend for an honest opinion of how old I look and no, I wasn't expecting to hear something in the 20s (and didn't). She came back with maybe a year or two older than what I actually am. So, here I am, an older looking guy looking for a younger looking gal just because he feels younger on the inside. Am I really that shallow? I think I'll need another long bike ride to get to the bottom of that, good thing the workouts are getting longer (or is it?).

March Means Spring (I hope!)

Who's ready to get outside and have this winter be over?! Lord knows I am! I'm a little excited to take the bike off the trainer and test out what the past 2 months have done for me on the open road. I've had what have felt like some pretty strong bike workouts lately so things continue to progress in the right direction. I'm getting tired of running indoors too. I try to avoid the dreadmill, but the short tracks aren't much better as once you get into a rhythm on the straightaway it's time to take another corner or dodge a bluehair. The workouts are getting longer and this is the first week where the training plan is throwing double workouts at me every day (except for the recovery day on Friday). I've made it through Thursday so it's just about buckling down and getting through the weekend now. Gotta earn that cookie!

Speaking of heading in the right direction, a new month means stepping on the scale. February was stellar in that regard and I dropped 11 lbs, down to 180.3! I haven't been that light in 3 years. That was a pretty big drop though and I don't necessarily want to keep up that pace. If I do, that would put me right around 114 lbs by the time the Ironman gets here and I just don't think I'd look healthy at that weight. Seriously though, I'd probably be good to drop just another 10 lbs total over the next few months as long as it's the right weight. I don't want to sacrifice muscle mass just to get to a golden # so I have to be smart about it. I've incorporated some good suggestions from 2 friends who are knowledgeable in the nutrition area so they've become my go-to resources in that realm. Thanks Alicia and Emily!

Here are my February training #s:

swim - 27,500 yds or 15.6 miles

bike - 19 hrs and 10 minutes or approx. 345 miles

run - 10 hrs and 20 minutes or approx. 68.3 miles

for a monthly total of 428.9 miles

Cumulative through Feb:

swim = 56,150 yds/31.9 miles

bike = 33:35/604.5 miles

run = 18:30/119.2 miles

total = 755.6 miles

On the parental front, not only did Conner draw this picture freehand (using the one on the right as a guide), but he told me tonight one of his art class drawings was chosen to be on the cover of his school's yearbook! The real honor is that the editor of the yearbook (the Art teacher) was going to just use something generic, but she was so impressed with his drawing (of the district mascot, a tiger) that she chose that instead! He's always been a craftsy, artsy kid, but with these latest accomplishments I hope he realizes how good he really could become. Stick with it Son (and get that college scholarship)!

Well, even though tomorrow's my off/recovery day it doesn't mean I can stay up all night. Sleep is part of training too. Off to bed.