So the plan called for me to ride 41 today, but 10 minutes before I was ready to head out the door, the thunder and pouring rain started. I checked the radar and it looked like the bad stuff was going to be gone soon but would be raining for a while. So I made the executive decision to move up my 14 mile run planned for tomorrow morning, assuming the weather would be ok with cloud cover and some rain. By the time I got out the door, the rain had stopped and never came again. But the cloud cover remained, which made it bearable. At least for the first 90 minutes. Then the sun came out and the temps jumped 15+ degrees in about 10 minutes. By the 2 hour mark I was toast and walked/ran(mostly walked) the rest of the way.
After getting home and drinking another 3 liters of water and Recoverite and eating a banana and some pretzels, I weighed myself. I was still down 4 lbs from yesterday despite the 6+ liters of fluids I had during and after my run.
At least I was able to cover the distance and hopefully will recover well enough to get my 41 in tomorrow.
Countdown to B2B
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Biggest week yet....and roller coasters
Great week of training, eclipsing the 16 hour mark including a 70 mile bike and a 12 mile run. My long swim was interrupted by a thunderstorm but I hope to get back on track this week. After todays 2000 yard swim and 5 mile run I'm sitting at almost 53 hours for the month. I should come close to 60 hours if the weather cooperates.
July, Aug and Sept can be a little dicey as far as thunderstorms go. Since I do most of my swimming at the outdoor pool at our local Y, I'm subject to their hair trigger response to thunder/lightning. I understand their concern but sometimes they seem to go out of their way to hear thunder. For instance, last week, 2 girls were coming out of building on the wooden walk they have were skipping. The life guards cleared the pool thinking it was thunder and didn't let us back in until the confirmed it wasn't a storm, despite it being bright sunshine with no clouds in sight. The thunderstorms don't affect my runs and bikes as much. I actually enjoy the cloud cover and rain for a run.
Talking with experienced Ironmen and women, one thing is brought up across the board. Going through an Ironman race, you will experience many ups and downs and will need to face your 'demons' several times to get through. I guess it's a good thing then, that I'm experiencing some of that already in training. I've had some workouts where I felt 'cashed out' during the workout, only the recover and actually feel better later in the workout. I've also approached several workouts and felt as though I would have a terrible time yet was able to push through and finish, despite not feeling great. I realize these are not the same magnitude of what I expect to experience on November 1st, but having some experience at them should prove helpful come race day. Also, with each workout I complete, I'm feeling stronger and more confident about finishing. I've still yet to get my head around being out there from sun up to well after sunset though. But I need to compartmentalize that and just 'put the work in'. I'm confident if I do that, eveything will work out.
July, Aug and Sept can be a little dicey as far as thunderstorms go. Since I do most of my swimming at the outdoor pool at our local Y, I'm subject to their hair trigger response to thunder/lightning. I understand their concern but sometimes they seem to go out of their way to hear thunder. For instance, last week, 2 girls were coming out of building on the wooden walk they have were skipping. The life guards cleared the pool thinking it was thunder and didn't let us back in until the confirmed it wasn't a storm, despite it being bright sunshine with no clouds in sight. The thunderstorms don't affect my runs and bikes as much. I actually enjoy the cloud cover and rain for a run.
Talking with experienced Ironmen and women, one thing is brought up across the board. Going through an Ironman race, you will experience many ups and downs and will need to face your 'demons' several times to get through. I guess it's a good thing then, that I'm experiencing some of that already in training. I've had some workouts where I felt 'cashed out' during the workout, only the recover and actually feel better later in the workout. I've also approached several workouts and felt as though I would have a terrible time yet was able to push through and finish, despite not feeling great. I realize these are not the same magnitude of what I expect to experience on November 1st, but having some experience at them should prove helpful come race day. Also, with each workout I complete, I'm feeling stronger and more confident about finishing. I've still yet to get my head around being out there from sun up to well after sunset though. But I need to compartmentalize that and just 'put the work in'. I'm confident if I do that, eveything will work out.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Good week
Things are coming together nicely. I'm still not gaining much speed but my long workouts are really going well. Did a 3000 yard swim on Friday and then a 5K cross country run that evening. Followed that up with an 80 mile bike ride on Saturday and a 12 mile run this morning.
The 80 mile bike was a tri county affair, starting in Hillsborough, then Polk, Manatee and back into Hillsborough. Temps started out nicely but quickly hit 95+. Went through some roller coaster feelings on the bike as I felt horrible at points and then much better. In fact, the last 10 miles were some of the best miles I put in.
I took Sunday off after 8 tough days and spent the day at the pool with kids. It really seemed to help on this mornings run too. Again, not a fast run but I was able to run steady the whole way. I didn't finish feeling as strong as last week but it was 88 by the time I finished at 8:45 so that might have had something to do with it. I'm at 36 hours for the month so I need to get in 19 more in the last 10 days to get to the 55 mark. It will be close, but I think I'll get there.
The 80 mile bike was a tri county affair, starting in Hillsborough, then Polk, Manatee and back into Hillsborough. Temps started out nicely but quickly hit 95+. Went through some roller coaster feelings on the bike as I felt horrible at points and then much better. In fact, the last 10 miles were some of the best miles I put in.
I took Sunday off after 8 tough days and spent the day at the pool with kids. It really seemed to help on this mornings run too. Again, not a fast run but I was able to run steady the whole way. I didn't finish feeling as strong as last week but it was 88 by the time I finished at 8:45 so that might have had something to do with it. I'm at 36 hours for the month so I need to get in 19 more in the last 10 days to get to the 55 mark. It will be close, but I think I'll get there.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Run went well
Going into last nights 12 mile run, I seriously was worried I might not be able to finish it. I've just felt exhausted lately from the heat and by mile 2 I was sure I would have a very tough run. But fortunately I never felt much worse. I didn't actually feel any better but at least didn't get worse. Overall it was encouraging being able to push through the run when I wasn't feeling at all strong.
Heading out in an hour for a 40 mile bike!!
Heading out in an hour for a 40 mile bike!!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Ramping up
Since I've signed up for B2B, I've kept thinking 'real training' wouldn't start until July. Now that July is here, it's a little daunting. Not only am I entering distances I've never seen before(except the run) on a consistent basis but I'm doing it in the dead heat of summer. I can run 20 miles or bike 100 in mild temps and lower humidity and bounce back just fine. But running even 5 miles in the sauna that is Florida in July/Aug/Sept, just drains me completely.
I r0de 70 miles on Saturday and felt great the first 35 miles. Then the sun really starting taking it's toll and I struggled the last 10 or so miles. Hit the road Sunday morning for a 7 mile run and again felt very good the first couple miles and then just died. The dew point was 80 degrees and temps in the mid 80s. I had extreme fatigue the rest of the day and really haven't recovered fully yet. I did get in a 2000 yard swim and 30 mile bike yesterday but am a little leery looking at a 12 mile run today. At least I know it's the heat since 2 weeks ago I did a 12 mile run followed by an 80 mile bike 2 days later and felt strong on both when we were back in Michigan City. I actually think I might hit the first 7 miles today on the treadmill at the Y and then run the 5 mile loop from there to finish up. Not only will it provide less heat/humidity the first hour but also give me extra fluids since I can store some in the car.
The good news is Wilmington has average temperatures for November 1st are 71/49 with record temps of 85, so I'm pretty confident if I get the work done, the temps won't be an issue on race day.
Speaking of race day, I need to give congratulations to my friend Rick whom I've spoke about on this blog before. Rick and I did my first 1/2 iron race in 2002 at the Muncie Edurathon. I went 6:39 and he went 6:19. He ended up in the medical tent afterwards and according to him, just about passed out for the entire drive back home to Chicago that afternoon/evening. Fast forward to 2008 and Rick was again going to take on Muncie. He trained hard including much more biking then he did for 2002. He was hoping for a 5:59 and confided in me a week before the race if everything broke just right, he might go 5:40, but was afraid to say it out loud.
So, I logged onto the website Saturday afternoon hoping they would have results up soon after the race and they did. It prompted me with name to search for and when it popped up 5:22, I was in shock. He crushed the course and his PR. Congrats Rick!!!
I r0de 70 miles on Saturday and felt great the first 35 miles. Then the sun really starting taking it's toll and I struggled the last 10 or so miles. Hit the road Sunday morning for a 7 mile run and again felt very good the first couple miles and then just died. The dew point was 80 degrees and temps in the mid 80s. I had extreme fatigue the rest of the day and really haven't recovered fully yet. I did get in a 2000 yard swim and 30 mile bike yesterday but am a little leery looking at a 12 mile run today. At least I know it's the heat since 2 weeks ago I did a 12 mile run followed by an 80 mile bike 2 days later and felt strong on both when we were back in Michigan City. I actually think I might hit the first 7 miles today on the treadmill at the Y and then run the 5 mile loop from there to finish up. Not only will it provide less heat/humidity the first hour but also give me extra fluids since I can store some in the car.
The good news is Wilmington has average temperatures for November 1st are 71/49 with record temps of 85, so I'm pretty confident if I get the work done, the temps won't be an issue on race day.
Speaking of race day, I need to give congratulations to my friend Rick whom I've spoke about on this blog before. Rick and I did my first 1/2 iron race in 2002 at the Muncie Edurathon. I went 6:39 and he went 6:19. He ended up in the medical tent afterwards and according to him, just about passed out for the entire drive back home to Chicago that afternoon/evening. Fast forward to 2008 and Rick was again going to take on Muncie. He trained hard including much more biking then he did for 2002. He was hoping for a 5:59 and confided in me a week before the race if everything broke just right, he might go 5:40, but was afraid to say it out loud.
So, I logged onto the website Saturday afternoon hoping they would have results up soon after the race and they did. It prompted me with name to search for and when it popped up 5:22, I was in shock. He crushed the course and his PR. Congrats Rick!!!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Update
It's been quite a while since I've updated. Here is a review of whats happened since then:
Came down with a sinus infection or something similar and missed a couple days and cut back on a few others in June. Still was able to get in 45 hours for the months and some good individual workouts. Got in a 3000 yard and 2750 yard swim, 3 70 mile rides and several 10 mile runs.
July has started off great. Back in Indiana at my parents I took full advantage of the cooler temps. First 6 days I put in 14 hours including an 80 mile ride and 10 and 12 mile runs. The schedule has July as the first of 3+ really big months. I fully intend to get in 55+ hours this month and continue to ramp up the distances of the long workouts in all 3 disciplines. I also hope to update a little more often.
Came down with a sinus infection or something similar and missed a couple days and cut back on a few others in June. Still was able to get in 45 hours for the months and some good individual workouts. Got in a 3000 yard and 2750 yard swim, 3 70 mile rides and several 10 mile runs.
July has started off great. Back in Indiana at my parents I took full advantage of the cooler temps. First 6 days I put in 14 hours including an 80 mile ride and 10 and 12 mile runs. The schedule has July as the first of 3+ really big months. I fully intend to get in 55+ hours this month and continue to ramp up the distances of the long workouts in all 3 disciplines. I also hope to update a little more often.
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