Please visit this link to continue following my blog.

Thanks, Jeff

www.teamfoghorn.com

Swim/Xfit

Today I did an early morning swim at the local rec center. I spent most of the swim session working on technique so my times is a little off. My goal is to work on technique so that I’ll be faster next year. Here is what I did: warmup 500 easy then, 12x25 kick w/arm drills, 3x150 w/100 fast/50 easy (45s RI), 10x50 kick w/arm drills (10s RI), 150 pull, cooldown 100 easy. Total distance was 2000 meters with a time of 42:00 minutes swimming. My swimming is really starting to come along. The last 100 I swam very easily and my time was 1:37. More to follow on swimming.

During lunch I did a crossfit workout. I did one from a few days go that was an As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes. Here is how that is working out: 10 push presses at 95lbs, 10 kettlebell swings at 45lbs and 10 boxes jumps at 24 inches. I did 9 rounds and was smoked. I’m just not in crossfit shape like I used to be. I’ll continue to do more crossfit through the winter to help improve my strength and overall condition.

Have a great day!

Today I did a tempo run. What does that mean? Well it means that I ran at race pace. However, since I ran my tempo run at a max HR of 139 bpm it really means I have slowed way down from my normal race pace. Remember (I keep telling myself this) that over time I’m suppose to get faster at this lower HR. I’ll give this a go for a few months and see what happens. Anyway, today I ran 5.4 miles in 44:16 for an average of 8:16 minutes per mile (yes I know I’m just burning up the road). My average heart rate was 137 bpm.

Have a great day!

Bike/Run

Today I did a 1 hour bike followed by a 40 minute run, plus I did my 3 burpees for the day. I did the bike without letting my heart rate exceed 140 bpm. Actually I had a hard time getting it to 140 bpm. When all was said and done my average was only 134 bpm. I was able to cover 20.5 miles during the ride. It was a bit chilly but a very nice day for riding.

I then did a 40 minute run. The run goal was to go slow and keep my heart rate down below 135 bpm. It was killing me to run that slowly. However, just like on the bike it was an awesome day for a run. In light of my snail pace I was only able to cover 4.15 miles during my 40 minute run.

Have a great day!

Swim Day

Ok I'm changing up my training a little bit for the next few months. I started a burpee challenge again, so I'll be doing 100 days of burpees. Today was 2 burpees.

I'm going to be trying to maintain a HR of no more than 139 bpm during my workouts. I'm also going to start doing crossfit at least two times per week. I figure that with all the swimming, biking, running and two crossfit workouts per week my upper body and core will be getting plenty of work. So today I did a crossfit workout during lunch. I scaled back the crossfit workout of the day so that I don't get so sore I can't do anything else. Here is what I did: 15' rope climb x 3, 20 back squats; 15' rope climb x 2, 15 back squats; 15' rope climb x 1, 10 back squats. I used 95 lbs for all the squats and even though that doesn't sound like much my legs were trembling when I finished. Maybe I'm not in as good of shape as I think!

After work I stopped at the fleet rec 50m pool. OK from now on I'm going to call this the Navy pool. Is that OK with everybody? I figure by now you guys have heard it enough that you know what it is and anybody that is new to the blog will just have to ask where or what it is when they get curious. Anyway, I stopped at the Navy pool on the way home for a swim session. Here is what I did: Warm up 600m easy then 6x50 stroke drill (20s RI), 2 x 600m pull (45s RI), cool down 400m easy. Total distance was 2500m with a total time of 44:41.

Have a good day!

Great Acorn International Triathlon

Today I did the Great Acorn international triathlon, which was a 1500m swim, 40K bike and 10K run. The weather was perfect, 72 degrees, clear sky's and light winds. The water temp was 74 degrees. I started in the forth wave with the old guys (40-49 age). The swim drills I've been doing are paying off because I felt very comfortable on the swim. I actually caught people that started in the second wave. I was the third person out of the water in my age group with a 26:26 swim time. My T1 transition could have been faster but I forgot my little bike bag and it took me a few seconds to get situated. Plus we had to run about 100m before we could mount our bike. My bike was the best bike I have had all year. I felt awesome on the bike and my time/average shows it. I'm very happy about my bike time. I had the seventh fastest bike time in age group at 1:05:04. That my friends is a 22.9 mph average. My T2 time wasn't much better than my T1 time, especially with that 100m run from the mount/dismount line. The run was pretty much like all my runs, smooth and easy. I ended up getting passed by two guys in my age group during the run and I just couldn't muster the speed to run with them. In the end I ran 42:45 which was the fourth fastest run. However, today was just not my day. I ended up getting fourth in age group missing the podium by one spot. The good news is that I had a great time and look forward to racing again next year.

Have a good weekend!

Bike/Swim

Today I got an early start after taking my little ones to school. I'm glad I did because about an hour after I finished my bike it started raining and I'm not sure if it's stopped since. I rode near my house and did 45 minutes covering 14 miles. I rode with my heart rate monitor and kept my HR below the magic 140 bpm. Average speed was 19.2 mph.

This evening I was able to do a short swim. I went to the fleet rec center 50m pool for some cruising. Here is what I did. Warmup 300m free, 200m kick, 100m free, 200m kick then, 300m pull (30s RI), 3x100m (15s RI), 300m free, cooldown 100m free, done. I only did 1800 meters and I checked my heart rate after every event. Of course I had to check it the old fashion way. Anyway it was right around 135 to 140 after each event. That is just where I want it so I'm thinking I'm on the right track. I'll know more for sure in January. I really hate waiting!!

Have a good day!

Brick day

Today I did my weekly brick workout. But before I get to that I should let you know that I've decided to check out www.markallenonline.com for some coaching. Just in case you don't know coach Mark is a six time Ironman world champion. Yes he won the Hawaii ironman six times! Anyway, I'm going to give his off season training plan a go for a few weeks and see how I like it. One thing that I have been reading about is the importance of using your heart rate as a measure of power. My magic number seems to be 140 bpm so for the next few months I'll be working out without going higher than 140 bpm to build a strong aerobic engine. The idea is that I'll get faster over time using the same HR. We'll see how it works.

So back to today's workout. I did a short bike followed by a short run. I'm racing this weekend so I didn't want to go that far. However, I did use a heart rate monitor for today's workout. I did 15 miles in 46 minutes and never let my heart rate get above 140 bpm for more than a few seconds. I'm not sure how that effected my bike but I'll keep track of my times and speeds while never getting my HR above 140 bpm. When I got off the bike and started my run I actually had to pick up the pace at first to get my HR up to 140 bpm. I did the 4.1 mile run in 31 minutes and my average HR was 139 bpm. That is a 7:33 minute mile. When I finished I felt great so maybe there really is something to HR training.

Have a good day!

Run - Crossfit - Swim

Today was a busy workout day. When I got to work today I had no plans of running since I just wanted to do crossfit and swim. But when a friend at work offered me a chance to run I just couldn't say no. I didn't have my running shoes but I did have my Teva sandals. Not the kind with two straps but the ones that look like regular shoes with a bunch of holes in them. My friend was running 7 miles but I really didn't need or want to go that far. So I turned around after 2 miles. Once on my own I did what I always do, I picked up the pace. I ended up running 4.1 miles in 31 minutes, which is around 7:30 per mile. The sandals were great and very comfy too.

When I finished the run I went to the our crossfit gym at work and did today's workout. Only I did the "light" version, basically I did half of the workout. Here is what I did: 5 rounds of 135 lb deadlift, 10 reps; pushups, 15 reps. I'm sure I'll feel that in my lower back tomorrow.

I then headed home around 4pm to meet up with some friends at chick's beach for an open water swim. However, no body showed up but me and I really didn't want to do an open water swim without somebody watching out for me. So I headed to the local rec center and ended up doing 2500 meters. Here is the workout: warmup 400m free then 4x400m (20s RI), 16x25m (20s RI, odds fast for 12.5m/easy for 12.5m, evens fast), 100m cooldown. Total time was 41:47, which is 1:40 per 100m. If I haven't said it enough I'm really starting to enjoy swimming.

Have a good day!

Thursday/Friday

OK where did I leave off? Oh yes, I was swimming on Thursday. I had plans to ride and swim but I only got around to swimming. The good thing is I had a great session in the pool. I only swam 2100 meters but I did it in 31:29. That my friends is an average of 1:30 per 100 meters. I'm thinking that all my technique swimming is starting to pay off. In contrast my Ironman swim time was 1:46 per 100 meter. I'm going to keep working on my swimming throughout the fall, winter and spring.

Today I did a very short slow run. I just wanted to get out and cruise along at 8 minute pace and that is just what I did. I only ran 4.3 miles but it was nice and my body is happy about it. I'm going to take it easy for the weekend and start again on Monday. I've decided that I'm going to probably only do one workout per day through the "off season". We'll see how that goes.

See you Monday!

Swim/Bike

Hello friends,

Today was a good day! I got lots of work done and I found time to swim and bike. I started with the swim this morning just before lunch. I swam a 300m free warmup then, 4x200m free, 600m pull, 16x25m fast free, 200m free cooldown. The total time was 38:18 which comes out to 1:40 per 100m. I'm working on my breathing while I swim. I will not allow myself to breath on one side only. If I can't bilateral breath then I slow down so that I can. I'm hoping that working on my breathing technique, swim technique and endurance I'll come out the other end a much better swimmer.

Before I headed home from work I took sometime for a bike ride. I rode 19.81 miles in 59:11. The wind was blowing pretty good today and it seemed to be coming from every direction. Which made me feel like I had a head wind all day. I have been told that since we ride on flat terrain the wind should be consider a hill workout. Well I can tell you I'd much rather be riding up hills than into a head wind, with hills you eventually reach the top.

Have a good day!

Monday/Tuesday

Hello Friends,

Well I survived my weekend and had a great time in the process. We went hiking, visited historical sites, got a personal tour of VMI and finished off with an afternoon at the D-Day memorial in Bedford, VA. It was a great weekend!!

On Monday I found some time to get my swim on in the am hours. Once I found a rec center with an open pool I was able to complete the following workout. Warmup 600m free then, 200m free (30s RI), 3x100m Free (15s RI), 200m free (30s RI), 3x100m free (1 min RI), 12x50m free (15s RI/Odd easy/even fast), cooldown 200m back/free. Total distance was 2400m in a time of 39:58. That is right at 1:40 per 100m which is about 8 seconds per 100m faster than my ironman time. My goal is to continue improving in the swim. I then spent the day flying and working. When I got home, I was planning to do a 1 hour run but traffic and the setting sun were working against me. So I did the best I could and managed to run 41:13 covering 5.31 miles.

Today I did my normal Tuesday brick. I started off on the bike by taking it easy for the first 30 minutes before picking up the pace. I finished the 18 miles in 1:01:08. Nothing special, just a good day on the bike. I then took off for a 30 minute run. I decided to run with my heart rate monitor to see how my ticker is working. I used the old 220 minus your age to get my max heart rate and then ran at 80% of that which is about 136 bpm for me. Surprisingly at 136 bpm I run a 7:55 mile. Amazing!! I ended up doing just over 30 minutes and covered 3.88 miles. Perhaps I'll give this heart rate training a chance to see what happens!

Have a great day!

Today I got to ride on my new (to me) wheels. I got them on eBay and they are a few years old but there in good shape. I did a 20 mile ride with Fat Frogs and the wheels performed as advertised by Zipp. I rode with a group and we covered the 20 miles in 1 hour. I then headed for the pool and did 1600 meters of drills and swimming. Total time was 26:55 for the 1600 meter swim.

I then picked up Lisa and we headed for Skyline drive in western Virginia for some hiking and sightseeing. The trees are starting to change color and look awesome. When we stopped to go hiking we only went about 10 minutes before we came face to face with a black bear on the trail. He looked at us like we were in his way. After about 2 minutes he finally turned and head back down the trail. As he turned to go I'm pretty sure I heard him say "really, can't y'all hike someplace else"?

Have a good weekend!

It's finally Thursday...Yeah!! Well since I last posted a note I've done a short bike and a short run. Yesterday I spent most of the day flying but I did manage to get in a short 30 minute bike. I covered a little over 10 miles during my bike. After my bike I headed over to the 50 meter pool at the fleet rec center hoping to get in a pool workout with the local masters group. However, they don't workout on Wednesday so I just headed home.

Today I did a lot of flying again but I found time to get in a short run. I ran 44:20 and covered 5.8 miles. When I got home I was planning to go get that swim in but much to my surprise I had a set of zipp 404 wheels waiting on my front porch. So I spent the early part of the evening putting my new wheels on my bike. I can't wait to ride on them tomorrow.

Have a good weekend!

Brick day

I'm sitting here writing this blog and I can't believe that it's only Tuesday. I'm not sure why but it just seems later in the week than Tuesday. I guess when you're busy working and working out you lose track of time. Tomorrow will be no different since I have a full day of flying planned, plus a bike and swim. Somehow I'll get it done and eventually get to Friday.

Anyway, today I started doing my brick workouts again. I'm going to try and do short brick workouts through the fall and winter. Today I did 16 miles in 47 minutes followed immediately by a 2.7 mile run in 20 minutes. It really felt good to get back on the bike after taking some time off but the run was the best part. My plan was to just go and cruise comfortably on the run and that's just what I did. I was surprised to see that my average pace was 7:26 per mile. My left calf only bothered me a little so I'll continue to take it easy for awhile. It's good to be back training!!

Have a good day!

Xfit and a swim

Today was a good day! I was able to fly most of the day at work, which was great. I was also able to get in an crossfit workout and a swim. I did the crossfit workout at work. Since I haven't been doing crossfit for a few months I started pretty easy. The workout of the day was 15-12-9 reps of 135lb thrusters and weighted pullups. Now I said I started easy so I didn't do 135lbs thrusters. I did 95lbs and that was plenty. I also did regular pullups and not weighted ones. It's been awhile and my legs were pretty shaky after the workout. I felt great!! My time was 8:40.

I did my swim in the Chesapeake bay near my house. This is a weekly group that I meet up with to do open water swims. We normally swim 800 meters but somebody decided to put up a fishing net about 200m from our turn around point. So we headed back to the start point. We ended up swimming 1200 meters and my time was 22:32. I'm pretty much concentrating on technique and bilateral breathing for right now. The speed will come with time.

Have a good day!

Recover is complete

Well tomorrow is Monday and I'm now 2 weeks post Ironman. It's officially time to jump back in to the world of training. I'll be doing some maintenance workouts for the next few months to maintain my fitness level. I'm planning to run a few 5K's, 10K's and half marathons this fall and winter. Plus I'll be riding the bike all winter solo and on group rides with guys much faster than me. Can you say "hang on!!"

I'm going to try and maintain my some of my fitness and improve my swim and bike at the same time. Starting in February I'll begin to build back up to Ironman Canada. My goal is to finish in the top of my age group. I'm not going to be so concerned about times before hand. I'm just going to train hard and race harder! I will leave my predicted event finish times on here just to keep me honest. It's hard to back out once you've told the whole world you're plan.

Most to follow.....

Have a good dad!!

Back to swimming

Today I finally got back to the pool. My left calf is still bothering me so I'm not running or biking just yet. Swimming however is no problem. I hit the pool and just mainly cruised along working on my stroke technique. I ended up doing 1300m of free style before calling it a day. My total time was 22:59 which comes out to 1:46 per 100m. My goal for next year is for my 100m average to be 1:35. That should put me somewhere in the area of 1:01:00 for an Ironman distance swim.

Everyone have a good weekend!

Well after all the training and racing I've finally injured myself. The injury is a deep muscle left calf pain. It's been bothering me off and on for about a month. After the 1/2 marathon on Sunday it tightened up and it's been hurting ever since. I still can't walk normal, actually Lisa says I walk like a drunken sailor. However, it hurts and I'm going to cut back on my biking and running for awhile to let it heal. I'll still be swimming but will back off the other two sports until the calf gets happy again. I'll keep you posted.

Have a great day!

Rock and Roll half marathon

Today I decided to do the rock and roll half marathon. Even though I'm only 7 days post Ironman. I intended to take it easy and just cruise along but I just felt so good. Much to my surprise my 5k time was 20:13 and I felt great. My 10k time was 40:36, still feeling good. I passed the 10 mile point at 1:06:34 and finally I finished the race at 1:28:40. Average pace was 6:46 per mile and that my friends is a new half marathon PR.

I'm going to throttle back a bit now and go into maintenance mode. I'll still be working out and posting those workouts, but the duration will be decreased. The intensity will remain the same.

Have a great day!

Today was a mostly lazy day. I had my girls and we just hung out at home most of the day waiting for Hurricane Earl to go away. It was the wimpiest hurricane I have ever seen in the area. I'm not complaining because it could have been very bad. In the afternoon I too the girls to there mom's house so I could go do a short swim. I didn't do anything crazy just some drills and builds. Here is what I did: warm up 300m free, 50m kick then 4x(4x25m catch up, 4x25m builds), 300m free, done. Total distance was 1450m and my total time was 29:08. I'm going to be doing a lot of drilling over the winter and next year I will be faster and stronger in the water.

Have a great weekend!

Today I did another easy workout. I rode the bike for 50 minutes covering 16 miles and then I did some split jerks. I've been reading that a lot of coaches recommend athletes take it easy for a few weeks after an ironman. Even though I feel great my body is still repairing from the damage of the race. They do recommend that I swim. Which is something I'm going to do a lot of this winter. So I'm going to pass on the Rock and Roll half this time around. I am going to head down and cheer for all the people running. I'll start running and biking again after next week. I'll just continue to do some swimming and light weights until then.

After that I'm going to go into a maintenance plan to help maintain my fitness and strength. Next year when I start gearing up for Ironman Canada on 1 Feb my body will be healthy and ready to go.

Have a great weekend!!

I'm Back!!

Hey friends,

Well l'm now 3 days post race and I just couldn't sit around anymore. So today I went for a short run to see how things are working. However, before I get to that I have to tell you that as of today I don't have any muscular soreness. Other than my throbbing left big toe I'm pain free. I guess that is as good of an indication as any that my training plan worked. I'll be doing the same plan for Ironman Canada with a few changes, but I'll get to that at a later date.

Anyway, back to today. So I went out thinking I'll just do a short, slow run. I started out and really felt great. I just cruised along like it was any other workout. When I got back to work 14:54 minutes/seconds later. I still felt great and was wondering just how far I had ran. I pulled up google earth and did a quick bit of measuring. Believe it or not I had ran 2 miles and it really felt good. Not bad to have a 7:30 pace just 3 days after that ironman. It just makes me wonder where that 7:30 pace was on Sunday. Perhaps it was hiding under my bed afraid to come out and play in the heat.

Have a good day!

Ironman Louisville Race Report

I'm so sorry for the delay in getting this blog out. I've been a little tired from the race, getting packed and getting home. It's been a crazy 24 hours, but I will do my best to recap my race day experience.

The day started at 0400 with every alarm we owned going off within a few seconds of each other. About 0415 room service showed up with my morning breakfast, which consisted of a bacon & cheese omelet, wheat toast and coffee. I also had a banana and a peanut butter and honey sandwich. I was also drinking gatorade to start hydrating. We departed the room at 0500 for the great lawn (transition area) to check my bike, pump up my tires and walk thru transition one last time. Once everything was set we walked to the swim start, which was about 3/4 of a mile up the river at Tumbleweed Marina. The swim start is a time trial start so we had to get in line, which was about 2500 people long by the time we got there. I was in line with Lisa, Matt, Joe, Don, Kelly and Connie. All folks from Va Bch/Norfolk area.

The cannon went off promptly at 0700 but it took us 31 minutes to get to the water. They could only put about 4 people at a time in the water. We waited and moved, waited and moved until finally it was time. I started my timer when I crossed the timing mat and jumped in the water. The swim was interesting and not really all that hard once I got into a rhythm. It was crowded and I swam over and passed a lot of people. I got kicked in the hands, face and even in the junk once. About two miles in I got cramps in both legs and had to float along for about one minute until I could start moving again. I was worried at that point but somehow I managed the rest of the day without any cramps. I finished the swim strong and ended with a time of 1:08:24.

T1 went smoothly, except that I had a very upset stomach. I had hoped for a faster transition but the way it was set up it would have required sprinting the entire thing to get below three minutes. I got dressed into socks, shoes, riding jersey and helmet as fast as possible and off I went in search of my bike. I bypassed all volunteers putting on sun screen since I had my own spray-on sun block. I finally got on the bike after a T1 time of 5:46.

The bike course was very crowded. It was nearly impossible not to be in a drafting position, which is illegal. The bike went well for me other than my stomach not being happy. It took about two hours for my stomach to settle down. I only ate one of my three peanut butter and honey sandwiches, but I did force down a gel every 20 minutes. I rode as hard as I possibly could on that ride despite it being very hilly. Most of the 32 miles going back to transition was into a 5-10 mph wind which really didn't help any. I managed to finish the bike with a time of 5:39:00.

T2 went smoothly as well. When I came back to the bike dismount line, I handed my bike to a volunteer and ran down the shoot to get my bike-to-run transition bag. I quickly put on my shoes, took off my riding jersey and headed out. I did stop in a port-a-potty while in transition and noticed that I was dehydrated. It was about 95 degrees by this time. My T2 time was 4:33.

I thought I was doing well on the run but it was brutally hot. The heat, plus being a bit dehydrated, put the brakes on my run. After 3 miles I started walking through each water station. Did I mention it was 95 degrees? I also drank 3-4 cups of water at every station. My strategy was to run from water station to water station. I think I was also behind on my nutrition since I missed about 2 hours of food on the bike. Now I love to run and this was one hard run. I just couldn't put together a faster time. I just wanted to keep moving to the finish line since that was the fastest way to stop the pain. I finally passed the 25 mile marker and knew that it was almost over but that didn't really put any pep in my step. I just continued to grind away until I turned the corner onto Fourth Street and could see the finish line. Those last two blocks were the easiest park of the race. It was awesome to run down the street knowing that I had made it to the finish line. I was going to be an IRONMAN. I did the run in 4:14:06.

My final time was 11:11:49 and that gave me an 8th place finish in my age group (45-49).

I have to mention my supporters. Thank you Lisa! You have been with me since I started this adventure and you've always been the voice of reason. I really appreciate your support, pep talks and the "you can do it" attitude even when I was not feeling it. It was inspiring to see you when I finished the swim, started the bike, halfway thru the bike, at the bike finish, run start, run halfway point and of course the finish line. Thank you for sharing the emotional moment with me at the finish line. I don't have those moments often but I'm glad that I got to share that with you. Mom and Dad thanks for making the trip and running around all day trying to keep up with me. I appreciate all that you've taught me in my life. I applied all of those lessons to getting me through the day. I also want to thank all of you that have been reading my blog over the last months. Thanks!!

Now for the big news!! I've signed up for Ironman Canada for next year on 28 August 2011. So the blog will continue and I hope that you'll continue to follow me in my adventure.

I'm going to take the week off and rest.

Have a good day!!

This is it!!

Well friends this is the last blog before the race. I want to thank each and every one of you for following me to this point. I don't know all of you but I do appreciate you taking this journey with me. I'm excited to get this going but I'm also sad that it's coming to and end. My training has become a big part of my life. I know that this will not be the last Ironman for me. I hope that some of you will join me for triathlon races in the future. It's not about being the fastest, it's about living and enjoying our life's to the fullest. Thank you again for your support.

I Officially started this journey on 1 Dec 2009 with a 12 minute swim. I've gone a long way since that first workout. As a matter of fact, I've gone 2463.55 miles in the last 9 months.

Here is the breakdown:

Swim - 65.46 miles over 36:40:10 for an average of 33:36 per mile.
Bike - 1898.3 miles over 101:00:07 for an average of 3:12 per mile.
Run - 499.84 miles over 63:23:21 for an average of 7:36 per mile.

Tomorrow on race day you can follow me online at www.ironman.com
When you get to that page you'll see a LIVE window in the middle top of the page with Ironman Canada and Ironman Louisville. Click on the Athlete Tracker for Ironman Louisville. My bib number is 2481 and my age group is 45-49. There are timing mats that I cross a number of time during the day that update my position.

Once again thank you for your support. It's been an awesome adventure that I plan to do again and again. I hope you'll follow me tomorrow on my race as well as in the future.

Have a great day!

Today I did an 18 mile bike on the ironman course. Me and a group of friends rode out River rd and back. It was a very easy pace going out but we did hit it coming back home. The bike felt good...I felt good!

I then drug the whole family down to the expo for athlete check in, only to find out that they can only go so far. So I continued solo and got weight, signed waivers and received my race packet. On a side note I ran into a guy, Mark R., that I haven't seen since 1986 when were in the Army together. It's a small world.

After getting all checked in we loaded up my dad's truck and went for a little drive.
An 80 mile drive to be exact. That's all of the bike course you need to drive since 32 miles is repeated twice. I'll tell you I don't remember the hills being this tall when I was here riding a few weeks ago. Not to worry though because my legs are rested and ready to go.

Tonight I'm going to the Age group athlete meeting. This is were we'll get the rules about drafting, littering, etc told to us again. Then it's early to bed.

Have a great day!

Louisville, KY

Well after another normal flight on Delta airlines we finally made it to Louisville. I say normal because Delta hasn't been able to get me anywhere on time in the last few months. I'm just over their delays and cancellations.

OK back the good things....

We arrived in Louisville and were meet at the airport by my parents. Who drove all the way from Amarillo to see me and Lisa. We got checked into our hotel, which is right downtown and one block from the finish line, so I don't have far to walk when this is over. We then retrieved my bike from the company that transported it here and took a walk around the transition area. It was an awesome feeling walking around that area and looking at everything. I can't wait to see it full of bikes and people running every which way.

We then had a very nice dinner at the Red Star on 4th Street Live. Which just happens to be right where the finish line is going to be set up. It's an awesome place for a race finish. After that we headed across the Ohio river to see Matt W. who had the race wheels I'm going to be using. Once we had my bike set up and race ready we headed back to our hotel to end the day.

More to follow tomorrow. Have a good day!

Today I did a 3 event workout, all of them at a very easy pace. I started the day with a 45 minute bike. I rode on a Greg Lemond spin bike. My bike is gone to Louisville. I then did a 15 minute tread mill run at 8 minute pace. It was easy and my heart rate never got above 130 BPM. I hope that is a good sign! I then did lunch and some work before heading home. On the way I stopped at the fleet rec 50m pool for some easy laps. I did 300m free, 4x50m lt/rt (left hand only/right hand only), 300m free, 4x50m tips (dragging my fingers tips on the water as I recover), 300m free, 4x50m catchups, 300m free, done. I did 1800 meters total. All of these workouts were done at an easy pace just to keep my body loose.

Tomorrow morning Lisa and I are heading to Louisville so I'll be blog from the event sight tomorrow night. YEAH!!

Have a great day!!

Well I was suppose to swim today but work got in the way. So I ended up rowing 5000 meters and then running 4 miles. The row took me 20:37. That is the first time I have ever rowed that far so hopefully I won't be sore tomorrow. I did the run in 30:30 and just maintained a nice relaxed pace. I'm really looking forward to getting this race going.

We are still closing up loose ends before the trip on Thursday. Lisa had to pick up some race wheels for me from Fat Frogs. We then met at Starbucks to listen to her daughter sing at open mic night. Then I had to run the wheels down to Chesapeake to Matt's house. Matt is also competing in Ironman Louisville and is driving to the race. So he's carrying the race wheels. Thanks Matt!

Have a good day!

Today I took my girls down to the ocean front to watch Lisa and her daughter run a 5k. They did great! Lisa's daughter was the winner of the 14 and under group. Great job ladies!!

I then headed home for an easy bike followed by a hard run. I did 45 minutes on the bike spinning at >100 RPM. I then changed into my running gear and did a 53:54 run covering 7.3 miles. It was a good day and that is pretty much my final bike/run workout of this program. The rest of my bike/run workouts are going to be easy and short.

I took my bike to 3 sports in Richmond today. A company called Tri Bike transport is going to pick up my bike and take it to Louisville. The nice thing about Tri Bike transport is I only have to take the pedals off. The bike is shipped on a special trailer completely intact. I'm feeling like I left a child with a stranger! I'm going to have nightmares about them forgeting my bike until I see it in Louisville Thursday. The company owner has promised me a call Monday morning when they pick it up. I'm hoping everything goes well.

Have a good weekend!

Today I went back to were my riding really started and rode with the group at Fat Frogs Bike and Fitness. Let me just say that the the guys that work that shop are awesome! They are very knowledgeable and very helpful. They somehow put up with all my questions and never even smirk or giggle. I need to say a special thanks to AJ, he knows why. Thanks AJ!!

I had a good ride and run. My ride was 35 miles in 1:43:00. I rode half the time with the Fat Frogs group and the other half alone. When I got back to my car I changed my shoes and headed out for a little run. I did 4 mile in 30 minutes. I'm so ready for this race to get started. I'm sure by next weekend I'll be going crazy to get this started. Strangely, I want to get it started and but I don't want it to end either. I've put so much time and effort into this race. Nine months of my life have been committed to this one event. The reward is the finish line and I'll go as hard as I possibly can to get to that point.

Have a good day!

I was planning to run/swim today but my flying job took up most of the day. I did manage to find enough time for a 45 minute run. I started the run planning to just run but after about 10 minutes I decided to work in 4 x 5 minute intervals with 3 minute running recoveries. I did the intervals and felt very good. I probably could have just ran the entire run at interval pace. I ended up doing 6.27 miles in 44:57. That my friends is a 7:10 per mile pace. I'm feeling very good about my planned 8:00 minute pace for the marathon. The taper continues......

Have a great day!

Today I did a swim/bike workout. I decided to swim at lunch because it was raining like crazy when I wanted to ride my bike. So I headed up to the indoor pool at Ft. Eustis and did my workout there. I did 3400 total meters but I only timed 1500m of it. Mainly because I don't time the kicks, drills or cooldown. Today was a lot of drills with 300m swims in between. My 1500 meter time was 25:24 which is a 1:42 per 100m pace. That would be perfect for the race.

I then had a nice lunch and was going to do my ride afterward, but when I was getting my bike out of the car I started to hear thunder. So I took it inside for some bike trainer work. By the way I HATE the bike trainer. It's so boring!! I did manage to get 45 minutes of riding done for a total of 14 miles. Not really that fast but I'm telling you using a trainer is nothing like riding on the road.

Speaking of the road I got my racing rims put on today. I'm going to be racing on Zipp 404 speed weaponry wheels. They are very nice carbon fiber racing wheels and will definitely help get me down the road a bit faster.

Have a good day!!

Brick Day

Today I did my weekly brick workout. I did 47 minutes on the bike and then immediately changed into my running gear for a 14 minute run. I did 17 miles on the bike and 2.1 miles on the run. I still workout at full intensity but the time I'm working out is getting shorter. I'm feeling good and by the time race day gets here I'm going to be dying to get it on!!

Have a good day!!

Open water swim

Well I'm having a little more soreness than is usual in my left calf. So today I took the day off from running and just concentrated on my swim. The local bike/tri shop near my house does a Monday afternoon open water swim. Basically it's just a way for people to meet so that you can swim with others and not alone. The course is an out and back that is 1 mile in length. I felt so good today that I did it twice. Yes that's right I did a 2 mile open water swim and didn't get eaten by any sharks. Although I kept hearing this music in the back of my mind. Anyway, I did the swim in 58:37 which is not to bad for an open water swim. The most promising thing is that I didn't feel completely worn out when I finished and could have continued at my pace. This tells me that I should be moving a bit faster on race day. Which I'm really looking forward too!!

Have a great day!

I think I can official say "finally"! There are no more runs greater than 1 hour until I get through T2 at the race. I feel that I'm as ready as I can be. I have talked with countless people about this race and course. I have read book after book and I have put in the time, miles and effort. Now I just need to stay healthy, get to the start line on 29 August and get it done.

Today I had my girls most of the day. Actually I have them until next Wednesday but I found some time to get away and do a short ride and long run. The short ride was 47 minutes and covered 13.4 miles. The goal was to spin at a high RPM (>100) and then get my run on. I ran through Sea Shore state park for 1:51:27 covering 14.15 miles. That was good enough for a 7:53 pace. That is exactly the pace I'm looking for at the ironman.

I also received my bib number today. I'm officially #2481, you'll all be able to track me on race day through the ironman website. I'll post all that info before the race.

I'll be back on Monday so have a great weekend!

Long Bike/Short Run

Well I'm tapering but I still have to scale back gradually. Today I did a 3:57:20 bike North of Williamsburg for a total distance of 80 miles. I'm still riding up there since they have hills and Louisville has hills. I experience rain, wind and sun! It was a crazy ride and probably one of my better days on the bike. I ended up with a 20.1 average. Now I just have one more long ride next week (2 hours) before the race. See I am scaling back!
I then did a quick change into my running shoes and headed out for a quick 4 mile run. It took me 28:40 to complete the run which is 7:10 per mile. I do love to run and I wish I could be the fast during the marathon. I think during the race I'll start off at 8 minute per mile until I get some distance behind me. Then if I feel good I'll pick up the pace a bit. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Have a good weekend!!

Hey Friends,

Another great day in Virginia for some ironman training. Actually I'm just training for a healthy life and the ironman is an obstacle that I want to get over...perhaps numerous times.

Today I did a run/swim. I did my run at lunch time when it was nice and hot. Of course it was overcast all morning and then when I head out for my run the sun comes out. But that is OK because I want to be training in the heat. I started my run with Austin one of my colleagues at work. We ran together for 20 minutes to get warmed up before I started my 4 x 5 minute intervals. Yes I did the same thing I did yesterday, only I was running. I held an average of 6:40 on the intervals covering about .75 miles on each one. I finished the run with a total time of 56:24 and 7.1 miles.

I then stopped by the fleet rec center on the way home for a few laps in the pool. I'm fairly happy with my swimming but I already know that my swim is going to get a lot of attention over the winter. Next spring....watch out Michael Phelps...hehe. Here is what I did today: (at the speed of a guppy) Warm up 300 free, 200 Kick, 200 drills then 4 x 300m (15s RI), 2 x 200m (20s RI), 1 x 300m, done. I timed everything but the kicks and drill. That left 2200 meters of swimming and a time of 40:29.

Have a good day!

Hey guys,

I fell asleep last night before I had the blog written. Sorry about the added stress! I know that each of you check this blog first thing in the morning to get your day started. OK I'm just kidding, I appreciate each of you for checking in on my progress whether it's daily, weekly or monthly. Thanks!!

So yesterday I did a bike and swim. I'm still feeling a little tired from my 6 hour bike and 3 hour run this past weekend. So today I did an easy bike with some 4 x 5 min intervals in the middle. I ended up riding 18 miles in 1:01:00. It was a nice ride and I think my body appreciated the reduced pace. Later in the after noon I went to the fleet rec center pool for some laps. Here is what I did: warm up 800m free then, 3 x 300m (30s RI), 3 x 200m (20s RI), 3 x 100m (10s RI), cooldown 200m Kick. My average pace came out to 1:45 per 100m. I'm feeling like I've reach a plateau in my swimming. So these next few weeks I'll continue to work on technique and endurance. I'm sure that on race day I'll be able to pick up the pace enough to reach my 1:05:00 goal.

Have a great day!

Brick Day

Today was brick day and as promised I'm scaling back the distances. I'm not scaling back the intensity. I think I said that last night too. Anyway, today I did a bike and run back to back. The bike was 51:00 and covered a distance of 17.15 miles. Average speed was 20.1 mph. I then took about 5 minutes to change into my running gear, get some water, nutrition and then get started. I ran 30:04 and covered 4.18 miles, which is a 7:12 per mile pace. I'd love to keep that pace in the heat at Louisville.

Today it was around 98 degrees when I ran. I'm going to be glad I did all this training in the heat when I get off that bike. I'm expecting it to be around 2pm when I get off the bike and about 95 degrees.

Have a good day!

It's Monday and I'm back to it. I might be tapering but I'm still maintaining my workout intensity. Things will just get shorter over the next few weeks.

Today I did a 20 mile bike with the guys at Fat Frogs. I rode with the A group (fast but not the fastest) and I was able to keep up with them. Three months ago when I started riding with them I couldn't even talk to the A group guys. So today it felt good to not only ride with them but I finished with them. It was a great ride. Total time was 1:01:30. (The first 3 miles and last 3 miles were a warm up and cooldown).

I then did a 600 meters of drills at the fleet rec center 50m pool. After that I met Lisa at Runners, etc so both of us could get some new shoes. After that I went to Chick's beach and did an open water swim with some folks from Final Kick. I ended up doing 1 mile in 34 minutes. Not my best swim but I swam into the current going and with it coming back. I did feel good and my open water swimming technique is getting better.

Have a good day!

Friday/Saturday

Ok this week was my longest ride and run for the ironman. I'm officially tapering from this point until race day. There are still 2 long rides and runs but the distance will continue to decrease right up until race day. So......

Friday I did a my bike north of Williamsburg in the rolling hills of Virginia. I felt great for most of the ride but I think I ate to much and felt somewhat bloated or full towards the end. I'll adjust that by next week. Anyway, I ended up riding 114 miles in 5:51:00. I'm happy with that especially since I'll be stronger once I taper and get to the race. Right after I finished the bike I did a quick change of shoes and took off for a run. I really didn't feel like running in that heat but I needed to get it done. I went 5.8 miles in 48:30. I would've like to seen a better time but considering I had no support for water or food I'm pretty happy with it. At the ironman I'll have water, gatorade, food, salt tablets, etc every mile on the run.

Saturday I did a short easy bike of 1:22 for 18 miles. Lisa and I then drove to her house to pick up her bike. We then started running and riding back towards my house. My house was 13 miles and it took 1:40 to cover that distance. We then did an out and back in sea shore state park which added another 10 miles to the run. Total distance ran today was 23.06 miles in a time of 3:01:48. That comes out to 7:53 per mile. I am ready for this race!!

Have a great weekend!

Run/Swim

Well yesterday was a travel day from NM back to here. I flew delta airlines and I'm not very happy with them. I fly the airlines a lot getting around this country and delta has left me stranded way to many times in the last few months. Yesterday we sat on the plane for 3 hours before departing for Atlanta. The captain said that they had a leak in the left engine so a mechanic checked it out and fixed the leak. That took about 1.5 hours. We then pushed back from the gate, started engines and then returned to the gate because it had gotten hotter and the plane was to heavy for conditions. After about 20 people volunteered to get off we thought we might get going but taking off there luggage took another hour. Then the computer in the plane when down and we had to wait for that to be rebooted. We finally left but when we got to Atlanta we taxied and were held up at different gates so long that we missed our 2nd potential connection of the day. Finally after leaving Roswell, NM at 4am, driving to El Paso for our flight, I arrived back at home around 2am today. Thanks Delta airlines!!

So today I did a long run this morning in sea shore state park. I ended up running 1:27:24 and covered 11.36 miles. That comes out to 7:42 per mile. I'm very happy about that! I didn't take any nutrition on the run and I paid for it later in the day. I just felt like something wasn't right all day. I then when to the Fleet Rec 50m pool for some laps. I did about 1600 total but I had 3 bad cramps during my swim. I had a foot cramp, a calf cramp and then a hamstring cramp. The hamstring put me out of the pool and sent me looking for a good electrolyte replacement drink. I'm feeling much better now and I'm loaded up with electrolytes.

Have a great day!

Brick Day

Today is my last day in Roswell, NM. I'm heading to El Paso tomorrow to catch a plane home. I'm ready to get back to all my girls.

I did a brick workout at the bottomless lakes state park. I rode the bike on some of the worst roads I have every seen today. They were so rough that I had to pedal down hill or the bike would slow down. It's a wonder I rode as far as I did. I ended up riding 17 miles in 1:01:15. I'm starting to think that my old road bike might need a little tune up. I then did a 2:58 transition to the run. My run started with my legs feeling like lead but I quickly shook that off and ended up running 4.08 miles in 30:07. By the end of the run I was feeling very good and could have continued on at that pace for miles.

I'm looking forward to getting back to my normal training grounds.

Have a good day!

I'm still here in Roswell, NM. I haven't seen any aliens from outer space but I'm pretty sure I've seen a lot of aliens from south of the border. There is a chance that I'll be leaving this place tomorrow. Lets hope so!

Today I went out to the little lake I've been swimming in and did another open water swim. The measured distance on google earth was .67 miles and I swam that in 19:49. That's not record breaking but it's more open water experience. I'll keep working on the swim.

This afternoon I did a 1 hour run around the bottomless lakes state park. It was around 95 degrees but I felt great. The altitude here is about 3700 feet and I guess I'm getting use to it. During today's run I was able to cover 7.93 miles in 1:00:00 which comes out to a 7:34 mile per minute. I'd like to run that pace for the marathon. We'll see in a few more weeks.

Have a good day!

Today I did an open water swim in New Mexico. Yes, that's right, I'm in New Mexico and I did an open water swim. There is a state park here that is called bottomless lake state park. One of the lakes is open to swimming and if you swim it the right way you can swim 1100 meters. So today I did just that! The winds were out of the south today, actually there out of the south everyday. Anyway, when I would swim to the north it was no drama. However swimming south into the wind and small waves was an asskicker. It was so bad that I could only breath out of one side when swimming to the south. I completed my 1100 meter swim in 21:45. I know that isn't burning up the water but I think it's pretty good considering the altitude and winds.

Have a good day!

Short bike/Long run

I'm still in Roswell, NM with the aliens. The helicopter I'm flying is broke hard and we're waiting for a maintenance crew to come fix it. Hopefully I'll be back home before this coming Friday. I'll keep you updated.

In the mean time I did a short bike and long run today. I did 45 minutes on the bike just spinning at 100 RPM. Nothing major just a short ride to get the blood flowing again after yesterdays long bike. I then went out to a state park here with a couple of the guys for a long run. They dropped me off when we got of the main road and I started running to the lake where they were going. Seven miles and one hour later I finally made it to the lake. The winds, hills and altitude here are brutal. I then did two loops around the area of the lake for a total run distance of 14.5 miles in 2:05:00. That was about 30 minutes shorter than I wanted to go but I was running very low on my water resupply. I actually drank 120 oz of water during the 2 hour run. I'm thankful that Ryan and Shane didn't mind hanging out at the lake waiting for me to come back around for water refills. Thanks guys!

I only have 28 days until the race. So far I have logged 154 hours 6 minutes and 1897.7 miles.

Have a good weekend!

Long Bike/Short Run

Sorry for not posting the last few days but I have been flying cross country and working a lot. I did have time to ride this morning and do a run after lunch before work. I started out from my hotel in Roswell, NM and head northwest on route 246. No I'm not hear doing anything with the aliens! Now Roswell is at 3600 feet and I spent 2:27:00 going pretty much up hill until I turned around at 5000 feet. The turn around point was at 35 miles so it was a gradual climb but a climb just the same. I then turned around and spent 2:00:00 getting back to Roswell with a nice headwind. I love headwinds!! Total distance was 70 miles in 4:32:00. Not really that fast but it was up hill and I'm riding my old bike.

I then went to a state park here and ran with some guys from work. It's hot here, just like everywhere else, but I had my water belt and managed a 51:00 run. I don't know the distance because my GPS died on the bike ride. Not a bad day at all here in the southwest.

Have a good day!

Louisville Ironman bike course

Today I was lucky enough to ride the Ironman bike course. I only rode 80 miles of the course since one 32 mile section is done twice. I have been told by a few people that the hills in Louisville are not that bad. Evidently these people were supermen because there are plenty of hills, some of them very big. The good news is that what goes up the hill slow comes back down fast. I was able to maintain a 17 mph average using my old Trek 2300 road bike. I'm still thinking that with a proper taper, zipp wheels, aero helmet and race day excitement I'll manage a 5:30:00 on the bike.

The roads where in pretty good shape and now I have first hand knowledge of what to expect. I'll drive the course a few more times before the actual race. I'm really looking forward to race day.

Have a good day!

Travel Day

Today I'm traveling cross country again in a helicopter. But before I departed this morning I was able to get in a good long run. I ran at work and here is what I did. I ran 45 minutes before starting my interval work which last another 30 minutes and consisted of 5 min on, 5 min off, 4 min on, 4 min off, 3 min on, 3 min off, 2 min on, 2 min off, 1 min on, 1 min off. Once I finished that I did a 12 min cooldown. After all that I had covered 11.2 miles in 1:27:00.

Now I have some surprising news! Now most folks know that I always travel with my road bike so I can do some bike workouts while I'm traveling. Since I'm flying cross country I decided that we'd spend our first night in Louisville, KY. And since the Ironman is going to be right here in 30 days I'd just get up early before we have to depart and drive the bike course to have a look see. Well as fate would have it the aircraft I'm flying is broke and the new part won't be here until tomorrow evening. Soooooooooo I'm going to get a chance to ride the Ironman bike course tomorrow morning. That is so much more than I ever expected. I'm actually only going to ride 80 miles of the course since 32 miles are looped twice. I'll be riding nice and easy just to soak it all in as I cruise along. There will be plenty of time to haul ass in 30 days.

Have a good day!!

More heat!!!

Today was the last workout of the week. Thank goodness because tomorrow the heat index it going to be around 106 degrees. Today it was a cool 103 degrees! So I did an easy bike spinning at 100 rpm for 1 hour and 28 minutes. The distance and speed where not as important as just spinning at 100 rpm. But I did cover 24 miles in 1 hour 28 minutes. I then did a quick change into my running gear and then the real pain began. I ran into Sea Shore State Park with Lisa by my side on her bike. We then preceded to cover 17.1 miles over the next 2 hours and 30 minutes. Yes that is an 8:45 pace!! I can't even describe the heat that I ran in today. I can only hope that it's not nearly this hot in Louisville for the race. Every time we passed a water fountain Lisa would fill her 2 qt water bottle and pour it over my head about 3 times before I would start running again. It was a tough day but I finished the run and trained my mind to go a little further even when it hurts.

Have a good weekend! I'll be back Monday.

The heat, the heat, OMG the HEAT!!

Today I did my long ride and short run. Actually the run became a very short run. The heat today was just brutal. I went back up to Williamsburg to ride because of the hills and variety of roads to ride. I can't say that I had my best ride of the year because I felt like someone was riding on the back of me bike the entire day. I did manage to finish 100 miles but it took me 5:25:00. That is an 18.5 mph average, which is well below my 20.5 mph goal for the Ironman. I can only hope that once I taper (rest), put on my Zipp racing wheels and my aero helmet my speed will increase. Lets also hope that there is either no wind or a strong northeast wind on race day. Northeast because the last 32 miles of the race are pretty much down hill and heading southwest. Everybody pray for favorable winds. Thanks!!

I then did a quick change into my running gear. But the heat was somewhere in the 103 degree range. I run with a water belt so that was not the issue. I think the combination of the Williamsburg hills and the heat did me in. I ended up quitting early after only 2.3 miles and 19:25 minutes. That is slow just in case your curious.

Hopefully on race day it will not be 103+ degrees!!

Have a good day!

Run, Swim, Run

Ok so today I have my workouts all planned out, but things never go as planned. Before I got the chance to go run an opportunity came up to get my tires replaced and my car inspected. So off to Va Bch I went. On the way I decided that I'd drop off my car, run to a rec center, swim and then run back to get my car. It was 1pm and the auto shop guys thought I was crazy to be running in this heat. Perhaps I am a bit crazy or really motivated, either way it isn't that bad in the heat as long as you have water.

I ran to seatack rec center in Va Bch which took me 42 minutes and covered 5.5 miles. Once at the rec center I took off everything except my swimming/biking/running shorts and did a 1 mile swim in 26 minutes. I then refilled my water belt and headed back out the door towards my car. The run back was more direct and took 24:38 and covered 3.3 miles. I'm glad that I'm getting to run and bike in this head. Louisville is about this same temperature and I'll be riding and running during the hottest part of the day.

Have a good day!

Today I'm feeling like my workouts are getting back to normal. It's really good to be back and doing the routine again. I can't believe how little time I have left. I'm getting very excited about this race. Anyway, I did a 1 hour bike today and covered 20.5 miles. I'm feeling stronger on the bike (at least on these short rides) and think my goal of 5 hour 30 minutes is very attainable.

I then did a swim this afternoon on the way home. I went to the 50m pool at the Fleet Rec center. I didn't want to jump in over my head (ha ha) right away so I did a 2100m endurance/speed workout. I'll continue to ramp up the swim distances right up until the week before the race. Today here is what I did: warm up 10x50m free (15s RI), 300m pull then, 300m free (15s RI), 3x100m free (15s RI), 200m free (15s RI), 2x100m (15s RI), 100m free (15s RI), cool down 200m free/kick, done. Overall I felt really good in the water, especially since I haven't really done a swim since last week.

More to follow.....

Have a good day!!

Back to the routine

Ok it's late and I'm tired but I'm finally back in my own bed. I'll keep it short and sweet tonight so I can get a good nights sleep.

I finally made it back to VA BCH around 2pm today. My totally awesome girlfriend Lisa was there to pick me up. Once I got settled I didn't waste anytime getting on the bike. Today was a schedule brick day so off I went. I did a 50:30 ride here in the local area and covered 16.5 miles for an average of 19.7 mph. I then did a quick change into running gear and headed out for 30 minutes covering 4 miles for an average of 7:30 per mile. It really felt good to be home riding and running.

I only have 39 days until the race so I'll be sticking to the plan very closely from now on. I've also given up alcohol until I cross the finish line in Louisville. Starting 1 Aug I'll also be giving up all junk food.

It's good to be back! Have a great week!

Bahamas

Well I'm back from the Bahamas and my little mid season break. I had hoped to workout a lot more than I did but that just didn't happen. I think that the slow down in training will be a benefit in the long run. The only thing I did to damage my fitness to this point was drink way more than I normally do and eat pizza almost everyday. It was awesome!! Not to worry because from this point on I'm alcohol free and eating clean until I cross the finish line at the Ironman.

I basically did two workouts while I was in the Bahamas. The first morning I did a Tabata run on a treadmill with a 10 minute warm up at 8 minute pace and a 5 minute cool down at 8 minute pace. The Tabata was done at 10% incline and 6:45 per minute pace. As a reminder the Tabata is 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off x 8. It's a really ass kicker! Try it sometime!

I did a short brick workout also. I did 20 minutes on a stationary bike and then a 20 minute run on a treadmill. Mainly just to remind my body of the training it's currently missing. I did a few short swims as well. The winds here were blowing all the time and swimming in the open water was rough.

Ok that is all the working out that I did. Here is some of the fun stuff that I did.

The main reason for this trip was Corey and Mary's wedding. The wedding was on the beach and it was a beautiful day. The bride looked awesome and the groom was smiling from ear to ear. It was an honor to be here and witness such a beautiful wedding between our friends. Others that made the trip were Corey's Mom and Dad, Bill and Kristen, Craig and Sarah, Chris and Susan and Myself and Lisa.

I did two dives off the west coast of Nassau. We saw numerous sharks, large grouper and sea turtles. The visibility wasn't that great but it was a fun dive just the same. We also did a lot of sailing on the resort Hobie Cats. We went parasailing, which was a first for all of us and it was a blast. I can't believe I've never done that before. I highly recommend doing it. We also enjoyed closing down the piano bar and watching people sing karaoke. We didn't stay out late the last night but we have been told that there was some lap dancing, skinny dipping and men trying on woman's high heels. It was a great vacation!!

Have a good day!

Did I miss a day?? Well it doesn't matter because tomorrow I'm taking a break and going to the Bahamas for a few days. Not to worry I'll be working out while I'm there. But mostly I'm going to relax and have fun.

Monday I went swimming at the Fleet Rec center 50m pool. I really like that pool for long distance swimming. Someday I'm going to learn to do flip turns like all the experts that swim there with me. I'm finally able to bilateral breathe without feeling like my lungs are going to explode. Hopefully that will lead to me getting faster! Here is what I did yesterday: Warm-up 300m free, 300m pull then, 2x100m (10s RI), 2x200m (20s RI), 2x300m (30s RI), 400m pull (30s RI), 100m (10s RI), 200m (20s RI), 300m, cooldown 100m free, done! Total distance was 2900 meters and I only timed the main set which was 2200 meters. My time was 38:37 which averaged out to 1:45 per 100m. I'd like to get to around 1:35 per 100m. I'm working on it!!

Today I went up to Williamsburg for a long ride. I'm not going to be here Friday for my normal long ride so I did one today. I like the terrain since it's more like rolling hills, plus it's not nearly as boring as riding over the Pungo Ferry Bridge for hours. I'm told that Louisville has rolling hills with a couple of big hills. I really couldn't tell you where all I rode today since I don't know anything about Williamsburg. But when I was finished I had rode for 4:12:25 and covered 83.31 miles. That's about 19.7 mph. Still not as fast as I'd like to be but I'm thinking once I taper I'll have the extra go to break 20 mph at the race.

Have a good week and I'll let you know about my workouts when I return from the Bahamas.

Today I did a short bike and a long run. Last night however I went to two different parties and had more food and whiskey than I eat or drink in a normal week. So my performance today was not what I was hoping it to be. I left my house and did a very short bike just to get my legs moving. I rode about 5 miles in 18 minutes before returning home to start my run. Since I'm going to be running the marathon on asphalt I'm doing my long runs on the road and staying out of Sea Shore state park. Lisa and I left my house at 5pm for a 2 hour run. She was riding her bike and I, of course, was running. Our final destination was Lisa's house some 13 miles away. Before we could stop though we had to add some extra mileage to get the full 2 hours. It really wasn't that bad of a run and I felt pretty good the entire way. In the end I ran 2:00:02 and covered 15.02 miles for an average pace of 7:59 per mile. That is my marathon pace for the ironman. Of course today I didn't ride my bike 112 miles, but those are just details!!

Have a great week!!

Today I did my weekly long bike followed immediately by a short run. I wasn't able to depart early because my precious little girls spent the night with me. I met up with the Fat Frogs group at 0730 to start my day. I also did some nutrition experiments today on the bike. I tried to drink my nutrition instead of eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches, but I packed 1.5 peanut butter and honey sandwiches just in case. I rode with Fat Frogs for about 50 minutes before heading out on my own. The wind today was 15 mph out of the ENE and by the end of the ride that wind would be kicking my ass. I rode out to my new favorite place, Pungo Ferry Bridge, and did 5 crossing before venturing further out into Pungo. I did a 45 minute loop before making it back to the bridge. It was when I was out on the 45 minute loop that I ran out of liquid nutrition and energy. I then switched back to peanut butter and honey with energy gels mixed in. That seem to help, but the damage was already done and I was behind the nutrition power curve. Once back at the bridge I did 6 more crossings. When I'm crossing this bridge it's not just over stop, turn around, over stop. I actually ride about 2 miles when heading towards Blackwater rd and about 1/2 mile when heading towards Princess Anne Rd. The trip from Princess Anne to Blackwater rd and back takes about 18 minutes. When I had been out riding for 4 hours I finally started heading back for my car at Fat Frogs in Red Mill Commons. It took me every bit of 1 hour to make it back into that head wind and my legs where screaming at me. I arrived back after riding 5:00:05 and covering 92.7 miles. My average speed was 18.6 mph. Oh to have a day with no head winds...haha.

I then changed into my running shoes, grabbed my water belt and headed out on the road. The heat was brutal today and my time reflects it. I was only able to cover 5.66 miles in 45 minutes on the run. It was hot and I'm very glad that today was not my marathon day. It would have really sucked!!

I'm taking tomorrow off so I'll be back Sunday night with more exciting news. Thank you all for reading and supporting me in this adventure.

Run/Swim

Today I did a one hour run with some interval work in the middle. I got about 2 miles out from work when my body started saying, "please, please can we go home and cut this short." My mind however said "cool it you wuss" and we completed the workout as planned. It's never easy to workout when your body is telling you to slow down. Actually I did slow down from my last run but just a little. I did a total of 1:00:20 today with 5 x 800m sprints in the middle. I covered 7.82 miles which gave me an overall pace of 7:43 per mile. I also ran while drinking my accelerade drink. I mixed it in concentrate form then drank water to mix it in my tummy. Worked great! More experiments with nutrition in the future.

I eventually made it to the Fleet Rec 50 meter pool. However, since I was running late I only had time for 45 minutes. So here is what I did: Warm up 300m free, 400m pull, 300m free, 200m pull then 8 x 100m, times up! I only timed the 8 x 100m laps and my average time per 100m was 1:42. Swimming is so exhausting and now I'm sitting in bed barely awake. At least tomorrow I'm doing a 5 hour bike!

Have a nice day!!

Bike/Swim

Today I did a one hour bike around Ft. Eustis. I started off with a 25 minute warm up then I did 10 hill repeats, then a cool down for a total of 1:00:02. The distance was 19.39 miles. I also didn't drink any water on the ride, yes that's right I didn't drink any water. I was doing a sweat test to check my sweat rate. My pre bike weight was 172 lbs and my post bike weight was 168.25 lbs. The temp was 91 when I started and 94 when I finished. I lost 3.75 lbs of sweat in one hour. That is more than 2% of my body weight in lost fluids. If I lost that much on the Ironman I would be out of the race. Bottom line - Hydrate!!

I then went to the Fleet Rec center pool for some 50 meter laps. I did a 900 meter warm up followed by 4 x 100m free with 2 minute swim intervals (SI), 800m free, 8 x 100m free with 2 minute SI and a 6 x 50m cooldown. I only timed the main set of 800m and 8x100m. My average time per 100m came out to 1:45 per minute. Total distance was 3200 meters. I didn't feel that great when I first got in the pool but by the end of the session I was feeling great.

Have a great day!

Monday/Tuesday

Ok folks I'm back to the keyboard to catch you up on my training!

Monday I was up at 0550 so that I could get in an early morning swim at my secret open water swimming spot. I met Scott K (ok it's not that secret) and we did a one mile swim around the lake. It's was a beautiful morning for a swim, smooth clear water, perfect temperature, no wind, which leaves me wondering why it took me 30:18 to swim .97 mile. I'm hoping I just had a slow day. Overall it was a good swim and I was back home before anyone even knew I was gone.

Monday evening I did a one hour run in Sea Shore state park. Lisa rode her bike to keep me company along the way. During the run I inserted 4 x 5 minute all out efforts with 3 minute cool downs between. On the cool downs I ran at an 8 minute pace. My total time was 1:01:48, I covered 8.25 miles for a pace of 7:30 per mile.

Today I did my weekly brick workout. I rode hard for 45 minutes and then ran 30 minutes with minimal time between events. The bike took 48:52 for 17.14 mile which is an average of 21 mph. The run was 30:00 and covered 3.99 miles for an average of 7:31 per mile. It was a good day for training. Very hot and little wind.

Have a good day!

Long Run

Today I did a long slow run. I didn't have time to run this morning because my girls had a swim meet and you have to be at the meet by 0700. After the swim meet I hustled over to Lisa's house for her daughter's birthday party. The twist is that the party was at a skating rink that just happened to be about 12 miles away. So after taking a little trip back to 1974 on the roller rink and enjoying some yummy birthday cake it was time to run. We brought Lisa's bike with us so she could ride back with me, while her sister drove her car back home.

After running all over south Virginia Beach we finally arrived back at her house. The total distance was 13.82 miles in 1:48:05 which comes out to 7:49 per mile. That is the pace I want to run on the Ironman marathon. The good news, at least to me, is that I could have easily continued at that pace. I have longer runs coming up in the next few weeks as I build for the race. I'm hoping to continue getting stronger and hopefully a little faster.

Happy 4th of July!!

Long bike/Short run

I started my Friday long ride a little later than normal this week. Mainly because the low last night was 67 degrees and I was too worried about the heat. I departed from Fat Frogs bike shop at 0650 for a quick 30 minute ride before meeting up with the main Friday morning "family" group. We left Fat Frogs at 0730 and I rode with them until about 0820 when I headed out on my own. I rode back over to Pungo Ferry Rd to ride over the bridge. I rode between Princess Anne and Blackwater until it was time to depart for home. I managed to cross over the bridge 10 times during my travels. I finally made it back to my car at Fat Frogs in 4:25:30 after covering 87 miles. The last 20 miles where the worst since I was riding into an 18 mph headwind.

I then did a quick change and started my run. I did 45 minutes and covered 6 miles which is a 7:30 pace. The weather was perfect for a long run.

During the bike I ate peanut butter and honey sandwiches plus water. It's messy but it works for me.

Have a good day!

Run/Swim

This morning I was running errands and didn't get to work until 0930. I was stressing about getting in a one hour run before attending the change of command and promotion of a very good friend at 1100. Luckily I was wearing my running gear when I got to work and headed right out the door for a run. I did a repeat of yesterday's speed work intervals, except of course I ran. I did a 18 minute warm up then, 5 minutes on, 2:30 minutes off, 6 minutes on, 3:00 minutes off, 7 minutes on, 18 minute cool down. During the "off" times I still ran although at a much slower pace. On the 5, 6 and 7 minute intervals I was able to maintain a 6:30 pace average. The total distance was 8.22 miles for 59:30 and the pace was 7:14 per mile.

I then attended meetings and ran more errands in the afternoon but before the day was over I managed to get in the pool. I didn't have any special workout in mind so I just jumped in and started swimming. After 32 laps (25m pool) I stopped my watch and the time was 26 minutes. That averages out to 1:37 per 100m. It was good to just get in the pool and swim.

I want to give a special shout out to my girlfriend's daughter who turned 13 today. Yes she wants to do a triathlon sometime.

Have a good day!

Bike/Swim

Today I did a morning bike workout. My objective today was intervals with some steady pacing mixed in. I started off with about 30 minutes of steady riding before doing the intervals. My intervals were straight off the crossfit endurance website. I did 5 minutes on, 2+30 minutes off, 6 minutes on, 3 minutes off, 7 minutes on, finished. During the off minutes I rode at a steady pace. I finished off the ride at a steady pace for a total of 1:08:00. My distance was 22.8 miles for an average pace of 20.3 mph.

After lunch I did a "short" swim. That's if you consider 2700 meters short. I did basic speed work in the pool. Remember I'm trying to get faster in the water. Here is what I did. Warm-up 200m free, 100m drill, 400m pull then, 4 x (4x100m free with 2 min Swim Interval), 300m pull, cooldown 100m free, done. My average time on the 100m swims was 1+39 minutes. That is hard swimming for me but I'm working on it. (Note: When you do swim intervals you incorporate your swim and rest into one time. In this example I had 2 minutes to swim 100m and rest).

Have a good day!

Brick Day

Today I did my weekly brick workout. I got on the bike this morning and was determined to pick up the bike pace. I did just that today! I rode for 51:40 for 17.89 miles which gave me an average pace of 20.8 mph. That is the pace I want to ride at the Ironman. I then did a quick change of shoes and started my run. It's very hot here but I managed to have a fairly good run. I covered 4.25 miles in 30:01 minutes for a pace of 7:04 per mile.

I'm feeling very good about my program. I'm still tweaking my nutrition but will have it dialed in before I start the race. My swimming, biking and running have all improved. Now I just need to continue increasing my fitness level until I start my taper for the race.

Have a good day!

Run/Swim

Hello friends,

Today starts week 22 of my training program. I started off the week with a nice fast 5K time trial. I did a 1.9 mile warm up at 8:00 minute pace and then started the TT. 20 minutes and 26 seconds later I was finished, thankfully, with a 5K pace of 6:35 per mile. I then ran 1.5 miles back to work for a total of 6.5 miles. In the heat here that run was pretty good. Especially with no water!!

After lunch and a few meetings I was able to slip away to the Fleet Rec center 50m pool. Here is what I did: warm-up 9x50m free then; 500m (20s RI), 400m (20s RI), 300m (20s RI), 200m (20s RI), 2x300m (30s RI); cooldown 9x50m free. Total distance 2900m with a main set time of 35:20, which comes out to 1:46 per 100 meters. I'd like to get that 100m time down to around 1:35 per 100m. I have to two months to get it done.

Have a good day!

Easy Bike/Long Run

Today I did an easy bike followed by a long run. I got out on the road about 0700 and rode around on Bay Island. Bay Island is nice for a few reasons: 1) it's close to my house, 2) it has a very smooth paved road and, 3) it doesn't really have that much traffic. So I rode back and forth on Bay Island until I had 1 hour and 15 minutes of good spinning time. The goal of these "easy" bikes is to spin at 100 RPM or greater. I rode 19 miles during my "easy" bike.

I then switched into my running gear and head out into Sea Shore State Park. I'm not sure what the deal was today but that trail was very crowded. I couldn't help but wonder where all those people are in January when I'm out there running in the cold and rain. Poor me!! Anyway, I ran 1 hour and 45 minutes on the trail and covered 13.25 miles for a pace of 7:55 per mile. That is the exact pace I'm going to try and run at the Ironman.

Tomorrow is a rest day so I'll see you guys on Monday when I post again.

Have a great weekend!

Oops

Ok so I missed a few days. I was trying to do a video blog but I've been having technical difficulties. I'll keep working on it.

What did you miss? Well, Wednesday I did a 1 hour bike with some speed work. I then did a pool swim at the Fleet Rec 50m pool. I have it all videoed but can't seem to get it to upload.

Thursday I did an open water swim that wasn't that great. But it was better than working!

Today I did a loooooong bike followed by a short run. I left Fat Frogs at 0600 for a 4 hour and 30 minute ride. Around 0720 I came back past Fat Frogs to pick up with the morning "family ride." I don't know anyone in my family that can ride that fast. The Fat Frogs part of my ride lasted about 40 minutes and I then turned around and headed back out for more solo bike fun. I eventually made it back to the Pungo Ferry Bridge for some hill work (its the only hill in Virginia Beach). I was able to cross it 6 times before starting back home. When I left the bridge I had been riding for 3:30:00. I arrived back at my car after riding 4 hours and 27 minutes and covering 85 miles. I then did a quick change into my running shoes, grabbed some water and headed back out for a 45 minute run. I'm glad it wasn't as hot today as it was yesterday. My run felt good and since I didn't have my GPS watch I had to use google earth to measure my route. I ended up doing 6 miles during the 45 minutes which is a 7:32 per mile pace. I'm VERY happy with that!!

Have a great weekend!

Travel Day

The day started early at 0550. Mike G. and I went for an early crossfit workout at Crossfit Ft. Walton Beach. The workout looked pretty easy until I actually did it. The workout was 3 rounds for time of: 10 power cleans, 10 burpees. I did the power cleans at 135lbs. I'm thinking that I might have been able to do more but I don't want to over do it. My time was 5:25 and I think I laid on the floor at least that long recovering. It was an ass-kicker!!

On the way back to the hotel, I had Mike drop me off a few miles away. I then ran a bit to warm up before starting a crossfit endurance workout. Here is what I did on the way back to the hotel. 1 min on/1 min off, 1 min on/50 sec off, 1 min on/ 40 sec off, 1 min on/30 sec off, 1 min on/20 sec off, 1 min on/10 sec off, 1 min on/20 sec off....back to 1 min on/50 sec on, 1 min on/finish. This was just icing on the cake for my ass-kicking morning. Here is the total distance I covered: 1.91 miles @ 5:46 per mile.

Nutrition:

Breakfast - 3 eggs scrambled, 2 sausage patties, 4 oz honeydew, 4 oz cantaloupe, 6 oz orange juice, caramel macchiato - 831 calories

Snack - Chocolate/caramel square - 220 calories

Lunch - Chicken Caesar wrap, jalapeno chips, diet coke - 802 calories

Snack - Caramel macchiato - 313 calories

Dinner - Grilled chicken salad w/honey mustard, spinach, 2 x beers, chocolate/caramel square - 883 calories

Total calories - 3049
Calories burned working out - 733

Here is an update on my program since December:

Total time training - 83 hours, 7 minutes, 4 seconds
Total distance training - 933 miles

Have a good day friends!!

Brick Day

Well I normally do my race pace brick training on Tuesday. However, I'm leaving FL tomorrow and had to pack up my bike for shipping today. So I did the brick today plus I did a lunch time swim. This morning was beautiful for a ride and run. I started off with a 45 minute bike and although I wasn't at what I perceive to be race pace I still felt good on the bike. I was able to cover 13.97 miles during the 45 minutes. I then "transitioned" to my run. Have I mentioned how much I love to run? I was off and running after the bike for 30 minutes. I don't know why but this morning I felt great running. I covered 4.6 miles during the 30 minutes which is a 6:30 per mile pace. I could have kept cruising at that speed for another few miles. Which makes me think I should have been going harder.

Around lunch I was back at the YMCA for some swimming. I did an anaerobic swim workout from my swim workouts for triathletes book. Here is what I did: warm up - 300m free, 8x50m free (15s RI), 100m kick then 500m easy (20s RI), 3x75m fast (30s RI), 75m easy (20s RI), 2x75m fast (30s RI), 75m easy (20s RI), 75m fast (30s RI), 75m easy (20s RI), cooldown 200m free. That's not as far I as normally swim but it was a good workout just the same. RI stands for Rest Interval.

Nutrition: I have been wanting to talk about and record what I eat for awhile. This week I'm going to track my food intake. I don't always eat perfect but I try. So here goes.

Breakfast - 3 eggs scrambled, 2 pieces bacon, 2 sausage patties, 5 oz orange juice, 5 oz cantaloupe, 5 oz honey dew melon, Starbucks grande caramel macchiato. Total calories - 1093

Lunch - Tropical smoothie king caesar wrap, Jalapeno potato chips. Total calories - 794

Snack - Starbucks grande caramel macchiato, 2 cups of popcorn. Total calories - 312

Dinner - Side ceasar salad, 9 oz atlantic salmon (grilled), broccoli, 2 x beers. Total calories - 1170

Total calories for the day - 3369

Total calories burned working out - 1337

My goal is about 2400 calories per day. The workout calories burned do not include walking, sitting, reading, standing, climbing on helicopters or anything else I did today. So you can see I'm a little short of my goal.

Here is a breakdown of fat, carbs and protein for the day.

Fat - 179 grams
Carbs - 236 grams
Protein - 164 grams

Have a great day friends!!

High School Reunion

I haven't posted anything because I'm in Texas at my High School Reunion. We do things a bit different here, go figure. Since our school was so small we just have a reunion every 5 years for the entire school. It's a been a blast seeing old friends and catching up on there lives. I need to get back here more often so I don't loose touch with the places that made me.

However my training has not stopped! So this morning I got up before the sun and did a 1 hour 30 minute run through the country side. Actually I ran down the road but it was quite. I only saw 10 cars, 3 dogs and 1 deer. It was a great morning for a run! I completed 11.68 miles, which comes out to a 7:45 pace. My planned race pace for Louisville is 8:00 minute pace so I'm happy with today's run.

Have a good weekend!!

Long Bike Day

I'm going to Texas tomorrow for my High School reunion. It's been 27 years and my High School was so small that we have a reunion every five years for the entire school, hence the 27 years. Anyway since I'm leaving FL tomorrow for TX I moved my normal Friday long ride to today.

I departed the hotel in Destin, FL and started riding east. I was on Hwy 98, which has a bike lane, but it was just to busy and all those car and trucks drive me crazy. So I took a small side road and came out on Scenic Hwy 30A. I continued to preceded east along the beautiful beaches and towns of the FL gulf coast. When I finally ran into Hwy 98 again I had been riding for 1+40 hours. I repeated the route home but it only took me 1+30 to get back to the hotel. Go figure, so I spent the next 50 minutes riding around Destin trying to not get run over by any vehicles. My final distance was 68 miles for 3:59:00 which is right at 17 mph. It's lonely out there on the road that long. Ride safely!!

Have a great day and weekend!

Today I got up early for my run since I knew I wouldn't have time this afternoon. Once I finally got moving it was approaching 0630. I schedule a crossfit endurance run on my calender for today a few weeks ago. So before I got started on that I had to measure off 200 meters, 400 meters and 600 meters. I then did a 1-1.5 mile warm up run which didn't take long (the warm up part) since it was already 80 degrees. I then set to the task of my speed work. Here is the workout: 3 x (200m x 400m x 600m) rest the amount of time it takes to run each leg. I set up my measured course so that I could run 200m then 400m out and 600m back to the start. That way I could have my water bottle waiting for me each time I finished one event. Here are my times:

200m/40 sec; 400m/1:24; 600m/2:10; average pace - 5:38
200m/39 sec; 400m/1:28; 600m/2:09; average pace - 5:41
200m/40 sec; 400m/1:27; 600m/2:17; average pace - 5:52

Just before lunch I was back at the YMCA's outdoor pool. I started my workout and got about 1800 meters into it when a thunderstorm spoiled my fun. Here is what I had time to do: warm up - 300m free, 200m kick, 100m pull, 200m kick then 4 x 250m free, finished. I was just getting to the main set when I had to get out. At least I got to swim some today.

Have a great day!

Brick Day

Today I did a 45 min bike followed immediately by a 30 min run. The thing is I'm in Destin, FL and when I did this workout it was 90 degrees with about 100% humidity. The bike was actually 45:50 for a distance of 14.26 miles with an average speed of 18.7 mph. The bike wasn't so bad except for that one guy that tried to run me over. They have a bike path here that is about 10 feet off the road. So this guy is coming down the road, passes me and then just turns right in front of me. I had to actually lock up my brakes and slide to a near stop. Just prior to this near miss I was thinking that I better be careful because this is where someone is going to hit me. After that I got back up on the road and stayed off that bike path. The road is much safer...haha.

The run was actually 30:43 for a distance of 4.26 miles with a pace of 7:26 per mile. I didn't run with any water but I did stop at a water fountain along the way. I want to run in this heat to acclimate myself for Louisville. It will be at least 90 degrees when I start the marathon. At least they'll have water and goodies every mile on the run.

Have a good day!

I didn't think I'd have time to workout today but my training flight ended up getting pushed back to 1400. When I heard that I went looking for a pool. I found a brand new YMCA with a beautiful outdoor 25 meter pool. Not wanting to waste time I jumped right in. I'm using a book that has about 50 to 60 long course swim workouts (yes it's waterproof) and today's workout was an endurance/strength workout. Here is what I did: warm up - 200m free, 200m kick, 200m pull then, 6 x 100 @ T-pace (RI 15), 6 x 25m Drill, 6 x 100 @ T-pace -:02 (RI 20), 6 x 25m drill, 6 x 100 @ T-pace -:03 (RI 20), 6 x 25m Drill, cool down 100m. Total distance 2950 meters. The T-Pace is my 100m average after doing 3 x 300m swims with 20 seconds rest between sets. My T-Pace is 1:38 but today I was able to do as fast as 1:28. My slowest 100m time today was 1:37. I think I'm finally getting faster.

I spent the rest of the day flying!

Have a good day!

I got up this morning at 0600 with a one hour easy bike and a 1+30 run on my mind. Walking to the bathroom I heard the pitter patter of rain on my hallway skylight. A quick look out the window told me that I wouldn't be riding my bike this morning, at least I can go run I thought to myself. So I did what anyone training for an Ironman would do in this situation. I went back to bed, of course!! I mean the bed was right there and it was so warm and comfy. Plus I wasn't the only one in it! What is another hour going to hurt?

We finally got up and going about 0730 and the workout part of my day wasn't a complete loss. Lisa rode her bike and I did a 1+18 run on the Sea Shore State park trail. It was muddy and wet at times but we had a good time and enjoyed being outside. We did a total of 9.68 miles for a pace time of 8:04. Today's goal was Long Slow Distance (LSD) and that is just what we did. These LSD runs are only going to get longer over the next few months.

After working out I packed for yet another trip and then we went to a breakfast/lunch restaurant that is just down the street from my house called Citrus. It's a great place for breakfast, especially after a long run. Now I'm sitting in the Atlanta airport waiting for a flight while I type this blog. I should have been in FL hours ago but Delta Airlines missed yet another chance to actually get me to Atlanta on time. But that is another story!!

Have a good week friends!

Race Day

Today we did the Tidewater International Triathlon in Buckroe Beach, Va. I say we because Ms Lisa, my biggest supporter, was there with me to help me get it done. Thanks Lisa!!

It was a great day for a race, 80 degrees, 75 degree water temp, light winds and clear. I felt great considering I didn't really taper for this race. I will admit that I was a bit sore from the weeks workouts; too late to worry about that now. The swim was a two loop course of 750 meters each. I felt great in the water today and my half way split was 11:30 which was fast enough that I took a double take at my watch. After the first loop we ran down the beach for about 50 meters before jumping back in for another round. I finished the swim in 25:15 and the distance was 1500 meters. My age group finishing place was 3rd in the swim.

The bike was also a two loop course. After having my bike fitting redone yesterday at Fat Frogs, I was a little worried about the bike. However I have to say that it was probably my best bike yet. I was comfortable and stayed down in the aero position for the entire race. It really felt good!! I finished the bike in 58:03 and the distance was 21 miles. My age group finishing place was 6th in the bike.

The run was, well, my favorite as usual. I do love to run! It was a two loop course (do you see a pattern here?) of 3.1 miles each. I felt very relaxed on the run and think that I could have easily pushed harder; however, it turned out ok with a run finishing time of 42:29 at a distance of 6.2 miles. My age group finishing place was 1st in the run.

My overall finish time was 2:08:37 and that was good enough for a 3rd place finish in age group and a 28th place finish overall.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday/Friday

I woke up Thursday wanting to do anything but get on my bike for four hours. So what do you think I did? Yes I got up and got on my bike. Only I didn't go for four hours. Instead I went and rode with the good folks at Fat Frogs bike shop in South Virginia Beach. I rode about 15 miles with them and then heading out on my own for another 25 miles. The headwinds going out really sucked but coming home wasn't that bad. I ended up riding for 2:15:00. My back has been killing me lately while riding so after my ride I decided not to run. It wasn't really one of my better days on the bike. I stopped by Fat Frogs on the way back and talked with Matt about doing a bike fit for me on Friday. Thankfully he was able to work me in.

Friday - Today Lisa and I went to Fat Frogs for my bike fitting. My original bike fitting was done by sight. In other words the fitter just looked at me while I rode a bike trainer and made some adjustments. Well that is not how it's done at Fat Frogs. Matt Keane is the fitter and a very accomplished rider. He took the time to watch me ride and then started making adjustment. He checked my ankle alignment and pronation, measured my inseam for fit, measured my knee angle on the bike, plus more than I can remember right now. He did a damn good job and I could definitely tell a difference when he was done making adjustment. I wasn't able to ride today so tomorrow at the Olympic triathlon I'll find out how good it feels. If you need a bike fitting or you need a new bike please stop by and see the folks at Fat Frogs. www.fatfrogsbikes.com
1169 Nimmo Pkwy # 232
Virginia Beach, VA 23456-7760
(757) 427-9488

Tomorrow is the Buckroe Beach Olympic Triathlon. I'll let you know how I did tomorrow.

Bike/Swim day

Today I did a crossfit endurance bike. The workout I did today is called Tosh. It's 3 x (.5 miles x 1 miles x 2 miles) you ride each segment then rest the time is took you to do the segment. Here are my times: .5m - 1:20, 1m - 2:35, 2m - 6:07, .5m - 1:26, 1m - 2:46, 2m - 5:54, .5m - 1:28, 1m - 2:42, 2m - 6:28. That last 2 mile ride was into a nice headwind. That workout just about did me in for the day. My legs have been tired ever since I finished.

But the show must go on so I headed to the Navy Fleet rec 50m pool for more fun. Here is my pool workout: warm up - 300m free, 300m kick, 200m catchup; main set - 4 x 300m (10s RI), 2 x 200m (20s RI), 300m (2 minute rest) then 10 x 50m free; cool down - 200m free. Total distance was 3400 meters. I'm still not going as fast as I'd like but hopefully all this hard work and a good taper will get me where I want to be which is a 1:05:00 swim split at the Ironman.

Have a good day!

Today was a good day. No wait today was a great day. The first workout that I did today was crossfit. I did a workout called "Randy" which is named after LA SWAT officer Randy Simmons who was KIA in LA about two years ago. So in Randy's honor we do 75 power snatches at 75 lbs. It's an ass kicker just like all the other named workouts. My time was 8:52 and I was smoked.

After lunch I did my weekly brick workout. My ride was great or at least I felt great the entire ride. I'm working on getting faster on the bike. Hopefully all the extra work will pay off on 29 Aug 2010. Anyway, I rode the bike today for 50 minutes and covered 15.93 miles for an average speed of 19 mph. That is just short of my ironman goal. Of course the Ironman is 112 miles and not 15.93 miles. But hey I'm getting closer. After doing a quick change into my running gear I headed out for a nice sunny run. I did 30 minutes and covered 4.30 miles for an average pace of 6:59. I am definitely getting faster on my runs.

I started doing my runs and bikes at mid day since that is the hottest part of the day. When I finish my Ironman bike and start the Ironman run it will be around 2pm and the hottest part of the day. I want to get my body and mind ready for the August heat in Louisville before I get there. I'm heading back to FL next week which will give me more chances to excel in the heat and humidity.

Life is good!

Monday

Ok Ok so this is just a little late. My computer battery died last night while I was watching video of the Louisville Ironman bike route. I was just to lazy to get up and get the power cord by that time. So here is what I did Monday.

Crossfit first thing in the morning. I did one of the crossfit regional qualifier workouts. Here it is and of course it was for time. 10 muscle ups, 15 hand stand pushups, 20 squat cleans, run 550 meters. I used 115 lbs for the squat cleans and did the entire workout in 14:19.

After lunch I did a run workout from crossfit endurance. Today was a Tabata workout using a treadmill. Before I jumped on the treadmill I did a 1 mile warm up run outside. Then I jumped on the treadmill with the following settings, 6:44 pace and 10 degree incline. I did 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off 8 times. It doesn't sound that bad but feel free to give it a try. After that I went back outside for a 2 mile cool down run. It was beautiful outside yesterday.

On the way home I stopped by the Navy Fleet Rec centers 50 meter pool for a little more abuse. I'm going to try and get in the 50 meter pool more often. I like the fact that you spend more time moving and less time turning (every 25m). Here is my workout; warm up - 300m Free, 300m Kick then, 4 x 150m (RI10) slow, 200m Kick fast, 4 x 150m (RI15) moderate, 200m Kick moderate, 4 x 150m (RI30) fast, 200m Kick slow, cool down 100m, finished. Total distance was 3100 meters.

Have a good day!

Friday thru Sunday

Sorry for not writing on Friday but I was totally exhausted. Here is why I was so tired. I started the day at 0530 when I got up for a nice long bike. I started from my girlfriends house and was on the roads of south Virginia Beach by 0600. After riding for 1+30 hours I stopped by Fat Frogs bike shop and rode with that group for another 20 miles. Now those Fat Frog guys told me that Friday's ride was a "family ride" and that the max speed would be 23 mph max. Well let me tell you that I never saw less than 24 mph on that ride and I was wasted when I left them for more riding time. I made a loop with Fat Frogs and then headed out on my own again. I finally made it back to Lisa's house after riding 65.07 miles in 3:35:00. Since that just wasn't enough I finished off the workout with a nice easy 30 minute run. It was hot and I was tired! I actually ran for 28:44 with a distance of 3.97 miles. These long rides are only going to get longer and harder. I can't wait!!

Then I went to my oldest daughters school to work outside for field day. That was another 3 hours in the sun. We finished off the day with a nice dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. This was with mine and Lisa's kids and lots of craziness. It was a great day!!

Saturday day I rested!!

Sunday - I did the Breezy Point Sprint triathlon at Naval station Norfolk. The distances where .6 mile swim, 13 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. It was a beautiful day and I had a great support team. Lisa and her girls where there and cheered me on to a great race and 3rd place in age group finish. Thanks guys!!

Here are the stats from the official website:

For your records, the weather today was 81 degrees F, 74% humidity, SW wind 13 mph, high 88.

There were 45 finishers in the Male 45 to 49 age group and 409 finishers in the Age Group Division.

Your overall finish place was 24, your age group finish place was 3 and your gender finish place was 23. Your time was 1:17:46.65.

Your Swim time was 20:02.05, Overall place 91, Gender place 64
Your Bike time was 35:18.00, Overall Place 36, Gender place 34, Speed 21.1mph
Your 5K time was 19:45.65, Overall place 9, Run Pace 6:22 min/mile

Have a great week friends!