Rick Lapinski - Triathlon Blog

A Winter Training Ride

2012-01-23T13:14:00.000-06:00

Here is my first stab at editting footage from my new Go Pro...more to come later.

What a Difference a Seat Can Make

2012-01-12T08:35:00.000-06:00

Last night before I hopped onto my rollers I changed from one Fizik seat to another one that I had. Wow, it felt like I was riding a new bike. Nothing was getting numb...it was awesome. Even though I've ridden today already I'm tempted to hop on the rollers for a little bit tonight.

We're supposed to get some snow today, first of all I'll believe it when I see it. I would love to have some snow though. And I'm sure the dogs would love it too. Winther has been going crazy lately...because of that I'm sure he's feeling better. He goes so nuts sometimes that I worry a little bit. They are loving their walks though, and always want to run. I suppose in a few months they may be able to.

I busted out the H20 Audio waterproof headphones in the pool yesterday. It was nice to crank out some work while listening to some music. Defintely makes the time go by faster, and when open water swimming starts up this summer these are going to be awesome. I may just keep swimming totally loosing track of time. Thanks H20 Audio!!!!

I was checking out youtube and found a training day with Matty Reed, kind of cool.

What's with the Weather & GU 2012

2012-01-10T09:41:00.000-06:00

54 degrees on January 10th? Really? I'm guessing this is going to make for an incredibly bad February, though I love the snow so bring it on! I was hoping this weekend was going to be nice so that I could ride outside, but I'm not so sure that will happen. Oh well the trainer may be working overtime.

Does anyone know of any good software (free would be awesome) to edit video from my Go Pro? I want to get some videos rolling, and just am not sure of how to edit it. Yes I know if I had a Mac I could do it easily...but I don't so I need another solution.

On a separate note, I heard from GU yesterday that I'll be an ambassador once again for the 2012 season. I'm excited about this, I've been working with GU for quite a seasons now actually I think it's been for 5 years and their products are awesome! My new go to is the "Island Nectars Roctane" pretty much amazing!!

Pain

2012-01-05T08:35:00.000-06:00

Is it wrong that I thoroughly enjoy pain sometimes? For whatever reason it seems to bring an awesome feeling when it's over. This morning took a little extra focus as the set wasn't all that easy, not impossible, but it took some work. As always you'll never regret a workout, and I sure don't. You better believe I'm rockin my Zoot compression socks and shorts right now though. Drinking a lot of water today is going to be important too.

I'm still working on the getting my Go Pro videos viewable. It records in such a high resolution that I think the files are too big to upload here. I'll keep working on it though. In the meantime here's a short clip of Rinny training in Hawaii...if only running felt as easy as she makes it look.

A New Year...New Goals

2012-01-03T09:28:00.000-06:00

So just like my vacation, my blog has taken a brief vacation too. The past two weeks have been great! I took quite a bit of down time, and time to just chill, which was perfect and I'm feeling recharged now. I did get some solid training in, but I made sure to not over do it. I'll get some pictures up from some of my training sessions soon...and maybe a short video from the Go Pro which Brittany got me for Christmas. Not going to lie, I'm super pumped about it! I took it out for a quick ride this weekend when we were in Michigan and it's amazing how nice the footage is.

It's a new year, and that means there are new goals. I do have quite a few large goals to shoot for this year, and I'm excited to start this journey. I know it's going to be bigger and better than ever before. 2012 is going to be a great year, and has already started off better than ever.

Some CX Riding & Mtn Biking Pics

2011-12-21T09:11:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd give my tri bike a break for a couple of days, so my cross bike and mountain bike got a little loving...

My mobile locker room...

The trails look nice here

Love that bike!

The trails got a little sketchy...which equals fun

Mountain Biking in December

Before...

After...

Not sure how it still shifted, but it did

The aftermath...

My First Run...

2011-12-15T09:32:00.000-06:00

...in the Zoot Ovwa's was awesome! I usually like running to a destination, so yesterday I set out from school to run home...at the start of the run it was super nice, the temp was comfortable, no hat or gloves needed, it wasn't raining and I was running easy in my new Zoot's. So I decided to go a little longer, yep I was getting greedy, that's when the sky opened up. Luckily it wasn't cold, and I always wonder what people in cars think when they see this idiot running in the pouring rain. When I witness it I'm usually jealous and wish I were out there! If you're looking for some new running shoes I would definitely recommend the Ovwa's.

Today is Day 15 of the running challenge, the challenge is going well, and I'm ahead of my goal mileage for the month. Acutally I'm pretty dead on for swimming, biking and running. I might be a little behind on the bike, but with winter break only a day away I am sure I'll be putting in extra miles in the next two weeks. I'm also kicking around a challenge within the running challenge for break. It's kind of over the top, but I wouldn't have it any other way...that's why it's a challenge right?

So if you're looking for a little motivation to get started again here is Simon Whitfield helping you out...

An Early Present for Me...

2011-12-14T08:38:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I got home from work to find a big box on my doorstep. I was pretty pumped to come home to a box of goodies from Zoot. I'm all set to take on my winter training thanks to Jake and the crew!

I'll get some better pictures later to throw up here, but I wanted to get this one up right away. Inside of my awesome package I had a pair of Ovwa's (which I'll run in later today), a pair of Ali'i 3.0's (those are in the middle and are pretty sweet!) and another pair of the Ultra Kalani 2.0's (which have been my go to shoe for long training runs). In addition to the sweet shoes I got a few running jackets and a pair of running pants too. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to work with such an amazing company, and their gear is by far the best I've worn! If you haven't checked them out this would be a great time to cruise over to http://www.zootsports.com/ and give them a try.

Last night after swimming I'm not sure what it was, but Winther was absolutely crazy! I know he's feeling better because he keeps on bringing a ball to me and dropping it in my lap wanting me to throw it for him. Unfortunately I can't do that yet...soon enough though. I'm glad he's feeling better though!

Yea and I really wish this rain we're getting were snow right now! It's mid-December!! Why the heck don't we have any snow yet????

An Experiment Continued...

2011-12-13T08:26:00.000-06:00

I've been pretty fortunate to have trained relatively injury free throughout my triathlon career (if you can call a hobby a career...I just had no better way to describe it I guess). I dealt with some plantar fasciitis for about a season and a half, and luckily it's gone now. Because I've been pretty lucky (maybe it's not luck and it's proper training) I haven't really needed to have treatment on anything. However, I have been told (and now sold) on the fact that some treatment can help to keep you in top form...from what I've learned I don't think I've been able to train and race in that top form.

For some reason Brittany likes to inflict pain on me...not sure why but I can tell she takes great pleasure by pressing on muscles until I'm nearly in tears. So last night she worked on my right leg...well I asked her to and I wanted to see how it would feel with a hard bike workout in comparison to my left leg. The difference was like night and day. My right leg felt loose and fluid and ready to rock. My left leg didn't feel bad...but it didn't feel as good as my right. She just finished her Graston certification and its amazing how much this helped. Little does she know that she just opened pandora's box. If you've got some aches and pains I would definitely recommend it, if you don't know who to go to I might have someone for you.

The running challenge rolls on...day 13 and 30 minutes...here we go!

Dangerous

2011-12-12T09:42:00.000-06:00

So heading over to my parents house is usually pretty dangerous. It has gotten better but whenever I go drive up to Niles there happens to be much tastier food than I keep at home...and by tastier I mean desserts galore! I'm pretty sure I know where I get my "go big or go home" attitude from...when my Mom bakes, she goes all out...and she bakes a lot so it's like a mega exercise in self-control which I usually lose.

Thanks to training yesterday I didn't feel as bad about eating some cookies at my parents house...ok and some on the way there that Brittany had made too...it's like this conspiracy against me. By no means am I complaining...keep the good food coming, just make sure I keep getting workouts in otherwise I'll be a blimp.

The running challenge is on day 12. Just an easy run today which will be nice after a pretty tough weekend of running.

It's Fender Time

2011-12-09T09:18:00.000-06:00

Well we did get a dusting of snow last night. I always love waking up and seeing the ground white. Obviously I wish we would have had a little more snow, but I should just be satisfied that we have some. Riding in to work was awesome this morning, but reminded me that I need to get some fenders for my bike...the spray coming off of the rear wheel can get pretty bad and I keep telling myself that I need to get a fender. So I just went online and ordered a fender.

The running challenge is cruising along...day 9 already. Kind of crazy. I'm looking forward to getting my run in, the sun is out, the temperatures are cold and my legs feel pretty good.

Ironman Hawaii will be on NBC tomorrow at 3:30, should be cool to see how the pro race plays out, and to see some of the footage from the race!

It's getting cold...

2011-12-08T08:18:00.000-06:00

I would say that winter is arriving in Chicago...this morning on my ride in my hands were cold. I wanted to hold off on wearing the lobster mitts as long as possible, and I'm thinking if it gets much colder I'm going to have to resort to them. I haven't had to throw on the down jacket yet to ride with so that's a bonus...and hopefully that will stay in the closet for a while. I have no problem with cold weather...as long as there is snow! We have yet to get any snow and it's December 8th...what's up with that? Not to worry though there is already salt on the roads. Why...I'm not really sure.

The running challenge is now in its 8th day...and I haven't been out for a run yet today, but I layed down a nice base last week. The consistency will pay off. I like where my mileage ended up...and without even having a long run thrown in there. It's the first week in quite a while that I haven't had a "long" run...but that's alright, I definitely feel good with where my running is right now. Today's run is 30 minutes...that's pretty simple, and I may go a little longer...then again I might not. My legs are feeling this mornings computrainer effort a bit.

Time to bundle up and embrace the cold while riding. I think some more mountain biking might be in order!

Getting over the hump...

2011-12-07T08:26:00.000-06:00

The running challenge is now on day 7. I am ahead of where I have been in the past, and I'm not putting in a terribly high amount of effort. Actually I'm just kind of keeping things low key as when volume increases I think you have to be really careful with the intensity of workouts. Seeing as some bike and swim workouts have been more intense I'm glad that I'm keeping things in check running. After 6 days complete (I'll run later today) I'm really enjoying running right now. I ran right before swimming last night and the temperature was awesome...a little chilly to start but after about 5-10 minutes I was good to go. My Zoot Ultra Race 3.0's were clicking off miles super easily and I sort of got into the zone, I wanted to keep running and was kind of bummed that I was out of time. Part of it could have been running in Naperville too...its always nice to have a change of venue to run. At this point I think I'm over the hump of initial fatique and I'm good to go. I anticipate another short bit where it will be tough to get out the door to run, it's usually days 16-20...but knowing that going in helps my mind prepare for it.

The Zoot Race 3.0's...I raced 2 Ironmans this season in these and they are awesome!

I need to pick up the bike training a bit...in terms of volume that is. I have some intense sessions throught the computrainer classes, but I need to start laying down more base miles. I'm not going to lie though, it's tough to get up and ride on the trainer when you've been up swimming late. I just need to suck it up and get it done though.

If you're looking for some holiday gifts for triathletes/runners/BAMF's...whoever check out the stuff over at Zoot. They have free ground shipping on orders of $50 or more through 12/10/2011. Trust me their stuff is amazing! I wouldn't wear anything else...I have well over 1300 miles running sockless in Zoot shoes this year and would do it no other way!

My Find...

2011-12-06T08:17:00.000-06:00

On Sunday I met up with a couple friends to swim early, since I wasn't going to be able to swim at masters later in the day. It's always nice to get workouts done early in the day. Anyway, as I stepped out of my car I looked down in the parking lot and there in a puddle was a $20 bill. Sweet! I was the only car there, so as they say finders keepers right? What better way to start the day than to find twenty bucks! Not going to lie I was pretty pumped about my find, and it made for a solid swim set.

The running challenge is now on day 6. Today's run is 25 minutes. I've really tried to keep the intensity in check since the volume will be up a bit...like I said I've "tried" but I'm not always successful with that. Typically if I run on my ghetto treadmill I can keep things in check because it doesn't tell me how fast I'm running...yesterday was the ghetto treadmill day.

Not too much else going on really. Ready for a couple weeks of relaxation over the holidays.

Cory's Triathlon Training

2011-12-05T15:01:00.000-06:00

Apparently Cory wants to race an Ironman...here he is preparing...

Songs...

2011-12-02T08:38:00.000-06:00

I get songs stuck in my head pretty easily. They could be good, bad, whatever...they just get stuck. Last night on the way home from swimming I heard the new Jay Z and Kanye West song. I'll refrain from posting the title since it's not the most "PC" thing to put up. Certain lyrics are hilarious to me as well...again not sure why but they are.

So I had that song running through my head all night and I thought to myself that I needed to go onto iTunes and buy it today. Right as I was thinking that I turned on my iPod pressed play and what do I hear...exactly what was playing through my head. Apparently I had the album on my computer already, thanks Chad, and I didn't even realize it...so you better believe I listened to the song on repeat the whole ride to work this morning. Not only was it an awesome morning to ride, I was pumped to have some good tunes along the way.

Today is day 2 of the running challenge, 30 minutes. Last night I had a nice and chill run with Chad before swimming, it's amazing how much nicer it is to run with someone. Yes I know come race day I'll be solo, and I'm fine with that, but training with people makes it so much easier and more fun. Thanks Chad, this might have to become a routine before swimming.

Winther has been doing well at home, we definitely miss having Roxy around though. It's probably better because he wants to play all of the time. His limp has gotten better, but I don't want to risk him hurting himself again this early...it's only been 3 weeks since his surgery. So he's stuck with me...looks like he's living a tough life doesn't it?

December Begins

2011-12-01T08:28:00.000-06:00

It's crazy to think that today is December 1st. I needed to hit up a little bit of work last night in order to hit my November goals, I was happy to hop on my bike to finish off that goal, but not all that motivated to run. So thanks to Brittany I jumped on the treadmill to finish off what I had set out to accomplish. I'm not going to lie after the strength session that she dreamed up it wasn't all that easy to ride or run! I did take my Ridley Dean on the rollers for the first time...and let me tell you riding a tri bike on rollers can get a little sketchy. I went down into the aerobars for a short period of time, but didn't want to fall and embarass myself so that was short lived. This might be a new little challenge though...I should have had a video camera on me because I'm sure it was humorous, and I probably had a super serious look on my face because I was trying not to fall.

December brings a new challenge...the running challenge. This is the third year that we're doing this (I say we because I think it was Chad's idea originally). I think there are far more people on board this year which should make it fun. If you want to know what it's all about shoot me an email or leave a comment here. Along with the running challenge I have a few other goals that I want to make sure to meet this month. So my spreadsheet is all up to date and ready to roll.

This morning on the way from Endure It to work I jumped on that little super short trail again. Today I decided to try to take a video of it, and although it's not the best quality (pretty good though considering it is shot from an iPhone) I'm glad I had it running because a huge hawk flew out in front of me towards the end of the ride and I actually got it on video.

Enjoy, and get out to run...today's run is only 20 mintutes!!

November Done...Bring on December

2011-11-30T08:40:00.000-06:00

The month of November flew by! I set out to hit some certain goals, and by the end of today I will have met those goals, which I feel pretty good about. I guess it's time to raise the bar a little because these weren't that difficult to hit...not that goals have to be hard to hit, but I'm typically up for a challenge. The December Running Challenge starts tomorrow, that will defintitely get hard, as I'm sure there will be days where I don't want to run. But knowing there are other people out there doing the challenge you can bet that I'll get my butt out there too!

Something funny happened on my ride home yesterday, my friend Vic and I were riding together and we were both on single speed 29ers, which are pretty awesome. I commented on how the bikes were amazing and how you could take them anywhere...at which time I took off to take a short cut up a curb, over some dirt and to the otherside. Well I guess that Vic was thinking the same thing. Luckily for me I won the whole shot and hit the section of dirt first, unlucky for Vic was that I jumped on the pedals before him as he took a little digger and I grabbed the tree. We were both laughing the whole time...but the best part was that there was some little kid, probably like 5th or 6th grade that came up to us to ask if we were alright. It was really nice of the kid, but he totally had a look on his face like we were a couple of idiots. That little mishap definitely makes me want to hit up some more single track. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to get out to the trails.

Roxy continues to like her stay at my parents house...as you can see by this picture of her and Gus chillin on the couch watching TV...must be rough.

And then you have Winther who gets so excited to show me all of his toys that he totally crashes out right after...and even sleeps covered up under blankets...

My Windy Detour

2011-11-29T08:41:00.001-06:00

The weather has officially turned nasty here in Chicago...gray skies, the wind is howling, and you start to get bummed out pretty easily because of it. So this morning as I was leaving computrainer and riding to work there is this super tiny trail (like mega tiny maybe .25 mile long) I've cut through it when I've run before, but never on my bike. I made a total spur of the moment decision took a right hand turn and bombed down into the trail. The problem was I carried quite a bit of speed onto the trail where there are a couple of wooden bridges over a small creek. The bridges have no railings...so when rubber meets wet wood something happens...you slide. Luckily for me I was able to keep the bike on the bridge and the rubber side down, but wow that was fun! It's amazing what a little 30 second stint in the woods on a bike can do for you. I always say how I need to get out onto my mountain bike more...and I really do. This might have to be a regular occurance now on Tuesday and Thursdays. It also got me out of the nasty head wind which I felt like I was riding hard yet going no where.

Anyway, in two days we're kicking off the December Running Challenge. Chad and I have been doing this for a couple of years now, and it's a great way to stay active during a busy time of year...and a great way to throw down a decent base! I've included the challenge below...it's based off of time and you're on the honor system. If you need to switch days around...go for it, if you miss a day (which is discouraged) double up on another day. Enjoy!

12/1 - 20 minutes       12/2 - 30 minutes      12/3 - 25 minutes
12/4 - 35 minutes        12/5 - 20 minutes      12/6 - 25 minutes
12/7 - 20 minutes        12/8 - 30 minutes      12/9 - 25 minutes
12/10 - 25 minutes      12/11 - 40 minutes    12/12 - 20 minutes
12/13 - 30 minutes      12/14 - 25 minutes    12/15 - 30 minutes
12/16 - 30 minutes      12/17 - 25 minutes    12/18 - 45 minutes
12/19 - 25 minutes      12/20 - 30 minutes    12/21 - 25 minutes
12/22 - 35 minutes      12/23 - 30 minutes    12/24 - 50 minutes
12/25 - 30 minutes      12/26 - 25 minutes    12/27 - 35 minutes
12/28 - 25 minutes      12/29 - 35 minutes    12/30 - 25 minutes
12/31 - 35 minutes

Snowflakes in the air...

2011-11-28T10:15:00.000-06:00

As I was riding in this morning there were snowflakes in the air. Not going to lie I love snow. I really have no use for the cold if there is no snow! So bring it on. Rumor has it we might get some tomorrow night, which would be totally awesome, I'm not going to count on it though.

This weekend was great, it was nice to relax and to see Katie who was in town for Thanksgiving. Winther got his stitches out, and though Roxy isn't back home yet (she's enjoying her little vacation at my parents house) they did get to hang out together this weekend which was nice. Did I mention that Roxy is getting extremely spoiled right now?

Yea it must be rough to be her huh? Not that Winther has it that bad either...

There are some wheels in motion for next seasons races, looking forward to hearing more about it, and about getting to work!

Let's Ride

2011-11-23T10:27:00.000-06:00

The weather is awesome, and will be for a couple of days. So I guess that means I'm supposed to use that time to ride outside. I thought my outdoor riding was going to be limited to commuting and mountain biking...I thought wrong and am pumped about it. 60 degrees and sunny on Thanksgiving...sorry Mom I might be late (I know she's going to be ticked about that so I better not) but how are you supposed to sit inside and eat when the weather is this nice so late in the year?

It's kind of nice not having any structure for workouts right now, and just doing what I want to do. The key is to remember that I'm not racing ironman anytime soon...so I don't need to be training like I were. Someone remind me of that every so often please.

On a completely separate note Winther is getting his stitches out this week...so that means he won't have to wear the cone when I'm gone. And maybe soon Roxy can come home from her little vacation to grandma and grandpa's...though I don't think she has it too rough there. Walk, play, eat, repeat...rough life for her. We do miss her though and can't wait to have her back.

Are We Spoiled?

2011-11-22T08:43:00.000-06:00

As I was watching the news this morning I saw something pretty incredible...the weather. Sure I've complained about the gray crappy days, what can I say I love the sun. But when I saw 56 on Thanksgiving and 60 on Friday of this week, the first thing that popped into my mind was the fact that I could get outside to ride...and that I will do. Friday just turned into a long ride day. It might be a solo long ride, but to be outside riding in 60 degree weather at the end of November in Chicago doesn't happen too often (or ever that I can remember) so I'm going to have to take advantage of it for sure!

I was kicking around the idea of signing up for IMAZ, but that idea was quickly shut down when it sold out in less than 10 minutes. I have a feeling that signing up for Ironman races is going to get more difficult than racing them...alright maybe not more difficult, but it's going to be more stressful for sure. See I can control my training and preparation...I can't control whether or not Active.com lets me click through things fast enough to get a spot in the race. There has to be a better way. I don't have a definite solution to fix that...but I have a thought or two. Oh well, the WTC is making money hand over fist and they are a business so you can't blame them...it's just a little out of hand. The prices of races keep going up, yet you aren't getting anything more from their races. Shoot the finishers shirts in Kona were the worst quality I've received from a WTC event. How does that work? It's some no name "tech" tee where the sizing is all jacked up...my medium looks like it's an x-large. For a race that costs that much they should customize the shirt to fit me, how about a "Retul" fit for finisher tee's...there's an idea.

Anyway, I'm ready for some nice weather this weekend...and I'm going to enjoy every bit of it. And here is the reason I want a Go Pro Camera...tell me this isn't sweet...

If only I could ride a mountain bike like that.

Keepin the Rubber Side Down

2011-11-21T08:22:00.000-06:00

I always forget how much fun I have when I mountain bike. I don't know if it's because it's a great workout, if it's because you're not dealing with a-hole drivers on the roads, if it's because the woods are a peaceful place to be, or if it's because I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to crash. Mountain biking here this time of year is especially fun because the fallen leaves completely cover the trail...so you really have no idea what you're going to roll over...or better yet fall over.

Yesterday after a quick run at Waterfall Glen, Wanner and I hit up the trails there, no not the wide open trails that you're used to, but some over grown single track that's off of the beaten path. We had a great time rolling through there and I love my 29er!

Wanner after taking a small tumble.

The Felt 29er taking a nap while we clear the trail a bit for next time.

Bombing the hill over the bridge, just to climb another hill...of which I was definitely in the wrong gear for.

Wanner eating one of his infamous energy bars

A handlebar mount would be awesome

The Felt 29er, I kept the rubber side down today, hopefully that will continue...

H2O Audio

2011-11-18T08:42:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I found out that I'll be joining the H2O Audio (http://www.h2oaudio.com/) team which I'm excited about. Swimming by myself during training should go by a lot faster now! Check out their headphones and waterproof cases...not just for swimming, but all water sports and for those of you who sweat like crazy and could benefit from some waterproof coverage of your mp3 player/phone. I should get some new gear soon, so as soon as I do I'll make sure to get the information up here.

The weather here has turned cold. Nothing unbearable and actually it's kind of refreshing (as long as the sun is out that is). So I figured it was time to start to get used to the cold weather a bit more. I've been wearing 3-4 layers when I've been riding in to work every morning...this morning I decided I needed to start to "winterize" my body for the long winter ahead. All I wore was a tech t-shirt and a cycling jacket (usually I'll have a t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, light cycling jacket, normal cycling jacket and maybe even a vest) and though I wasn't all that warm...I wasn't really cold either. I found it funny when a woman was walking her daughter to the bus stop in Sorel Boots, a huge winter parka, mittens, hat (alright so I understand the hat and mittens), a scarf and a blanket...all while the kid had no hat or gloves. Really lady? You're dressed like it's below zero and your kid has no hat or gloves on...strange.

The Dizzy Kind of Hurt

2011-11-17T08:38:00.000-06:00

This morning I decided to test my threshold on the bike. Red lining for that long is a tough thing to do. I will say that it was a fight for minutes 17-24, but then it came back around. I'm satisfied with where I'm sitting right now and feel good about where I can end up with some hard work. It's always nice when you push so hard that you can't see straight at the end. It did take me a couple of minutes to get back to normal.

I'm on a mission this winter...I need to either find a cheap scooter or find someone who has one that would be willing to let me borrow it in the summer once a week...I mean how much fun does this look?

Now that I have a current number on the bike...the real work begins!

A Beautiful Pain

2011-11-16T08:15:00.000-06:00

Last night masters swimming started up again. It was great to start swimming with a group again, and I realized how much I do truly despise the backstroke! It feels like I'm trying to swim through quicksand...and the quicksand is winning. There were definitely some new faces last night, and a decent sized group of swimmers. I'm not sure why but the coach put me in a lane swimming with Chad and Brian...both of whom are much faster than me. So needless to say I was in the hurt locker pretty early on, and stayed there for the duration of the set. The best part about it though is that I thoroughly enjoyed the pain! I know it's weird, but I did.

There are still spots available with the group so if you're interested in joining us let me know and I can point you in the right direction.

On a different note, it's been very strange to only have 1 dog at home. Winther is still recovering from his surgery last week and he's missing Roxy. The poor guy looks lost when I come home (part of that might be the cone that he has to wear so he doesn't tear out his stitches). He has a sad face when I leave, which kills me to see...but my Mom said that Roxy is having a great time walking 4 times a day and playing with Maverick and Gus. Only about a week left for Winther to keep his stitches in, and then I'll feel a little better about things. Maybe we'll go and see Roxy this weekend, the hard part it that they can't play though...and keeping those two from playing is nearly impossible!

This is a "break" from playing ball this summer. Hopefully Winther will be ready to go again soon.

Testing

2011-11-15T08:28:00.000-06:00

This week at computrainer everyone is working hard to complete their threshold tests. I have a pretty good idea as to where my power is right now, and because I want everyone to do well I think it's kind of selfish for me to test with the class. So I rode hard for about half of the test to see where I was and then backed it off and tried to encourage people. I'm alright with where my power is right now, and definitely have a goal to shoot for. So now the fun part is creating a plan to get to that goal.

I put the Ninja to work last night and tried some different combinations in my smoothie, well I'm going to spare you the ingredients because it tastes crappy. Back to the drawing board with that.

Masters swimming starts tonight, should be fun and painful all at the same time. I haven't swam with a group for a few months so this will be a nice change of pace. I will say that I've been more consistent in the water so hopefully tonight won't be a complete shock to my system. I'm sure it will be painful, just maybe not as painful as it's been in years past. I'm really going to aim to swim 5 days a week...3 days with the masters group and two days on my own...who knows maybe I'll even have a double swim day.

Life Is Good

2011-11-14T11:29:00.000-06:00

I've been pretty busy, but life's been good. Friday morning I had to take Winther in to have surgery on his knee. The poor guy was not too happy about it, and still isn't the happiest, but he's getting better every day. By next summer he should be ready to rock and should be good as new. He already wants to run around, and keeping him chill is tough! Roxy is having a nice vacation at grandma and grandpa's house though...so Winther is kind of lonely I think.

Beyond that things are rolling along nicely. I'm starting to solidify my schedule a bit for next year, and am excited about it. I have a lot of work to do though...a lot of work!

Yesterday I went and ran Waterfall Glen with the boy's. We decided to run it "backwards" which is a nice change of pace, and I even took a couple of different access roads to get a different view. Not going to lie though I almost hit the deck about half way through when I heard gun shots...the Lemont Police Shooting Range is nearby and they must have been practicing, or the thugs of unincorporated DuPage County were "offing" someone in the woods...I'm guessing it was the Police. While we were running I saw the dude who "raced" me there last week, kind of funny...I decided not to race him again this week as we were going opposite directions. I think I've only missed one weekend of running there since I've been back from Hawaii. Kind of funny because I don't think I ran there this much all summer. The soft surface is great, and something about running there in the fall is awesome!

Here is Winther on his way to the Vet...not too thrilled!

Looking for it...

2011-11-10T09:44:00.000-06:00

This morning I found myself looking for power on the bike. I'm not sure where it went, but it was not moving from my legs into the pedals. I tried everything I could to snap my body out of the funk it seemed to be in...but it wasn't happening. I did stay the course, and went for it the entire time, so I'm just going to have to chalk this morning up to a character builder. Remember you can't have an awesome workout every time right? But that's what gets to me...I want that workout every time. I suppose I've been greedy in that regard lately. I want to improve every day, and I want to see improvement...well today just doing the work was improvement. I'm glad I waited to write this because right after I was not the happiest. There were moments I wanted to bag the set...but I stayed with it, even though I didn't nail it. That's alright, I put in work this morning.

We had the coldest morning of the season here in Chicago this morning and I'm not going to lie it was quite refreshing riding in. Maybe I'm whacked (ok I definitely am) but there is something awesome about having tears stream down the side of your face from the wind while riding that I really love! I can't wait to get some of the new Zoot winter running gear...from the looks of it I'm going to need it soon! Yesterday I was able to run in shorts and a long sleeve shirt...might not have been the best idea as I never warmed up...so I think it's time to get some new gear. If you haven't checked out the new Zoot running gear you're going to want to...it looks awesome and because it comes from Zoot I'm sure it performs amazingly well too! Check it out at http://www.zootsports.com/ and while you're there you might want to pick up some new running shoes as well. I mean you can't run the Thanksgiving Turkey Trots in old kicks can you?

Snow?

2011-11-09T10:28:00.000-06:00

So there are rumors that we might be seeing some snow flakes later today. Obviously the snow won't stick, and we won't get to do anything with it. But it means we're one step closer to being able to go skiing, snow shoeing, sledding. I've been watching Warren Miller movies in the pain cave during the morning, and I totally have the itch to ski! I've seen tons of pictures out west where they are getting snow already, and I'm not going to lie I'm a bit jealous. We've had nothing but gray skies and rain...not my favorite. I'm guessing it's not on anyones high list of weather either. I do need to get my ski's into the shop to get them tuned up, and I'm going to buy some cross country ski's too. I can't decide whether I want classic ski's or skate ski's. Last year I went out and did some classic cross country skiing and I loved it...well besides the fact that my heels had huge blisters from the rental boots that is.

I have to take one of my dogs, Winther, in for knee surgery on Friday. I'm not looking forward to it, the poor guy doesn't know it's coming. Hopefully though after a few months he'll be good to go again and he'll be back to his crazy, happy self. Roxy, my other dog, is going to be super confused without having her brother around. The real question is how am I going to keep that psycho dog chilled out...they are going to need to give me some tranquilizers or something because he's nuts!

He's finally tired...but he hoards toys as you can see.

Putting on a show, I must have been holding a treat

Happy dogs waiting for me to come running by in a 10k, not sure how my Mom got them to relax, I'm sure after I went by they were pulling her to try to chase me.

Roxy chillin...she'll be happy to see Winther again on Saturday after I pick him up.

It's Time for the Ninja

2011-11-08T08:15:00.000-06:00

A while back my blender bit the dust. Seeing how I love to make smoothies this was a hard pill to swallow. Now I didn't want to buy just any old blender...but at the same time I couldn't justify $400 for a Vitamix or BlendTec. So I was in this holding pattern for quite a while. I'm not sure what prompted this, but last night I decided that I was going to go out and get a blender. I think I just came to terms with the fact that a Vitamix wasn't in the cards for me and I just needed to suck it up and get a blender. When I got to the store I was checking out the blenders on the shelf when it hit me...THE NINJA! No the blender didn't actually hit me, but as it was displayed there on the counter I couldn't help but think of the good times blending we could have together...frozen fruit, fresh fruit, ice, protein powder, chia seeds, ice cream...oh the possibilities! So I went for it. Now you can see it in pictures because it's not in "true" ninja form.

The Ninja made this smoothie faster than I could take it out of the box...less than 10 seconds and I was in business.

Needless to say I'm pretty pumped about the Ninja. I'm also pumped (no pun intented here) about the "Strength Training for Triathletes" book that I had ordered. Hopefully I'll get a good jump start on it tonight before I get a swim in.

On the training front we had a solid class this morning at Endure It. My legs felt fresh as I took yesterday pretty easy and just spun on the rollers for 60 minutes. Work works!

That Guy...

2011-11-07T13:52:00.000-06:00

We had a great weekend here in Chicago, and along with that was some solid training, a new grocery store and an impromtu race which I wasn't planning on doing. The "race" wasn't really a race...more like some dude running who didn't want his ego bruised (and yes I totally took the bait to race this dude, more on that later).

There is a new grocery store in Westmont called the Standard Market, it's definitely nice, clean and healthy, although (not to sound snobbish but it's going to come off that way) there isn't a whole lot of organic produce there. Though the prices on meats are pretty good. And the quality is great as well.

Saturday morning was the typical computrainer long ride followed by a little run. Though it never felt good I was able to get the work done which is important. Thanks to Chad I have an Apple TV now and I set it up this weekend, it's pretty cool, and definitely something I've already put to good use.

Sunday morning I met the boys to get a little swim and a run in. The swim went well, and it's amazing how much faster time goes when you're swimming with a group! After our swim we headed out to Waterfall Glen to get a loop in. I was planning on taking it easy, and I think I did a pretty good job of that for the most part...until the last mile that is. So I have this weird thing that if I see someone I need to pass them. Now I've gotten better about not dropping the hammer immediately to pass them, and I have started to let the people come back to me slowly. So at about mile 8 of the loop at WFG I saw a guy ahead of me. I knew that I had about 2 miles to run, and that's a pretty good amount of distance to be able to make up time, so I wasn't worried about catching and passing this guy because I knew that I would. Well it started to get a little interesting as I was about 20 yards behind him. He must have heard me coming and he started to pick up his pace. How do I know this? Because I wasn't closing space anymore, and I could see his footspeed increase. I thought I had a pretty good idea as to what he was doing (also read, he wanted to throw down) so I started to slowly increase my pace (I was sitting about 6:45 pace when I was 20 yards behind him). As I slowly increased, so did he...something kind of clicked in my head...twisted I know. I had just been sucked in to this race with some dude on the trail. No words were spoken...no fees were paid...but for some reason this guy was not happy with me for catching him. So I decided to tighten the screws, I dropped down to just below a 6:00 mile pace to run right behind him...I figured why make the pass right then, I wanted to see how much he was suffering. He was breathing pretty hard and I could see his form starting to suffer so I figured I'd pass him, and I wanted to be done with my run anyway. I picked up the pace, and made sure to go hard enough so that it was a definitive move, and went by him. It didn't take long (a few strides) before I had gone by him and opened a little gap. I stayed on the gas for about a quarter mile and then settled back in. He wasn't coming back. When I finished the loop the guy arrived about a minute later and ran straight to his car, started it and drove away...I couldn't even congratulate him on a solid effort. A couple of friends were sitting there when I finished and totally knew that something was up when I finished my run, they laughed as the guy got into his car and drove away immediately. So I guess you can say that I was "that guy" out racing during training and that I took the bait, that's fine because it's true. But I'm pretty sure he was trying to race me as well, so that makes it a little better right?

Bam!

2011-11-04T10:34:00.000-05:00

I was pumped yesterday when my legs decided to make an appearance on my run. I found myself trying to slow down because my legs just wanted to go. It's funny how your body responds at different times. During my ride yesterday my legs never felt good, I hit my numbers but had to work for them. I was able to fit a quick lift in during my lunch (loving lifting once again!) and hit up a quick 7 mile run after school in the crappy weather we had yesterday. For some reason I kind of enjoy running in crappy weather, I'm strange what can I say?

Ironman Florida is this weekend, and though I'm not sure my body wants to do an Ironman right now, I'm sure I'll be jealous of everyone racing. How sick is that? Ironman Arizona is a couple weeks away so now the question is should I register for next year?

I hit up the rollers in the pain cave this morning. The time seems to fly by while I'm riding rollers, I'm really starting to enjoy it, and it's a great excuse to ride my road bike. Sorry for the completely random post here...thoughts aren't coming all that fluently right now. I probably need to head out for a run as that always seems to clear my head. I do need to get into the pool today. I'm anticipating a big swim weekend with some decent sets tomorrow and Sunday morning.

There are some awesome triathlon videos online which I've been watching lately...mainly the "Training Day" types of videos so I'll share some of them here. Here is one with Macca motorpacing on the Queen K in Kona...how awesome would this be?

And I'm totally hooked on that song too...who is it?

It's Not Always Easy

2011-11-03T08:24:00.000-05:00

Do you ever have those days where immediately you know the workout is going to be a struggle? Yep this morning was one of those sessions. I had to focus far harder than I typically do in order to hold numbers. A number like 70% shouldn't take as much focus as it did today...but races won't always be easy (and they shouldn't be) so I'm glad I stuck it out today. Trust me there was a voice saying to just bag the workout and to just spin. If I would have let that voice win then it gets stronger for the next time I'm not feeling the best. The set wasn't killer, but my legs just had no pop at all. Oh well, I'll chalk it up to a character building session. I think I've had a few too many of those sessions lately. The problem is you get done with Ironman, take it easy for a couple of weeks and then expect to be performing at the same level you did before...which was when you were peaking. I need to remind myself I'm not peaking right now, and that's ok. Every workout isn't going to be awesome, and that's ok. It's about putting in the work, I need to keep putting in the work.

The November goals are coming along well...so far the totals are:

Swim - 1500. 38500 to go
Bike - 3.5 hours - 21.5 to go
Run - 9.5 miles - 110.5 to go

I plan on getting in the water today, tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday. Hopefully Saturday and Sunday I can get some bigger yardage in. I need to get a strength session in today as well...and I'll get a run in. Work works.

And when I need a little motivation as to why I'm doing this again I check this out. A friend of mine sent it to me before Hawaii...and it definitely helps!!

Work Works...and Someone Who Taught Me That

2011-11-02T08:30:00.000-05:00

First of all I should start with sending some birthday wishes to my Dad...Happy Birthday Dad! I have to say that I owe a lot to my Dad (and you to Mom because I know you read this and he doesn't) because he (and this does include you too Mom...that will be my disclaimer from here on out haha) taught me one of the most important lessons in life...you need to WORK for what you get. Sure there are times where life isn't fair, and although you worked harder than someone else, and are probably more deserving than someone else they may get what you desire. But he instilled in me the crazy work ethic that I have...so when he nods his head and thinks I'm crazy for doing the things that I do...he has no one to blame but himself.

My Dad has always worked hard, I remember when I was a little kid he'd be working in the shop in our basement well after we had already gone to sleep. He would get up on the weekend early to get work done so that we could play hockey, go to college, ect... He taught me that work works, and nothing else is going to get you to your goals. I wouldn't say that I've ever been the most gifted athlete, but I will say that odds are I worked harder than anyone on my teams. Thanks to this life long lesson that my Dad taught me I was able to live out a dream and race in Kona...and because of that race I now need to work harder to get back there.

Thanks Dad and Happy Birthday

On that note, I had a solid day of "work" yesterday and it started right back up this morning with an hour ride on the rollers. Nothing too tough, just spinning and getting the day started off right. The new pain cave is definitely an upgrade and motivation to get work done. Running yesterday didn't feel all that great, but I'm hoping that changes with time...as I know the more I run the better I'll feel. We have amazing weather right now in Chicago for November, and it would be great if we could keep it like this for a while, or if the snow would come.

November Goals

2011-11-01T08:30:00.000-05:00

I don't know why but time has been flying by lately! It's crazy to think that today is November 1st. With that in mind it's time to start getting into more structured types of workouts, and to hit some "base" distance/time goals. With that said here are the planned base distances for the month of November:

Swim - 40,000 yards (I'm thinking about doing 50,000 though...we'll see)
Bike - 25 hours (Our November Challenge)
Run - 120 miles (I need to prepare for the December Running Challenge)
Strength Training - 2-3 sessions weekly

This isn't all that crazy, and should be attainable, especially with Masters Swimming starting up in a couple weeks. I'm definitely looking forward to swimming with a group again. I know I can do it on my own, but it's much more motivating with a group.

I kicked off the November Bike Challenge with the Tuesday morning Computrainer class. It took some focus, but was well worth the effort. I'm liking where my bike fitness is right now. I need to work to hit numbers, but that work will all pay off.

The Best Part..."Shut Up and Ride"

I know this weekend we "fall back" and turn the clocks back an hour, so it will be nice to have an extra hour of sleep, but at the same time I'm going to kind of miss walking out of Endure It in the morning after class and seeing something along these lines...

Knowing that you've already put in a solid effort on the bike and seeing a sunrise is a great feeling!

Time to figure out how I'm going to hit all of these goals I set forth for November...less than an hour riding a day (let's be serious that won't be an issue), 4 miles running (should be easy), and about 1400 in the pool daily...yep this is going to happen!

The Pain Cave

2011-10-31T08:30:00.000-05:00

I needed a change in my basement. I'm not sure why...but I needed a change. So yesterday I went down there and started moving crap around. What I ended up with was a new and improved "Pain Cave"

Treadmill, Rollers, Trainer...All Ready to Rock

TV, Boombox, DVD Player...

Weights, TRX and Roxy's Butt

I'm pretty pumped with how it turned out, and can't wait to get down there to get started on the off-season work.

This weekend was great as well (besides the construction of the pain cave). I was able to get some serious cleaning done, filed some stuff away, got some stuff ready for good will...that kind of fun stuff. My parents came over on Saturday and while my Dad and I put up a new light and put together the grandfather clock my Dad made for me, my Mom cut the grass. I mean how awesome is that? My parents are pretty awesome!!

I haven't carved pumpkins in a long time...needless to say my skills are lacking. But here they are anyway...

Mine is up top with the crooked face, Britt's is in front.

I swear it looked straight when I was carving it!

Yesterday we went to Extreme Trampoline...really fun, and I'm not going to lie I'm sore today. Trampoline Dodgeball should be an Olympic Sport. So much fun! I mean who wouldn't like whipping balls at little kids while you're jumping on a trampoline?

The November Bike Challenge starts up tomorrow. Looking forward to having a goal to work towards. I may even do a little November Run Challenge too...do I have any takers for that as well?

Dodging Squirrels...or Not

2011-10-28T08:32:00.001-05:00

I don't know what the deal was but the squirrels yesterday were crazy. I was riding home from school, taking my typical route when all of the sudden this squirrel darts out of no where. Well I was rolling along too quickly to hit the brakes...so if you happen to see a squirrel with a whacked out crooked tail in Westmont it may have been me that hit it.

Squirrel -vs - Bike Scoreboard

Rick - 1 Squirrel - 0

The weather here is starting to get colder. I don't mind it, and I really need to get used to it considering my fingers were a bit chilly riding in this morning. Looking forward to an awesome weekend. It still feels really weird not having to ride 100 miles tomorrow. I kind of miss it...sick I know!

I'm quite jealous right now because my sister sent me a text last night saying that it was snowing in Boston. I have also seen pictures of Boulder...with snow. I have no use for the cold if there is no snow...so let's bring on the snow. I want to get some cross country skis this year...so maybe November would be a good month to get those, that way when we do get some snow I can hit up the trails. Altough I'm guessing that with my luck as soon as I get them we won't get snow, so I don't want to jinx myself. So not sure if this could get any more random...so I figure some random pictures will help things continue this theme going...but there are a couple of pics of some sweet things that Zoot has on sale right now at the end of this. Check out their limited edition Kona gear on sale right now. Totally sweet!! http://www.zootsports.com/

Winther wanting to give some high 5's

Mom, me, and Katie after her surgery...she still blames me after like 20 years

After Kona

Zoot Special Edition Kona Jersey

Zoot Special Edition Kona Shorts

Interesting Events

2011-10-27T09:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I came across some interesting information...I'm just going to say that it's also motivating information. I have been kicking around some goals/ideas in my head, and with this new found information those goals/ideas solidified. A friend and I were texting back and forth with this new found "news" which we both found humorous...it's the kind of news that will help to motivate both of us.

Computrainer this morning was alright. As has been typical lately, for me it takes about 40 minutes to finally start feeling good. It's funny I wasn't paying attention to how long I'd been riding...I just knew I felt off. When things started to feel better I looked at the clock...sure enough I had been riding 42 minutes.

Yesterday afternoon I came home to a pretty sweet package from Zoot. Seriously, Jake and his crew at Zoot are awesome! I'm all set up with limited edition gear from Kona, and some special limited edition GU as well. Pics to come soon...

And my Mom...aka Superfan #1...sent me some pictures from CDA this year.

Me, Mom, and Katie Chillin by the lake

Swim Start...Pure Chaos

Not a magical day by any means, but still an Ironman finish

The best support team in Ironman

And my two biggest fans...Katie flew all the way from Boston to watch me race

A Look Back...

2011-10-26T08:48:00.000-05:00

This morning as I was eating breakfast I came to the realization that I've done 5 Ironman races. I still feel relatively new to the triathlon scene, and I do feel like I have an incredible drive to continue to improve. I think this is a good time in the season to look back at where you started, where you are, and how you got there.

It's crazy to think that the whole idea of doing a triathlon started when I was sitting in my parents basement in December of 2005 watching Ironman Hawaii on television. I had an idea of what Ironman was, but that idea was limited to what I had seen on tv. So the next day I signed up for the Chicago Triathlon...I didn't own a bike (besides my 8th grade graduation present of a mountain bike, which I still have), didn't know how to swim (I mean I could survive and swim...but not swim laps), and after playing 4 years of college soccer I swore I would never run again, and there was no way in hell I was going to wear a speedo or those tight bike shorts. Is it weird that I am in cycling gear almost as much as "normal" clothes. When sitting in the basement I remember thinking that I wanted to do that race, I wanted to go to Hawaii to do that race...even though I had no idea what "that" race was all about.

It's crazy to think of what I did for training then, versus what I do now, versus what I'm going to do leading into next season. Triathlon has totally turned into a lifestyle, and a healthy one at that. Sure I ask my a lot out of myself when I'm training for hours on end, but I really think it's your brain that needs to be trained and your body is far more capable than you give it credit for. It's your brain that says to stop...not your body.

It's kind of funny to think back to times, and races...

My first half marathon...I think I went 1:37:xx I was exhausted...

Before Steelhead in 2007...First Half Ironman...Again Exhausted

I think I was in the water for like 44 minutes, ouch!

5:13...and I thought breaking 5 hours was nearly impossible.

Working on my first triathlon bike, it's not a single speed...

Winther checking me out before a swim at Ironman CDA in 2008

The Number 1 Superfan and I before my first Ironman

Heading out on the bike

How did I run in those shoes? And with my race number there? Haha

I did break 11 hours though in my first Ironman attempt, not too shabby.

The pictures from Ironman Wisconsin 2009 seem to be missing from...so sorry I don't have them...but I did do the race.

A new best swim time for me at IMAZ

Breaking 5 hours on the bike

Over an hour faster in 2 years

The pics from IMCDA 2011 seem to be missing too...

3/4 of the immediate Team Lapinski Pre-Race in Hawaii

A Dream Realized

Dad and I after the race

Posers...

2011-10-25T08:29:00.001-05:00

So I'm going to get a rant out of the way with really quick. We all workout for personal reasons, we have personal goals that we want to achieve. Sure there are people who are competitive, trust me I'm one of those people...probably a bit too competitive, but then there are the posers. The people who "think" they're in the know, who "think" they are far better than they are and who "think" they deserve others to bow down to them. If there is one thing (well let's be serious there are many things) that I can't stand, it would have to be the poser. It's the guy (or girl, trust me I don't discriminate because there are plenty of female posers too) who talks a big game and doesn't deliver. This person always has excuses as to why they didn't perform...I got home late, I was sick, I didn't eat breakfast, I went off course, I got kicked in the face during the swim, my tire pressure was low, my bike wouldn't shift, there was a rock in my shoe...and the list could go on and on. How about you just fess up and say you didn't do the work, or better yet do your best and be happy with it. If you're not happy with it shut your mouth and do the work so that you can be happy with the effort you put out, or the result you earned.

I could go on and on about this, but I'll cut it short. There are people out there who are amazing athletes, and I have so much more respect for them when they are humble! So many of my teammates on the Zoot Ultra Team totally kill it out on the race course...yet you'd never know it by talking to them. They go out there and do the work, day in and day out. I have learned a great deal from these teammates, and they definitely help me to stay motivated to put the work in. Please if you think I'm acting like a poser described above call me out on it because it's the last thing I want to be.

This morning was the typical Tuesday ride at Endure It. We had a nice aerobic set and I'm happy to see my power numbers where they are, let's hope I can continue to improve upon these numbers through the winter. The sunrise this morning wasn't quite as nice as last week...but it was still worth snapping a picture of.

This off season has been going well so far, although some would say I haven't really been taking off. I'm still working out, but I'm doing what I want, when I want to...if you've done an Ironman you know how it messes with your mind...I do have to admit that Ironman is kind of winning the mind battle right now, but I am trying. I've been riding my cross bike to work most days (if it's crappy weather I'll take the belt drive 29er) and riding that bike has to be one of the highlights of my day.

I find myself searching for grass and gravel on the ride home from school...if there is mud I think the bike automatically aims for it. It's the perfect mix of speed with some off-road capabilities, bombing around on this thing makes riding super fun. I doubt I'm going to jump into a cyclocross race though...I think I'll let my competitive juices build up a bit...they have been tapped from a long season of racing triathlon.

Ramble On...

2011-10-24T08:37:00.000-05:00

The weather this weekend was awesome!!! And my weekend was awesome too! Computrainer season "officially" started up again this past week, although I'm not sure it ever ended for me. It's nice to have a fun group of motivated people ready to work at 5:30 in the morning. Definitely helps me to stay focused and get the work done as well.

I'm two weeks out from Ironman Hawaii and although my tan is fading (if not gone already) I think I'm more motivated and balanced now than I have been in a long time. I have a better idea of what it takes to put together a solid Ironman race, and I'm ready to put in that work. Obviously I'm not going too crazy and I'm not worrying about numbers all that much (though I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about power numbers on the bike) and it's been fun to get out and train. Yesterday I ran the loop at Waterfall Glen in reverse, which I think is typically more difficult. It was so much fun to be out there, just running on an amazing day with the leaves falling. I ended up with a much faster pace than I wanted, or anticipated...I guess I'll just roll with it.

I'm really looking to stay consistent for all three sports while adding in some solid strength work as well. So today starts my gym routine, I know I'm going to be mega sore from it...but I can't wait! I love lifting and I'm going to make it a real goal to be consistent with my gym time in addition to swim/bike/run.

It Takes a Team...

2011-10-21T08:47:00.000-05:00

One thing I've learned in this individual sport is that it truly does take a "team" to get you to the start line of an Ironman. That team has to include family, friends, sponsors (of which mine rock!), mechanics, and sometimes complete strangers who motivate you. The better your support team, in my opinion, the more successful and happy you can be racing. Not going to lie I think I probably have the best support team out there!! I mean to fly from all over the country to watch me race and see me maybe 6 times in 10 hours is pretty amazing. And to make sure I have everything I need before and after the race, I feel super spoiled. You all know who you are, so thank you!!

The Hawaii Crew Post Race

I think that "support" team contains many differnt parts. I've become better at surrounding myself with training partners who are going to hold me accountable and push me. I do owe a lot of what I have accomplished to them. If Chad hadn't said "let's do IMAZ" back in 2009 I wouldn't have gone to Hawaii this year.

Sure during the race you're out there by yourself. But you didn't get there by yourself, there were so many people who helped you along the way. This coming season I'm definitely going to try to surround myself with some great athletes, but more importantly some great people. More of Ironman is about the journey to the start line than the actual race. Why spend that journey alone?

The Pictures Keep Rolling in...

2011-10-19T20:47:00.000-05:00

My parents just got back from Hawaii a couple days ago (I was super jealous while they were still there and I wasn't!!) and my Mom just sent me some pics so here we go...warning some are even before Hawaii...

Eddie, Katie, and me at the rock climbing gym in Boston...yep they are much better than I am!

Not nearly as easy as it looks.

It's tough when your little sister is better than you...my ego took a hit there. Nice work Katie!

Mom, Me and Katie at the Sam Adams Brewery Tour

The Lapinski Kids before the Underwear Run

75% of the "Immediate" Team Lapinski (I'm guessing the other 25% is behind the camera, and I'm swimming)

Nothing like a huge steak and potato on the balcony in Hawaii

Pre-Race

My body guard

Cory, Mom, Me, and Katie Pre-Race

Post Race. I thought my parents could get closer, so I felt bad when they couldn't see me finish.

The Best Training Partner I could ask for and me talking to the Endure It crew.

Dad and me post race.

The Entire Team Lapinski Crew. Thanks Uncle John, Aunt Rita, Mom, Dad, Chad, Amy, Cory, Katie, Ryan and Amanda!! I couldn't have done this with out your help!

Chad and I after a little dip in the ocean off of the lava rocks outside of our condo.

The Lapinski Kids enjoying one last day in the pool

The Moment...

2011-10-19T10:12:00.000-05:00

I don't know if others feel this way but for any training session, or race I have a moment when I know I can go farther, or know I'm going to finish. That moment might be mile 22 of the run in an Ironman, or mile 60 on a long ride and often times it's a struggle to get to that moment...but I do get there. Yesterday as I was leaving computrainer and saw something super cool...and it lasted a moment.

I'm glad I took my camera out right at that moment to catch the cool colors in the sky because not even 2 minutes later it was gone.

The computrainer set went well, and my legs felt pretty solid putting out some relatively high numbers with ease. I say relatively high because it was all 70%-80% types of work. So I ranged from 240 - 270 watts for the workout. Like I said not huge numbers, but a little tougher than just spinning my legs too. I'm feeling pretty good about workouts, and am totally motivated to put the work in.

That's the key, putting the work in, day in day out, week in week out, month in month out. I need to make sure I'm smart with this, and think I've been pretty good so far. I'm excited about new athletes in computrainer classes, and am looking forward to see them progress and improve. Kind of a lame post I know...but not too much to report right now.

And It Begins...

2011-10-17T11:17:00.000-05:00

After an Ironman there is a short time (alright maybe long time) where you feel lost. Last week, I felt lost. I need structure, and I work well with goals in mind. I only have one race that I'm registered for...and it's not until next September! It's time to start that base training once again. Nothing crazy, nothing intense, just boring base work. I find this to be the most important work of the year though! Without doing base training the "intense" stuff that you do won't really stick. It's mid-October, and for the next couple of months it's time to build an engine. The only way to do it is to work, day in and out. It's not flashy, not necessarily hard...but it has to be consistent. So that's the key to this off season...CONSISTENCY. I have written down some short term and long term goals. Some of you know the long term ones, and I'm not going to put them out here. I have them in my head, and I have reminders that I can see. My training leading up to Kona was solid, but I know where I could have been better. I learned a lot about myself with that training, and I think that I can improve even more. It all has to start somewhere...here it goes!

I think we need some of these signs out on the Plainfield/Oswego/Naperville Loop

A great feeling to finish...much better than the previous Ironman finish, I have a better idea of what it will take to improve upon this...that's one of the goals...but not the one that will drive me the most!

Kona Swag and Zoot Shoes...

2011-10-16T19:54:00.000-05:00

So in Kona there's quite a bit of swag (stuff we all get) that you can pick up during the week. I thought I'd put some of that stuff up here.

The Zoot Ali'i 4.0 Special Kona Edition. The Zoot Crew totally rocks for setting me up with these bad boys!

#42 of 200

Thanks to Zipp for the Kona Edition T-Shirt...and the fastest wheels in out there! They KILLED the wheel count this year in Kona.

A Kona Edition Visor from Zoot

Tyr was out at the swim start on Monday handing these out...they gave me each color. I wore them all week and to race, definitely sweet goggles!! And polarized too.

Another hook up from Zipp...

And CycleOps, big things coming soon from them! Can't wait for the release of the new powertap wheelsets and maybe to get my hands on a powerbeam pro trainer too.

Special Kona Edition Zoot Backpacks

Zipp Sack Pack

Though I don't have "yurbuds" I did try them, and they were pretty nice...I just couldn't justify the cost for headphones.

Best Sponsor Ever! My travel bag from Zoot...I think I'm set for quite a while! Thanks guys!!!

I have been getting a lot of questions about Zoot shoes, so I thought I'd go over some of them here, at least the ones that I've run in. So here goes...and I'm no expert so take this for what it's worth. The shoes are meant to be run sockless (you can wear socks if you want) and I have done all of my runs sockless...including two ironman races.

The Otec

I used them mainly as a high mileage trainer, a neutral shoe that would take a beating and keep coming back for more. Not my favorite shoe to train in though.

The Kapilani

More of a stability high mileage trainer for me. I didn't run all that much in these as they were a little too much shoe for me.

The Ultra TT 4.0

Hands down my favorite training shoe. I would rotate between two pairs of these, and easily ran 700+miles in them this year. They are enough shoe to train in, but still light enough to race in...although I never did race in them. I absolutely love these shoes! If there was one pair of shoes that I could own to run in...these would be them!

The Race 3.0

My shoe of choice for racing Ironman. I ran in these for both Coeur d' Alene and in Kona. I think there is just enough shoe to help go the distance, and they are so light that it feels like running on air.

The Speed

No laces, fast transitions and a perfect shoe for up to the half marathon distance. I love these shoes, and they feel like I'm putting on slippers.

The Ultra Kalani 2.0

My new go to distance training shoe. The more I run in these the more I like them...they are gaining ground on the Ultra TT!

Some More Kona Pics

2011-10-14T08:33:00.000-05:00

Katie sent me a few more pictures from Kona, hopefully more will roll in throughout the days, but in the meantime here are a few more...

Before the Start

The Tension Builds and I was just to the left of the car in the water

Rolling out of T1

On the Run, about mile 10...still smiling which is a good sign

This feeling can't be explained!!

PUMPED! Cory and Katie had sweet seats too!!

A Kona Sunset

Brilliant

Hangloose...until next time

Kona Race Report

2011-10-13T08:45:00.001-05:00

I'm pretty sure I've completely digested the race by now...I've even gone through the "I could have pushed harder" phase after a race. Could I have pushed harder? Yep I'm sure I could have, but it doesn't mean I'm not happy with my performance.

Pre-Race - After my 4:00 a.m. alarm went off I decided to actually get out of bed and to eat some stealcut oats, a banana and a bottle of Zym Catapult. I actually ate more than I usually do before a race. At about 4:30 Cory, Katie, my Mom and I started the 1.5 mile walk to the pier. Pretty uneventful, really didn't see too many other racers walking though. After going through and getting body marked, dropping my stuff off in transition, double checking everything, pumping up tires and all of that fun stuff I met up with my family again for a bit. I was starting to get nervous and decided to head back into transition to take a final look at everything before getting into the water. The pro's went off at 6:30 a.m. and I was starting to get pretty relaxed. Although the Hawaiian drums weren't helping the nerves all that much. I chilled with some people from the Zoot Ultra Team before we all headed into the water.

Swim - 1:06:55
I wasn't sure what to expect from the swim. I had heard it was much more brutal than any other Ironman. My plan was to start to the left (away from the speed demon swimmers) and then to just try to hold on to feet as much as possible. I was really hoping faster swimmers would just drag me along. All I saw for the first 1.2 miles (to the turn around) were bubbles! No fish, no scuba divers...just bubbles. This wasn't a bad thing as I went through the half way point faster than I've ever gone through before. We also had a current taking us out so I knew coming back in would be a bit slower. On the way back I stayed on feet and didn't pick my head up until we were already in near the pier. I swam hard for the last few hundred meters and finished up with my fastest Ironman swim split ever. My SpeedZoot was awesome, so thanks guys!

T1 - 3:26
The tent was crowded, but I was just happy to be heading out onto my bike. I was going to put the arm coolers on, but they were soaked...so not too easy to get on. I said screw it and headed out to grab my bike. This is definitely a place I feel I can cut a little bit of time.

Bike - 4:58:25
My goal on the bike was to ride smart. I know I'm capable of a faster split than this, but would that have wrecked any chance I had at a decent run? In town I tried to keep things in check, but as you can see I ended up going a little quick. Once out on the Queen K I settled in to a comfortable pace and one that I knew was sustainable. I didn't know how windy it would be up by Hawi so I just wanted to make sure I saved something for the climb up there. During the ride there were freakin groups of 50-70 riders coming by me. I literally sat up and asked a marshall what the heck I was supposed to do. Unfortunately there were two marshalls by that group and they did nothing. Not sure why, but I couldn't worry about it, just needed to do my ride. I will say that I rode clean! I was amazed at the amount of people who didn't, some of who are former pro's and rather prominent in the sport...I'll leave them nameless. It's not wonder they can run like that off of the bike though...their work on the bike was rather limited! I hit the turn around in Hawi and had caught and dropped many of the guys in the draft fest...as it turns out they sure can't ride when they are exposed to some climbing and wind. Much of the way back to Kona there was a head wind. As I was riding I was doing the math in my head (I mean what else is there to do right?) and I decided to sit up for the last 10-20 miles and to soft pedal in. I knew I would break 5 hours and wanted to save a little for the run as that was what I was most worried about. I'm happy with my ride and think my preparation in regards to that aspect of the race was perfect!!

T2 - 2:48
Uneventful...the tent wasn't as crowded. I popped open the pepsi I had in that bag, through on my Zoot Race 3.0's and was off on my way. I do think I could roll through a little faster here too.

Run - 3:23:15
I had a plan on this run, and early on I felt I was going a little too fast, but I decided to roll with it and to see how long I could go. Thinking back now I probably should have pushed this beginning section a little bit more than I did. The first 10 miles were a breeze. It was all on Ali'i Drive which I had run and ridden all week and I had tons of fan support there. At about mile 10 I felt something inside go a little funky. I needed to find a portopotty...and fast. To make a nasty story short and sweet, the 7 miles from the top of Palani until the start of the Energy Lab weren't pretty...run, stop to go to the bathroom...repeat 3 times. Once I hit the Energy Lab I turned things back on. I was feeling better and "empty" so to speak...not in terms of energy that is. I was able to crack off the last 9 miles at a 7:23 pace. Once I hit the turn around in the Energy Lab I felt awesome...it was the moment in the race where I had said...I made it, this is almost done! Within the last mile I was super pumped...so much so that I ran my fastest mile of the day 6:39...if you have a 6:39 in you for the last mile you probably had more in the tank. And I probably did, but I'm alright with my fastest Ironman run and in probably the toughest conditions I've faced for an Ironman run. This run gave me a huge amount of confidence leading up to other Ironman runs now. I know what I'm capable of and can't wait to give it another crack!

Overall - 9:34:49
This was a PR by about 9 minutes. I went 9:43 in Arizona which I think is an easier course than Kona so I'm happy with this result.

Thank you to everyone who came out to Hawaii and who watched from all over the country. Mom, Dad, Cory, Katie I couldn't have done it without you! Aunt Rita and Uncle John...I knew I could cound on you for a Mai Tai after the race! Chad, Amy, Hillard, Amanda thanks for the push that last mile, and for coming out to Hawaii. The Zoot Crew and Endure It fans out all over the course, it was awesome to see people everywhere!! Thank you everyone for all of the emails, texts, messages, voicemails I did listen/read all of them and hope you know I really do appreciate it!!!

I'm not sure what's up next...well I have a pretty good idea, but I'll let it stew for a while. In the meantime here are a few more pics from Kona.

Chrissie Wellington and Tom Lowe

Scott Rigsby (Double Leg Amputee) Incredible!!!!

Rinny, Chrissy, and Scott Rigsby

Crowie back at the Finish Line

Dave Orlowski & Crowie (Dave was one of the ORIGINAL Ironman Participants in 1978)

Kona Ramblings

2011-10-12T08:45:00.000-05:00

A Race Report will come soon...until then here is a little post. I can't believe it's all over. As you might know Ironman consumes you...for months at a time...and Kona had consumed me even more than a typical Ironman. Heading into this race I was scared. I had heard horror stories, and I was competing against the best athletes in the world...was I really ready for this?

My preparation was far better than I have ever had leading up to an Ironman. I won't say it was perfect because I know things that I could have done better. But that's for my next race. As you know race week was awesome, I'll get more pictures posted later. Here are just a couple of right before the race:

The Race Rig Ready to Roll

A sweet backpack from Zoot

Bike Check-In Definitely a bit Scary

Setting up the Finish Line Area

Sara and I after checking our bikes.

I will have to say that the post Ironman depression is in full effect right now. My body feels totally fine, which I'm kind of mad about...could I have pushed harder? I'm back home and really wishing I was still on the big island. I had a great race! As I said before I'll get a race report up in the next few days, I'm happy with what I was able to accomplish, but already know places that I can improve. I suppose I shouldn't complain about a 9:34 Kona debut though huh?

So many people say they look forward to the off-season and for some down time, but right now I feel like there is something missing! I know I need some down time, and it will make me a better athlete, but I want to get back into a routine. For now it's time to chill and to do some unstructured types of work...mountain biking, trail running, and chilling out with the dogs (which I'm really excited about!!).

Hopefully I'll get some pictures from people during the race (I have none on my camera). Until then could someone figure out where I should try to qualify to get back to Hawaii next year?

Kona - Day 4

2011-10-06T22:33:00.001-05:00

It's time to mellow out a little bit. Race day is getting close, and tensions are getting high here. There are less people actually "racing" up and down Ali'i Drive and people racing are actually chilling out with their feet up. This morning was the "Underwear Run" which takes place in Kona each and every year. It would be worth coming back to Kona just for that. Basically it started years ago to poke fun of the Europeans who would strut around town rockin their speedo's...

Pre "Drop Your Pants Time"

The Underwear Run Start Area

Katie, Cory, and Me getting ready to run...Bird wimped out!

Katie and I mid-"run"

The Awesome Zoot Crew. Seriously some of the coolest people on the island!!

Ann Wesling of "Tri-Center"...hotter than I was expecting

Team issued undies...

The "Wattie Ink" Girls

The Fix kids with the Lavato's

Well we survived the 2011 Underwear Run

Tomorrow my bike and gear get checked in...I guess this is the real deal. Better get ready to race!!

Kona - Day 3

2011-10-06T01:49:00.001-05:00

This town gets more crazy by the minute! People racing up and down Alii Drive, trying to crush the bike out on the Queen K and wearing their race kits everywhere. Today was an awesome day. Started with a little ride out to the Energy Lab to meet up with the Zoot crew for a photo shoot. Not that I've been to the moon, but if I had to guess the Energy Lab is what it might look like. After the shoot I got in a little swim, the ocean was still super rough, but is supposed to clear up tomorrow so that's a definite benefit. The rest of the day was all about getting some free stuff and chillin at the beach with Cory and Katie.

The entrance to the Energy Lab

You can't ride in there...strictly running

There was a cruise ship in town today, so things were that much more crowded

The Lapinski Kids Chillin Beachside

Me and Katie, she claims the sunscreen I got didn't work yesterday

Cory and Katie Enjoying Hawaii

Tonight the awesome Zoot crew had us over for dinner. They have a sweet house on Ali'i Drive and hooked me up with some sweet swag. I'm totally spoiled and the Zoot stuff is by far the coolest stuff here on the island! Check out their limited edition Kona gear on http://www.zootsports.com/

Race day is getting closer and I can't wait to see what happens. Thanks for all of the well wishes I do appreciate them, and I will try to reply. Though it is EXTREMELY easy to get distracted here, so if I don't really I apologize. Here is a shout out to the Chem/Phys classes, thanks for the comments...I'm sure I'll think of them as I'm in some major pain on Saturday!

Kona - Day 2

2011-10-05T09:54:00.000-05:00

Day 2 in Kona is in the books. This town seems to get more crowded by the hour. The water this morning was much rougher than yesterday. Bird and I went down to Dig Me Beach to get a little swim in, after a couple hundred yards he decided to head back. I cut it short too as I didn't want to expend a ton of energy, so I swam for about 20 minutes. Basically out to the Coffee's of Hawaii Boat and then back into shore. On my way out of the water I saw Dirk Bockel and Tim O'Donnell getting ready to hop in.

After our swim we hung out at Lava Java for a bit before hitting up a ride with some of the Endure It Crew in town. On our way to meet the Endure It Crew we saw Rinny heading out for a ride, gave her a quick good luck...slightly awkward...and then went on our way. The Queen K was crowded today and everyone here seems to be racing everywhere! The key is to keep things in check, I think I did a pretty good job of that today, as I didn't try to chase down Chris Lieto too long when he passed me...the dude can hammer!!

Sara and I getting ready for a ride.

A sign out on the Queen K

Cory, Katie, and I sitting on the sea wall

An amazing sunset in Kona!!

Sorry it's low on pictures today. For some reason they are taking forever to load. Tomorrow...another day in paradise.

Kona - Day 1

2011-10-03T23:37:00.001-05:00

Day 1 in Kona has been awesome! We got in last night at about 7, and to our condo about 8:30 or so. We were all starving so after walking into town and grabbing a quick bite it was off to bed. I was hoping to sleep longer than I actually did. I was wide awake at 3 a.m. Cory was awake too, so at least I wasn't the only one this messed with. Katie on the other hand was quite the opposite...we ended up waking her up while we were looking for towels.

Cory and I decided to hit up a run on Ali'i Drive right outside of our condo. What an awesome morning to run!!

Cory lacing them up...

Amazing morning

Dude where are your sleeves?

Mid Run

Katie getting geared up for a little TRX action on the balcony...

Cory and Katie checking out the swim course

After our run it was time to head out to the swim course, I wasn't sure what to expect. When we got there TYR was handing out goggles, so I ended up with 3 pairs. They're sweet too...free stuff is always sweet!! The swim was great, clear water, fish, coral...and I wasn't getting passed by people!

Dig Me Beach

After meeting up with Cory and Katie for a quick breakfast it was time to pick up my bike. We were going to try to eat at Lava Java, but with the line out the door we decided otherwise. We did see Norman Stadler and his German crew sitting there eating. Talk about a baby face!!

David drove Sara and I out closer to Hawi so that we could ride up there, and then ride back. Cory, Katie, and the rest of the Fix family then went to check out a black sand beach. Pretty cool from what they said. Sara and I were tossed around in the wind out near Hawi for a while, it was pretty crazy at times, but so worth doing.

Here is a video from the ride...

The rest of the day consisted of chillin at a secluded beach that David found, hitting up the grocery store and walking back to the condo. It's about 6:30 p.m. here in Kona and there is no where else I would rather be right now. The atmosphere is like no other I've ever experienced in triathlon!! Amazing!!

Packed and Ready to Roll

2011-10-01T22:09:00.000-05:00

Less than 24 hours until I get to Kona. It's crazy how long I've been working for this, and unreal that it's finally here. Can't wait to get there, and to soak all of this in. Who would think I need this much stuff to go to Hawaii??

I think this is everything...

Missing anything?

That's it, packed and ready to go.

Next update will be from the big island.

Another one bites the dust...and a Reflection of Sorts

2011-09-28T08:40:00.001-05:00

Last night I was running on the treadmill at my parents house, things were going well until all of the sudden my iPod Shuffle started skipping and making all sorts of weird noises. Luckily for me I was almost done with my run...so I finished up and figured that plugging it into my computer at home would hopefully solve the problem. Well I was wrong, so now I've gone through two ipods in the past two months. Luckily this one (I think) is still under warranty so they should replace it, or fix it...I don't care which I just want to have some music for a LONG flight that I have coming up. If anyone has an extra iPod shuffle in a drawer that they don't use let me know, I'd be happy to give it a try.

At least I had a good run, I was able to get my hair cut (yes it needed it!), a nice dinner at my parents, and 30 minutes in the sauna at their neighbors house. My run ended up being 7.5 miles, but it was one of those runs that I could have just kept going, and as I went longer I was feeling stronger. I guess that's what happens when you start out slow. Treadmills help me to do that...when I'm outside it doesn't usually happen as much, something I need to get better at.

So unfortunately I have to go to the Apple Store tonight to get my shuffle fixed/replaced...I sure hope they don't give me a hard time about it. I was able to load some movies from Chad onto my iPad last night so that's definitely a bonus for the trip to Hawaii. I might need to rip a couple more down and put them on the iPad as well.

Another swim and a run are on tap for today, I'll hit up a little bit shorter run today though. I did realize that my treadmill at home is on a huge incline...I don't know why I hadn't thought of it before, but hopefully it will help me. It can't hurt right?

Yesterday I got an email from Beert which was awesome. It was simple, "Trained for this for almost 3 years and now it's only 11 days away..." with this attached:

That was an awesome email to get! I hadn't really looked back upon all of the work and sacrifice that I have put into this crazy dream. So I started to think, and it's crazy just how much I have put into this. Then I started to think some more...it's not just me that sacrificed a huge amount there are so many people that helped me get here. I could go on and on about this, but I'll make it short. My family for being crazy supportive, coming to watch me race all over the country, watching my dogs when I go away to race or train, ride next to me to give me water on long runs...without them I wouldn't be here! My friends and training partners, misery loves company and there have been some serious highs and lows through this journey. When you're out riding 100's of miles through corn fields it's great to have people there willing to suffer with you. Or when you really don't want to swim because it's freezing outside and the last thing you want to think about is jumping into a cold pool, I can think of no other reason other than the people I'm with to keep me going. When people believe in you incredible things can happen, and I've truly been fortunate enough to have a lot of people who believe in me...something that's great to know when I head out into the lava fields in 10 days. Without the whole team I wouldn't be out there!

Not a Fan of the Rain Right Now...and the Swim Challenge is "Officially"Done

2011-09-27T08:31:00.000-05:00

When it comes to the rain I usually don't mind. Right now though I'm not really a fan of it. Commuting in the rain is probably the worst...it sucks to have to put on wet clothes just to commute home. And there is no way I'm bringing an extra set to ride home in. I'll get over it...I would just much rather have the sun...or snow. I think we're quite a ways away from snow though.

So I've been tapering for a couple of days and I'm already going nuts. I'm not good at sitting around and doing nothing, I'd rather be up and active. I know this is what I need, it's just hard to dial things back. Computrainer this morning was good, I kept things in check and felt like it was a good mix of work without going too hard. Only one more computrainer session before Kona though.

My swim challenge to hit 60,000 yards is "Officially" complete and I'm currently over that number...but I now have a new number, which I think is pretty attainable too. It's all about stepping up right, this isn't too crazy, but I definitely think I can step it up. I'm feeling awesome in the water right now, and my effort seems to be way down to hit certain times. I'm not going to really increase the effort at this point, but just want to keep the engine going. This is kind of strange, but I'm enjoying swimming...STRANGE!!!

Raising the Bar

2011-09-26T08:37:00.000-05:00

So at the start of this month I had a challenge to swim 60,000 yards, yes for swimmers that's not a lot, and for many triathletes that might be normal. For me that's not normal, yes there are a lot of things about me that aren't normal, but we won't get into that. I thought this was an attainable goal and I knew I'd need to swim 2000 yards each day. Knowing that I would end up missing a few days in the water I would try to make up for them early on in the month. As it turns out it's September 26th and my yardage tally is at 59,200. Only 800 yards shy of my goal. At this rate I can swim for 200 yards a day to meet that goal...but why stop there? My goal is still 60,000 yards for the month, but I wonder if I can't hit 70,000?

Yes my taper has started, but I can't come completely off of the gas and swimming takes the least out of me (in terms of recovery) so why not keep this rolling. If I swim 2200 yards a day I'll be able to hit 70,000 yards for the month. That would shatter my largest month (actually I'm already 5,000 yards above my largest month ever). The nice thing is that I haven't let the other sports slip either, I'll end up hitting about 1000 miles riding this month and should be within the 120ish miles running which is down a little, but running is where I have the most risk for injury so I wanted to make sure I didn't over do it there.

Hawaii is just around the corner, I'm ready to get out there to have MY race...I'm sure it's going to be tough to do, but for some reason I don't really feel all that much pressure to take a certain "place" in the race.

I've been thinking a lot about next years race calendar. So far I have one race set in stone...Ironman Wisconsin. I have a score to settle with that race...looking forward to the journey to get there. We have a fun group heading up there to race, and I think I have a solid idea of what I want to do in order to prepare for this run at IMWI. Besides that I don't have all that much sorted out. A training camp in San Diego in March, hopefully an early season (May) half ironman, and then probably a half per month (June, July, not sure about August), I think I'm even going to throw in a few Xterra races, there is one in Michigan and Indiana that sound kind of fun.

First things first though...Kona.

I have the final piece...

2011-09-23T09:56:00.000-05:00

...to my "Top Secret Hawaii Hydration System" or the TSHHS, now I need to put the pieces together and run a little test. I've found that in the heat there are certain drinks which work well for me, and others that make me resort to drinking coke half way through the bike. I don't want to use an aerodrink system...so I have devised a plan. When my plan takes off I'll make millions...haha wishful thinking I suppose.

Things keep on rolling, and taper time is just about here. This is real, and I'm ready. I don't think I've been more ready for an Ironman so I'm excited to see how my race will unfold. I don't really feel a lot of pressure to "place" well here as I know (unless something miraculous happens) I won't be on the podium. I can go out there and race within myself. I have some times kicking around in my head, all of which I truly believe I can do. It's time to start packing up my gear to make sure I have everything as I usually pack and repack about 6 times. This weekend will be packing number 1 I suppose.

Oh yea and the swim challenge is rocking...I'm almost to my goal.

Closer...

2011-09-21T10:59:00.000-05:00

Last night I dropped off my Ridley Dean to Endure It, it's now on it's way to Kona. Thanks to Bird for putting on some final touches, and to Chad for his rear Zipp 808 I think I'll be ready to rock. I still have some work to do and need to stay on the gas a little longer, but the taper is not far away. Luckily I've been super busy lately, so I haven't had time to get too nervous. And by busy I've been training a lot, which has been fun. I am loving training right now, and I think I'm going to miss it a little when the race is over. But as we all know a break is a good thing! I'm looking forward to getting some mountain biking, trail running, and cruiser crawling in.

I'm not sure if I'm nervous, or excited or both. I'm thinking it's both. My training leading up to this race has been great, and I'm excited to see what happens off of a taper. My volume has been huge (for me) and I've been super consistent, especially with riding long...something that was missing before CDA. I feel strong and ready to rock, everything seems to be clicking and it's almost time to do the work out on the course.

The anticipation is definitely building and I can't wait to get out there. My support crew is awesome, so hopefully I'll make the day as short as possible for them!

The Northface Endurance Challenge Marathon Relay

2011-09-19T08:45:00.000-05:00

This past weekend Chad, Erik, David and I took on the marathon relay at the the Northface Endurance Challenge in Kettle Morraine, WI. This wasn't a road relay...it was a trail relay. Considering I've never really done any "trail" running this was quite the shocker to my system! Here's how the day went down...

Leg 1 - David took off, headed out into the lead, took a few wrong turns because it was tough to see where you were supposed to go and ended up with one of the fastest times of the day but we were the 3rd place relay team when he returned...he would have easily been winning if he hadn't gone off course.

Leg 2 - Chad's turn to do some damage. We were about 2 minutes down from the lead, and 40 seconds out of second. When Chad was done he ran us into 2nd place and put some significant time into the now third place team.

Leg 3 - Bird was off, and had about a 3 minute deficit to a dude who looked like a true trail runner. This guy had already run the first leg and was familiar with the course, with Bird being color blind we just hoped he would stay on course! He did an awesome job and kept the first place team within striking distance.

Leg 4 - When I took over the timing chip we were still in 2nd place. I knew exactly how much time I had to make up, and like the guy Bird was chasing the person in front of me had already run the course once (it was a husband and wife team...their splits were very impressive). I took off like a bat out of hell because I knew I had to try to catch this team. Not knowing how hard the trails were to run I decided to try to make up some serious time on the short .75 mile road section leading to the trail. As I looked down at my Garmin I was reading in the 5:05-5:09 range. Things felt fine so I stuck with it and decided not to look down any more. I hit the trail and it was immediately up, so I focused on taking short steps, keeping my HR down and trying to remember that I would run down this hill later so I could make up time then. At about mile 2.5 I passed the first place team. Now I would be the one with the target on my back, since there was so much twisting and turning, climbing and descending in the trail I wanted to get out of sight quickly. So I pushed the next 10 minutes pretty hard, took a look back and 2nd place was no where in sight. Now it was time to try to break a time I had in my head. As it turns out I didn't break the time...I was close...but that's alright.

All in all it was a great day, cool venue, and a fun race. My quads are still trashed from running hard down hill! It probably doesn't help that yesterday Chad and I hit up a 5000 yard swim to start the day, which I followed up with a 101 mile trainer ride and a 3 mile run on the treadmill. Oh yea and 20 minutes in the 140 degree sauna. The sauna was the hardest part of yesterday!

I'm still pretty sore right now, my Zoot Compression Tights helped last night, and my Zoot Ultra Kalani 2.0's helped me to one of the fastest splits at the race Saturday, I think there was one faster split than me...that guy was haulin!!

Kona is getting close, it's almost time to back off slightly...until then I need to keep getting the work done, sore or not!

Finishing up the relay

This Jeep was at the race, it looks sweet...I want one!

23 Days...

2011-09-14T11:36:00.000-05:00

In 23 days I'll be racing at the Ironman World Championships on the big island of Hawaii. I don't know why, but yesterday I started to think about the race quite a bit...I tried to visualize myself out on the course, and as wierd as it sounds I couldn't see myself out there. I think I'm still in a bit of shock that I'm going to be racing there...you would think this shock would have worn off by now but I guess it hasn't. I'm having a tough time wrapping my brain around the idea of racing in the largest venue the sport has to offer. All sorts of thoughts run through my head, good thoughts, thoughts of doubt...everything.

I feel like I'm in better shape now than I have ever been leading up to an Ironman race. I have more long rides than I have ever had before. My swimming is coming around and I'm hitting consistently faster times in trainining, and I've been smarter about my running not worrying about the pace every single run. I have been able to elevate my pace as runs go on which is good. I really need to start picturing myself there, I belong there, I've done the work and I'm ready to enjoy the day.

I don't know what to expect when I get there, I know the heat can be brutal, and can cripple people. I also know that the people there are the best in the world. So my typical "I'll ride away from people" attitude has to change, and I need to stay within myself. I'm excited, scared, nervous...and ready to go. I have a few more big workouts planned, really just to keep things sharp. I'm reading about the pro's who are already heading out there...the hype is building. I can't wait to see how this plays out. I really don't have too many expectations and want to enjoy the experience.

Bring the Heat!

2011-09-09T08:49:00.000-05:00

Ironman Hawaii is rapidly approaching so it's about time for the unofficial freak out to begin. The "official" freak out will probably happen two weeks out and build in strength until race day. I continue to hear about how hot it is in Kona, and with the temperatures around Chicago dropping, my tan fading and daylight dwindling it's time to make some of my own heat I suppose. So I've started to ride on the computrainer with no fan...it's nasty let me tell you...I've also started to run on the treadmill while wearing a sweatshirt and with a space heater blowing in my face. An athlete that has done Kona compared the heat to trying to workout with a blow dryer on high in your face the entire time. Hence the space heater in my face (well off to the right side a bit...I need to be able to see the TV when I'm running or I'd go completely mad). I think it's time to throw in another space heater though...one on the left side. I know I'm strange but I like things to be even, I mean what happens when the right side of my body can handle heat but the left can't? Just kidding of course, but I would like it to get a little bit warmer when I'm running. I've been handling the heat pretty well, and haven't tried to do crazy intensity, honestly I don't think the treadmill could handle it.

On a separate note my blender crapped out on me last night. I'm kind of glad it did to tell you the truth for a couple of reasons. The most important of which is now I have a reason to get a Vitamix right? I've wanted one, but couldn't justify it when I had a blender which worked perfectly fine...now that I don't maybe it's time to invest in one, or even better maybe someone wants to just send one to me. I don't think I'll hold my breath on that one though.

Looking forward to this weekend for sure, nothing like training on an Ironman course, watching an Ironman and then starting to prepare for a HUGE goal ahead. Good luck to the Endure It crew (and everyone else) racing at Ironman Wisconsin this Sunday, Rev3 Cedar Point (Dana and Julie...Dana you better lay the hurt down that guy), and to all of my Zoot teammates racing the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Vegas. One special shout out, if you're looking for someone to follow who is going to do some major damage at Ironman Wisconsin this Sunday check out Matt Ancona! The dude has been killing it in training and is going to do some severe damage to the field on Sunday. I'm not going to be surprised when he's up there competing for the amateur overall win, and leaving pro's in his dust!

I Got Owned!!!!!

2011-09-06T14:31:00.000-05:00

So yesterday my ego took a major hit. Before I get into the story you should probably get a little of the background. Training has been going well, I've been getting my long rides in, my long run will take place tomorrow morning and I've been swimming a lot (for me that is)...I've been in the water 9 straight days now. I know that there are days I won't be able to swim, this coming Sunday will probably be one of them, so I'm trying to take advantage of the time that I do get in the water. Anyway back story...Sunday was a huge training day. 7 hours total, it started with 3500 yards in the water, followed by 102 on the bike and finished with 6 on the treadmill. I was about 65-70 miles into my ride (out of water but close to a place to refill) when I saw another rider go by me the other way decked out in a Garmin-Cervelo kit. Typically I would think nothing of this because most people that I see wearing kits like this are complete posers and you can tell by the way they look when they're riding. This was not the case here...so I decided to turn around and see who it was. As I suspected I ended up catching up to Christian Vande Velde, I didn't want to be that guy to sit on his wheel and take a free ride without saying anything, so I pulled up next to him and introduced myself. Like I said I didn't want to be "that guy" but we kept on talking and ended up riding together for quite a while. He's a super chill guy!! He was finishing up his ride and I was turning off (to go get that water that I had been without now for about 20 miles) and he asked if I wanted to ride Monday. How do you pass that up right? So I finished up my ride, jumped on the treadmill for a quick 6 miles while watching the Hy-Vee race on the internet and called it a day in terms of training. That is by far my largest volume training day thus far.

So yesterday we met up to ride. I wasn't sure what to expect, but figured I'd be in some pain at some point or another. The first two hours cruised by (we had an awesome tailwind) right about then he decided to do some "work". Yep he sure did go to work. I did everything I could to sit on his wheel as he pulled us going over 24 mph into a nasty head wind. That pretty much summed up the rest of the ride...work for him...extreme pain for me! Needless to say I got worked pretty bad, and that was the hardest 80 miles I have ever ridden!! Totally worth it though, I was able to get out onto some new roads, and rode with a Pro Tour Rider...which was awesome.

Yep I'm still sore today, and think I will be for a few days. I did get on and spun my legs for 20 miles this morning, and hit up the pool again for 3100 today. This 60,000 yard swim challenge is going well, and I'm slightly ahead of the game right now which is good. I'm feeling better in the water, I just need to make sure I continue to push myself there and not get comfortable. A little treadmill run tonight and I'll call it a day.

Crazy Thoughts...

2011-09-02T15:02:00.000-05:00

I typically do my best thinking in the shower. While I was swimming today I started thinking...I mean what else is there to do when you're looking at the same black line on the ground for 25 yards at a time right? Sometime during my swim set I started thinking about future goals...that's when the craziness began. All I'll say is "Go big or go home!!"

The swim challenge is rolling along well, I even got a little ahead today. 5300 yards down and 54,700 to go.

September 1 - 36 Days Left

2011-09-01T08:44:00.000-05:00

It's crazy that September is already here! Only 36 days until the Ironman World Championships, and I have to admit that I'm feeling better than I usually feel this close to an Ironman race. I know I have put in a lot of work so far, just a few more long rides, long runs and a lot of swimming.

The nice thing is that I don't feel any pressure on where I place in this race. I truly feel like it's a race against myself. I know what I'm capable of, and I can do my own thing on the race course. I don't have to respond to other peoples surges, or try to catch x number of people. I get to go out there and do something I love to do. It's kind of sick isn't it? I mean who pays money to go and exercise for 9+ hours?

I can tell that it's getting closer to race day as my belt has to be tightened a little bit more, I'll try to limit myself to one bowl of ice cream...every other day. The heat acclimatization will start here next week...not looking forward to that. I rode the computrainer today without the fan on, wow, that was brutally hot. I guess I need to get used to it though.

Train Smart, Race Hard, No Regrets!!

August is Over...Crunch Time...Smart Training...And a Swim Challenge

2011-08-31T11:07:00.000-05:00

It's crazy that today is the last day in August! Where did the month go? As I look back on my training log, I'm happy with the work I've put in. I didn't ride as much as July, but then again I was in Boston for a week, and still managed some good riding, with some solid long rides as well. My running is coming back, and I'm confident within a month that I'll be where I need to be. My swimming has been consistent, I just need to up the volume...and that's where my swim challenge comes into play. More on that later.

With a month of hard training to go it's time to start trying to get used to the heat, which is kind of difficult considering the temps are cooling off around here (I guess it is supposed to be hot the next two days though). So when you see some weirdo running in a hooded sweatshirt and long pants...that might be me. The key is to stay injury free, and smart with my training. I'm going to make sure to continue with aerobic type of work with some race pace stuff thrown in there...but unlike in the past when all I would focus on was race pace efforts I'm going to try to make easy truly easy. Last night I tried to go easy on a run. I had my Garmin with me, but really didn't pay attention to it and went out to enjoy the run. Crazy how I really did enjoy it and the pace was still relatively fast. Well I should say faster than I plan on running in Kona, but I was not pushing at all. The cool temps, little bit of rain, and Zoot Ultra Kalani's might have played a part of that.

In September I'm going to take on a swimming challenge to make one final push. Do I think my swimming is going to improve dramatically? Nope...but if I can be a little less tired when I get out of the water the whole day is going to be better. So the swimming challenge is going to be to swim 60,000 yards in the month of September. All that comes out to is 2,000 yards a day...not all that much. It will be a big month for me, and the beautiful thing about that much swimming is that it doesn't take a huge toll on the body. Can't wait for this, and Chad is taking this challenge on with me...it's always nice to have someone else suffering with me.

Train Hard, Train Smart, No Regrets

It Hurts So Good...

2011-08-30T11:37:00.000-05:00

Does anyone else love the feeling of pain in their legs? Well not all the time, but when you know you've really earned it? This mornings computrainer set was solid:

3 x thru the following:

1' @ 120%

2' @ 90%

1' @ 120%

2' @ 90%
1' @ 120%

2' @ 90%
1' @ 120%

2' @ 90%
3' Easy

I wasn't sure how it would go, and during the first set I thought I was going to be in for a long day. But as things turned out I was getting stronger and stronger as time went on. I was surprised that I had something for the high end, but then again it was only a minute.

I still have some training on tap for the day, nothing hard, but there is still work to do. I'm not only building for Kona, but building for the future as well. I have some ideas for next season already (that's what happens when you spend a lot of time training...you get crazy thoughts) although planning the schedule next year isn't turning out to be that easy.

I could use a couple more sponsors though to help with some races, takers??

I think I started a dangerous trend last night though. I walked with my dogs to get ice cream. There is this awesome place which has softserve cones for 95 cents only about a mile from my house. I could see this becoming quite the habit. I suppose I better keep training so that I can justify this little treat. I think the real problem will come when I start going there multiple times a day.

Busy...Catching Up, A Brief Pigman Report

2011-08-29T08:50:00.000-05:00

I've been crazy busy lately. Well maybe not, but I haven't really felt like sitting down at a computer, and when I have sat down at a computer I haven't felt like typing. Not that there is nothing to report...but I just haven't felt like it.

So I suppose it's time to get back on the blogging train here. A lot has happened since my last post. July was a huge month of riding for me...1251 miles to be exact. For some people that may not be all that much, but it averages out to be 40.35 miles of riding a day. August isn't quite that high, but I have been able to put in some solid work. I feel as if my bike fitness is where it needs to be and as if I can hold back on the bike, while still putting up a fast split. So the key here is to maintain that fitness. To build upon it now would be rather difficult considering I need to build some swim and run fitness.

I've felt better in the water and set a PR in my swim at the Pigman Half Ironman last week. I've been getting into the water pretty frequently, and although I haven't been able to put up huge yardage while there, I think the frequency is working well for me.

Last week at Pigman I also set a bike PR, averaging 25 miles per hour for a half ironman has been something I have been working towards. My run wasn't anything special...yea yea yea I know you can't say you killed the bike and tanked the run. I didn't tank the run completely...I just didn't have a great run. I knew that things weren't going well early on, and stayed the course hoping they would come around...well they never did but that's alright you live and you learn right? I really never felt like I was pushing on the bike, and felt comfortable the whole time. Not sure where my run went but I would love to have it back any time now.

Speaking of getting my run back, I think (like in swimming) I need to up the frequency and not worry so much about the mileage. I read something that Troy Jacobson posted about running your PR Ironman Marathon and it makes a lot of sense. Long runs tear me down for a few days...so why not do more shorter runs which I can recover from faster? My problem is I push the pace on my long runs...why? Because I can that's why. I know it's not right but in the moment I can't slow down...it hurts to slow down more than it hurts to push...so I push. I ran with a friend last week who has just gotten back from Boulder where he ran some "easy" runs with some triathlon super stars...their "easy" run is far easier than I would have ever imagined...so when we did it I enjoyed it. I didn't care about the pace, and felt like I had accomplished something at the end. Crazy isn't it?

Pigman Half Ironman - 4:24 - 11th overall - 1st Age Group

Swim - Great

Bike - Great (2nd fastest split overall...only David Thompson beat me)

Run - Eh...just Eh...

Thanks Zoot, GU, Ridley, Zipp, Garmin, Endure It for all of the support...couldn't do it without you. And especially to my Mom and Dad who watched my dogs!!

So for the next 40 days easy means easier than I have ever gone...and hard means harder than I have ever gone...this is going to be awesome!

Make it hurt!

So It's Been A While...

2011-07-26T11:18:00.000-05:00

I have totally slacked off on updating this blog. The disappointment from CDA has helped to motivate me to build towards Kona. Actually I think it's helped a little too much considering I looked at my training log and I haven't had a single day off in July...whoops! I'm not going to lie, my legs are hurting. I'm hitting numbers on the bike, actually today I had a solid set where I was even able to push 500+ watts for 30 second intervals. This past Saturday I ended up riding 102 miles at the same pace that I rode in Idaho...what gives?

I think part of it is the fact that I was challenged to ride 1000 miles in the month of July. Well here we sit on July 26th and I'm at 940 miles. So unless something catastrophic happens I'm going to hit that number, which will be my largest month on a bike ever. I think my legs are hurting because I'm trying to mix in a little too much quality work in with the sheer volume. It's hard to hold back when your legs feel good. My running hasn't really come back fully yet, and that's mainly my fault. As I haven't really been running much I'm at 64 miles for the month, which is way down, but not too shabby considering I took two weeks off of running in July.

I'll let things ramp back up in August and September with my run. Now it's about laying down some base miles, and not worrying about the pace (much easier said than done!!). With 73 days until Kona I feel confident that I can ramp it up once again to have a good result for me! The crazy thing is that I still have time to train for Kona and my training numbers are already at the level they were last year when I raced Ironman Arizona. That was in November...so I've done last years 11 months of training in less than 8...whoops once again! What else are you supposed to do when you get bored though right? I have bikes here that just ask me to ride them, and amazing Zoot shoes that just want to go run.

I'm going to try to take tomorrow easier and only swim in the morning. I'm headed up to Madison to get some training in this weekend with some of the Endure It crew. Should be a good time for sure, and I'll keep things in check for sure. Although the volume will be up the intensity won't be. I'm already looking forward to next season! I have some ideas of races that I want to do, but first things first...KONA!

CDA...Finally

2011-07-10T08:53:00.000-05:00

So I've been waiting to write this blog for a while now, and I think if I get it out of the way with I will feel better and ready to move on. Two weeks ago I went out to Idaho to race in Couer d'Alene. Before hand I thought my training was great...those thoughts would change about 40 miles into the bike. Instead of giving you a blow by blow, boring, long, paragraph type of a blog I think I'm going to write a list.

Pre-Race

Thursday post-flight 4 mile run...crap this was hillier than I remember
Friday run course scouting on the bike...damn this hill is going to suck...twice!
Friday the water felt freezing...Saturday not to much - POSITIVE
Spending time with the family and relaxing in a beautiful setting - POSITIVE
Saturday night dinner in Couer d'Alene was awesome and Katie's Huckleberry Sangria was a bonus

Race Day

First half of the swim = awesome...my fastest half split ever
Second half of the swim = slower...to be expected but I didn't want to slow down that much. Oh well I'm alright with the time of 1:09
T1 = uneventful
The first 30 miles of the bike or so I was going too fast, I knew it...I just couldn't slow down. I wasn't working at all and the speed was high.
Idaho "rollers" suck!
Idaho downhills are much more technical than I remember...I need to bike handle a bit better next time.
Gatorade is not my friend (took me until this week to figure out that my stomach felt crappy 40 miles into the ride because of the gatorade) so at least I learned that now
Pepsi in your special needs bag is amazing!
I tried to stay positive all day...and it's what helped salvage the race I'm sure.
Do I really need sunscreen coming out of T2? There were about 7-10 guys that went by me right then, and I couldn't close them after that. I know my Mom's response to that question...YES.
Don't walk the aid stations until you absolutely need to. Alright this is going to be a longer bullet point. I was running well the entire race...really I was but I walked every aid station. That's stupid...take the 7:00-7:20 pace and throw it out the window when you line up like the lard asses at Old Country Buffet for each and every aid station at each and every mile. At least I can say I got some more of my $625 entry fee because I feasted at the aid stations. Well I didn't really feast, but I took whatever they had...only about 5% of it actually made it to my mouth. Ahhh!!!!! I'm so mad at myself for this. I don't walk during a half ironman...why they heck do I walk them in Ironman. I'm fit enough not to...if you see me racing an Ironman and walking the aid station someone please slap the crap out of me and use the OCB comment.
Overall not too upset 9:54. To break 10 hours on a "bad" day isn't too shabby. And as it turns out it was my highest overall placing at an Ironman yet (even though the age group didn't show that).

I know what I did wrong training leading up to the race...I need to make sure that I ride long more than once. With everything considered I'm not terribly dissappointed...it's what I deserved for how I trained.

Thank you everyone for your support and especially my awesome support crew; Mom, Katie (all the way from Boston, yes you are a super fan), Uncle Jim, Aunt Dee Dee, Uncle Steve, Aunt Denise, Uncle Bob, Chad, David and everyone at home. It was great to hang out with everyone out there. Also special thanks to Zoot (26.2 miles sockless and no blisters...bam!), Ridley, Zipp, Garmin, GU, Kyle Zake, CycleOps, and Fuelbelt. I have some new challenges coming up, including riding 1000 miles in July. I'm at 436 already...this isn't going to be too hard!

A huge congrats to Sara Fix, she punched her ticket to Kona with a rockin fast time and took 2nd in her age group! Kona is less than 3 months away!

Zoot Rocks!!!

2011-06-16T20:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my legs felt good...a little too good considering I'm not racing Ironman until next Sunday. So I made the decision to turn the gas back up a little today and hit up a solid computrainer session this morning, and a 7 mile run after my morning nap (yea I said morning nap...I took one this afternoon too...I love summer vacation!!).

The computrainer went well, and I easily hit my numbers, even a bit above which is a nice confidence booster for next week (as if riding a 2:16 this past weekend wasn't confidence enough right?). The set was as follows:

15' Warm up
5 x the following (no break between any of the sets...so 45 mintues straight coming here)
-1' @ 80%
-1' @ 90%
5 x the following
-1' @ 90%
-1' @ AT
5 x the following
-1' @ 80%
-2' @ AT
5 x the following
-1' @ 70%
-1' @ 110%
Cool Down

I ended up riding 30 miles on the computrainer this morning, and things felt great. My Ridley Dean is totally dialed in with my fit now, and I'm loving the 54 tooth SRAM TT chainring that I put on the front. Definitely a good choice for me!

My run went pretty poorly. The first mile was great...that was about all that was great about it. I ended up getting 7 miles in (this was my first run since the race and I shouldn't have waited this long) so I can't complain too much. This might be a little run session where I look back to during the race when I think about how I had to dig a little to get the mileage in.

The best part of my run was when I got home. I came home to a totally unexpected package from Zoot. Jake is the man! And the Zoot gear is amazing...I almost had to take out my new shoes for a run tonight, but then used my brain (strange I know) and decided I could wait until tomorrow to use my new kicks.

Here is some of the sweet stuff I got today.

The Kapilani

The Race 3.0...They better be ready for an assault on the run course at Ironman CDA in 10 days!

A new bike jersey

My box of goodies...

Definitely will come in handy with the cold weather this winter

No reason not to train when it's cold!

You have to check out the Zoot gear if you haven't yet...definitely amazing stuff, and the people that work there are incredible as well. Proud to be part of the Zoot Tribe!!!

Ironman Kansas 70.3 Race Report

2011-06-14T17:17:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I went down to Lawrence, Kansas to race the Ironman Kansas 70.3. It was Chad's brilliant idea to head back down to Kansas to take another crack at the race down there. So Friday as soon as school let out for summer I got a quick run in and hopped in the car to meet Chad and Andy for us to drive down to Lawrence. It's a long way...you wouldn't think Kansas seems that far, but let me tell you it is!! We got down there and checked in about 10 on Friday night. Since the race wasn't until Sunday morning this was perfect. We had a little drama on our way down with bikes...but it's all good and nothing is wrecked!

Saturday morning I couldn't sleep anymore and decided to take my morning run through the University of Kansas campus. Nice campus, but super hilly. At least for my standards it was full of hills, and especially so for the day before a half ironman. Anyway I ran a quick 5 miles with my last mile a little faster than planned race pace and I was feeling good. After breakfast we packed up our stuff to head down to Clinton Lake State Park which is where the race would take place. We checked in, took the bikes for about a 30-40 minute spin to shake out the legs and to make sure everything was working properly and then checked our bikes in. The rest of the day was pretty chill with some pool time, and an early dinner before watching a movie and heading off to bed.

I slept well on Saturday night and woke up right before my alarm at 4:15 a.m. Thunderstorms were in the forecast for Sunday morning...and some looked nasty, but we got really lucky and didn't end up getting the nasty weather! After my steelcut oats, banana and bottle of Zym we were on the road to the race. Kansas has a two transition set up, which is no big deal. I got T2 set up and then headed down to the lake where I would pump my tires and set up T1. Once I got down there I realized that I had forgotten my Garmin 500 which I use on my bike. I decided not to go look for it up at T2 (which is good because it was still in the hotel room) so I would just have to not worry and race by feel. I've done this in previous races so I knew I could do it, although I do wish I knew how fast I was going on some downhills.

The Race:

Swim - 36:11
I was not good...not much else to say. Things were going well on the way out as I reached the turn around in 15 minutes, I thought I was set up for a good swim. That's when things went wrong. I'm not sure what happened, but I was no where near the buoy's, and I felt like I was swimming in an endless pool...going no where. It was choppy out there but I'm sure it's been worse. Bottom line, when I get done with this post I'm headed to the pool!

T1 - 2:06
Not bad, not great, just tried to keep the HR down and get out of there onto my bike.

Bike - 2:16:50
Without a computer I just had to go by feel, and since I started in the 3rd or 4th to last wave I had a lot of people up the road...so I used them as motivation. I felt good pretty early on in the bike, but felt stronger as the ride went on. I would say that I really settled in towards the last 25 miles or so. I was 4 minutes faster than 2 years ago, so I'm happy with that improvement, and I felt good coming off of the bike!

T2 - :59
Zoot Speeds...need I say anymore?

Run - 1:22:32
Coming off of the bike I knew that I wanted to run a 1:22ish half marathon. I knew that I should be right there based on my training. I went through the first mile in 6:24. After that my legs settled in and I was able to crack off quite a few miles at around a 6:16 pace, definitely where I thought I should have been. I had one bad mile which was coming up a hill from the lake (you have to do the hill twice, and the second time up sucked for me) so when I got to the top I gave myself a pep talk and said "the faster you run...the faster you're done". Seemed to work because I snapped out of my funk and got back into my groove.

Total - 4:18:38

10 minutes faster than 2 years ago. I ended up 2nd in my age group, 7th amateur and 29th overall. I qualifiied for a spot to the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas which will be held in September, but I turned down the spot as I need to focus on Kona and save a little cash. One of these days I'll head to that race! I am happy with my race, and it's exactly where I thought I would be. Now it's taper time to get ready for Ironman Coeur d' Alene. I know where I want to be for that, and honestly don't see why I can't reach my goal. The difference between now and Arizona is that I'm not "telling" myself that I can do something, I BELIEVE that I can do it. I know what I'm capable of, and I'm pumped!

I had a great time with Chad and Andy, and they are going to do some damage later this season for sure!! It was great to race with some more Zoot Teammates this weekend, Dana, Adrianne, and Diana had awesome races.

Thanks have to go out to Zoot, they're just awesome!!! Jake, you're the man!!!! Thanks also to Zipp, Ridley, GU, Garmin, Cylceops, Endure It, AXA Financial. Thank you everyone for the calls, texts, emails, messages ect...it's always appreciated and motivating to me! Thanks also to Diana's husband for a few pictures that he took out on the course.

End of the Bike

The Run...obviously

The Zoot Crew with some hardware

Chrissy Wellington on the mic

It's less than 2 weeks until Ironman Coeur d' Alene, the money is in the bank. Can't wait!!

How Much Are You Willing To Suffer?

2011-06-09T10:39:00.000-05:00

More than I thought I could...that's how much I'm willing to suffer in a race if I need to. I don't feel that I have dug this deep yet, and mentally I need to prepare myself to dig deeper than I have gone before. Out on the course everyone is suffering, I just need to be able to suffer more. I think that's part of the reason that I've been up before 5 a.m. for the past...I don't even know how many months. I mean come on, missing out on sleep is suffering right?

This was what I was thinking about this morning as I was riding on the computrainer. I was asking myself how much I would be willing to suffer in order to reach my goal. It's funny because as soon as I started thinking like this my power numbers were coming easy. It was a good confidence boosting ride this morning, which I needed as I have felt my bike power hasn't been there in the past couple of races. I know the power will be there on Sunday in Kansas, and then I'm going to have a run to back it up this time around. Definitely looking forward to racing again!

Suffer More!!

Leon's Triathlon - Race Report

2011-06-05T20:32:00.001-05:00

This morning I went down to Hammond, Indiana to race the Leon's Triathlon. Leon's is an olympic distance race which used to be one of the best races in the country (back in the 90's). Last year was the first time that the race was held after I'm not even sure how long. I met Leon back in January up at the multisport expo that was in Milwaukee. He shared with me that they were going to make this race bigger and better and wanted to include a "team" concept where you have teams of 10 people (you put together the team) and then the teams would compete against each other. Sounded like a really cool idea. And Zoot was one of the sponsors at the race, so I felt that it would be great to get out there and support them as well!

So the crew from Endure It ended up putting together three teams, and we had well over 30 athletes out on the course today which was awesome to see! I don't usually like the olympic distance, as that swim is way too far for someone who isn't the best swimmer (that would be me) and then the bike and run aren't long enough for me to catch all of those swimmers. But seeing as I wanted to do things out of my comfort zone this would be a good test for me. And besides it's fun to race right!

The Race...results haven't been posted yet so times are a guess.

Swim - ~23 minutes
I felt like I was capable of swimming around 25 minutes based upon my training. What I didn't factor in is just how awesome the Zoot Prophet wetsuit is. The race had beer kegs as buoy's and had them all numbered. There were 19 total...so needless to say I was counting down each one. There were times I would get a good draft...but most of the time I swam solo, I know not the best but the line I took was pretty solid.

T1 - ??
Pretty uneventful...

Bike - No idea of time...
It took me a while to get the motor going. It wasn't until about half way through that my legs started to feel like they were ready to do damage. There were some nasty bumps out on the roads, and 10 pretty decent turns (if not 180 degrees, you really had to slow down) for each loop...so 20 turns like that...ouch! And the bike was about 3 miles long (according to my Garmin). I don't mind the added length, seeing as cycling is a strength for me. However I would have liked to have an accurate time over the Olympic distance, oh well no biggie.

T2 - ??
I started to run out the wrong way, my fault, only cost a second or two though.

Run - 35:38
I felt good on the run right from the start. It has to be the Zoot Speeds! I love those shoes! I saw some people up the road, and just used them as my targets. Since I've been at those hard paces relatively frequently in training I felt comfortable staying there for 6 miles. Here's what was going through my head the whole run, "It's only 6 miles, this is just a normal training day for it, you can push harder than you think." I don't want to say that I completely pushed it though, because I didn't. I'm not sure what was going on but it felt as if it was kind of a cruise pace. Sure there were times where it hurt (every run has those) but I felt good on the run...the best I felt all day! I never felt like I had that extra gear though. I haven't really done speed work though so that's the reason I'm sure.

Overall - 2:06:56 (with a long bike, I think I would have broken 2 hours with a "normal" distance bike)

I ended up 7th place overall, which I'm happy with though there is still work to do, mainly on the bike. Strange I know!

A special thanks to my Mom, she is the ultimate super fan and I love having her at my races. Thanks MOM you're the best!!! Also I need to thank my amazing sponsors: Zoot Sports, Ridley, Zipp, Garmin, CycleOps, Endure It, Kyle Zake, and GU. The Endure It crew was amazing as always and it was great to have them cheering me on all day! Also congrats to fellow Zoot Ultra Team Member Matt Ancona! He had a great race, especially considering he had no drink on the bike since it bounced off on one of the nasty potholes. Thanks Theresa for all of the cheering, and at least you could find Matt right away after this race.

I think I'll be getting some pictures soon, so when I do I'll put them up here. Next up is Ironman Kansas 70.3 next Sunday, that should be another great test, and three weeks from now is the first really big show of the year. Can't wait!!!

I've Been There...

2011-06-02T11:23:00.000-05:00

Like everyone I push myself when I train. I try to train at above race pace at times for all of the reasons that everyone else does, however I think a big part of it is for my brain. I really believe that your body is far stronger than your brain...yep, if you can turn off the "this freakin' hurts" mechanism that's in your brain you're golden. I haven't quite figured out how to turn off that switch yet (although I'm working on it) but I've learned to better cope with having that switch on. My theory (nothing scientific to this at all!!) is that I want to train at certain paces so that when I see particular numbers in races I'm not surprised or scared that I can't hold those paces. I think I've done a pretty good job with this lately, as I'm not scared to see my running pace in the upper 5 minute range...I've been there in training quite a bit, therefore I know that my body can handle it and that my legs won't blow up! I know that I've held certain paces in the pool, and that I can push to hold onto a draft in the water if I need to...the key is staying focused enough to stay on those feet. The bike, well that's the bike, and I love to bike...so if I see someone ahead it's as if they are a target.

24 days until Ironman CDA, time for the final push!

National Running Day

2011-06-01T10:21:00.000-05:00

So apparently today is "National Running Day" which is cool. I wasn't planning on running today, but I guess I'm going to have to get June started right with a little run. My run yesterday didn't feel all that great, although I held a respectable pace. I ended up with my highest monthly run total ever in May. Having a 23 mile run to start the month, and a 20 miler two days before the end of the month doesn't hurt things too much either. I have about two more weeks to stay on the gas with training before I dial it back for CDA. My build here has been pretty good, there are some things that I'm not that happy with, but that's what happens when you do an early season Ironman.

I've started to read Macca's book I'm Here to Win and it's great so far. The volume that the pro triathletes put in is absolutely amazing! It's no wonder they can race as hard as they do...they sure do put in the work! I love putting in the work, especially when you see things pay off. So for the next 25 days I'll be putting in the work...hoping for that pay off on June 26th. It's almost time to race...go big or go home!

Staying Consistent

2011-05-24T09:37:00.000-05:00

I don't think you will find someone out there in the multisport world who will disagree with the fact that staying consistent with your training works. That's not just consistent for a few days, it means stringing together months and even years of consistent training to reach your goals. In my previous 3 Ironman build phases I cannot say that I was as consistent as I should have been. There would be chunks of time where I didn't swim, or didn't run much. (I did always ride my bike though) For about the last year or so I don't think I've had that "chunk" of time when I missed out on training. I'm not going to say that my training has been perfect, because it hasn't...but it has been consistent. I don't think there has been more than 2 or 3 days in a row without training my swim/bike/run. I really feel that this has been key to my build up for Coeur d' Alene. In the past I've dealt with some plantar fascitis issues which has put a damper on my running. This year, thanks to my new Zoot shoes, I haven't had to deal with that at all, and I've run more than I ever have!

Because I've been consistent I look forward to swimming and running which have been problematic in the past. I do think that I do have more potential than I'm showing right now, and have to be patient with my training. We all have goals, and I've been kicking around a particular goal lately. I'm not sure whether the attempt will be made in 2012 or 2013, but I do think it's attainable with more consistent training. First things first though, I need to train hard for another 3 weeks with some big bike mileage, some smart running, and a lot of swimming at race pace and faster.

Remember everyone, stay consistent and you can do whatever you put your mind to!

Galena Triathlon Race Report

2011-05-23T08:35:00.000-05:00

The Galena Triathon was this past Saturday. My second race of the year, and second race in two weeks. I wasn't sure how the race would go seeing as I just raced a half ironman last week, but I figured I'd see what was left in the tank. Chad, Matt and I left on Friday for the race as it's a solid 2.5 hours to get there, and the logisitics of this race aren't the easiest. So after packing up all of our gear we were on the road and got to Galena at about 1. As is the tradition for us we went out for a quick 10 mile ride on the course...and I always forget how incredibly HILLY this course is! This year we even took a swim around the course when we were done biking. We typically say we're going to do this, however never have...so this year we stuck to the plan I put on my Zoot Prophet wetsuit and swam the course plus a little more. The water was not bad at all, and I kind of wanted to keep swimming...what's wrong with me?? We were lucky once again and stayed at Chad's in-laws house in Iowa. It's always hard to leave that house, and I really appreciate being able to stay there! Amy made some awesome lasagne on Friday night and after dinner it was just about time for bed.

I was able to sleep pretty well and was definitely ready to race. After getting transition set up which was pretty painless it was almost time to go!

Swim - 9:33 (10 seconds faster than last year)
Pretty uneventful, I felt good the entire time. I was pushing the pace, but lost contact with the first group of about 150 meters in. I could see the lead kayak for most of the swim (it was only 660 yards) but I couldn't kick it up any faster to try to catch up. I figured I'd try to do damage on the bike and run. I swam until my arms hit the sand, then started the run to T1. This is a relatively long run, and once you hit transition you have to run on these little pebbles which hurt like crazy!

T1 - 1:11 (7 seconds faster than last year)
This would have been better if I didn't forget to buckle my helmet...it's a good thing I noticed before I mounted my bike! I felt like a huge rookie at that point...oh well can't remember everything right?

Bike - 43:04 (1:35 faster than last year)
I had a nice kid tell me that I was 6th once I got out onto the bike course. I was happy with this, but knew there were fast guys in the waves behind me and that I'd need to really push the pace the whole time. The problem is that I never felt that good on the bike...well I should say not until about mile 12-13 or so. I passed the three guys that I saw immediately in front of me, so I rode up into 3rd place in my wave. But I could never catch the two others in front of me. They ended up being Ryan Guiliano (eventual winner) and Mike Lavery (2nd place overall). Those guys were hammering off of the front, and I ended up riding pretty much alone for the entire bike. I just now checked last years time and am happy that I was that much faster than last year, surprised for sure though!

T2 - 1:05 (1 second slower than last year)
Not sure why I was slower the Zoot Speeds are SOOOOOO easy to put on. Goal for next year = less than 1 minute T2!

Run - 24:57 (3:48 faster than last year)
The run course this year was slightly different than last year, which I'm sure partly explains the faster time. But I also ran this a little differently. There is a huge downhill out of transition, and my plan was to just run down it as hard as I could. When I reached the bottom I realized that my average pace (at the time) was 5:04. I now had to climb about .75 miles to get to the top of the hill. I stayed positive and just drove my arms up the hill. My heart rate never got all that high (at least it didn't feel that way) and when I got to the top of the hill I took a look back...no one in sight. I tried to look forward and there too was no one in sight. Again I knew there were fast guys behind me so I needed to stay on the gas. I was able to get into a nice little flow and just rolled with it. It was cool to see David and the Endure It crew at the first aid station and Jenny was nice enough to give me something else to think about..."drop your arms and run like hell" So I did just that, dropped my arms, relaxed my upper body and ran like hell. I felt good while I was running, and a hell of a lot better than last year! I am guessing my run training has improved this year!

Finish - 1:19:49 4th Place Overall & 1st Place M25-29 (5:39 faster than last year)
I'm happy with the overall finish and age group win. This was a competitive field, and it helps to reaffirm the training I have been doing. It was fun to see all of the people out on the course, Chad did great and ran so much better than he has in the past! Matt had a huge improvement as well, although he doesn't know for sure because he lost his chip in the swim.

Sara continues to dominate and won the W45-49 age group by 8 minutes, improving her bike time by 6 minutes and her run time by 6 minutes as well...simply ridiculous! The Endure It crew ended up winning 4 age groups, not too bad for having 15 people racing!!!

Another special thanks to Jake and the crew at Zoot! I saw far more Zoot's out on the course than I have ever seen before. Also thanks to Endure It, GU, Ridley, Zipp, Garmin, Lululemon and Kyle Zake.

Ironman Couer d' Alene is about a month away. I still have two races to use as tune ups and have a huge weekend of training on tap coming up for Memorial day. Hoping to get some good long riding in, as I haven't done quite as much as I would like yet. I do think I'll be ready for CDA though, can't wait to get out there and race!

The Sun, I want the Sun!!!

2011-05-19T10:23:00.000-05:00

I am tired of the clouds, we have had less rain lately, which is nice. But I want the sun! I'm fine with the temperature being a little cooler if we have the sun. Isn't it nice to wake up and have a sunny morning?

Other than wanting the sun to come out everything else has been going well. I'm not sure if I'm fully recovered from racing this past weekend, but I better be because I have to race again on Saturday. The race in Galena is always painful...it's funny how you forget about the hills...until you're on the race course riding them. This is something that's kind of weird, I'm looking forward to the swim. Not sure why, but I'm excited about it. I'm excited to run too...well I say this now, that might be a different story when the run actually starts. Those hills are brutal!

I think most of all I'm looking forward to racing again. It's funny how you go for months without racing and then once it hits you're completely hooked again. Bird and I went out on a quick ride last night and I was able to use my new Garmin Edge 500 on the ride, let me tell you that thing is sweet! It was also an awesome night to ride!

So there was not much flow to this post...I realize that, but right now there isn't much flow going on in my brain. Can you tell that Ironman training is in full swing? My legs are tired most of the time, I hit numbers in workouts, but it takes a lot to do that. My run pace is solid in training, but takes a while to warm up. Yep I think I've gained some fitness this off-season and am looking forward to testing it soon. Only about a month to go!

Taylorsville Half Ironman Race Report

2011-05-16T08:45:00.000-05:00

Saturday I was lucky enough to kick my 2011 race season off with a half ironman in Taylorsville, Kentucky. This race fit well into my schedule for leading up to Ironman CDA and I thought that the terrain would be similar.

Pre-Race: I left Friday at around noon to head down to Louisville, after a quick run and spin on my bike to make sure everything was in working order. The drive was easy and I ended up getting down to the hotel at around 6 (they are an hour earlier than us). After checking in and a quick 10 minute shake out run it was time for dinner. My typical pre-race lasagne some salad and it was time for bed. I slept well until about 3 a.m. or so which is pretty typical for me the night before a race.

Race morning started with some steal cut oats, strawberries and a bottle of GU Brew. We packed up the car and were off to the race site. The weather forcast called for rain off and on with some of it being pretty heavy. We arrived at the race site with about an hour and fifteen mintues to spare, checked in, set up transition, and I was off for a quick warm up run. At this point I realized that there was a serious hill that I would have to run up immediately out of transition (we'd have to ride it too...but I wasn't as worried about that). So my warm up run consisted of running half way up the hill, back down the hill, to the porta-potty and around the parking lot a few times. After some watermelon Gu Chomps I was ready to race. The lake that we swam in was super high...so basically we swam into transition because the lake was flooded all the way up into the parking lot. The race atmosphere was super chill...just what I needed for my first race of the season. I put on my Zoot Prophet wetsuit and was ready to hit the course!

Swim - 33:55
I am satisfied with my swim, I thought that I should be in the 33 minute range based upon the times I've been swimming in the pool. My siting was good considering the number of buoy's that were out on the course. It was an out and back swim...which you had to do twice. This really wasn't a problem, and I LOVE my Zoot Prophet wetsuit. I felt extremely comfortable the entire swim, and the most important part is that I felt fresh coming out of the water. So the time wasn't the fastest...I was ready to do some serious work where I knew that I could...the bike.

T1
Uneventful, fast and I found out that I had come out of the water 9th. I wasn't expecting to be that far behind but that's alright.

Bike - 2:17:21
I immediately saw 4 people in front of me. So I looked to the furthest guy ahead and made him my target. Within 2.5 miles I had passed all four, at which time I saw 2 more. By mile 8 I had ridden myself up into 3rd place overall. A few miles passed and I hadn't seen anyone up the road. I made sure to stay calm and to remind myself that there was a lot of race left. At about mile 13 I saw 2nd place up the road. I tried not to hammer to bring him back all at once, and ended up passing him about a mile later. As soon as I came up on him I could see the leader. Again not trying to bring it back all at once I slowly closed the gap. This was a bit more effort because at this point in the race there were dogs out on the road. Yep dogs and bicycles don't mix...especially when you're going 20+ mph! So I slowed down, and ended up making the pass about 16 miles in or so. I'm not sure how quickly I rode him off of my wheel, but would get a better idea a little while later. At mile 20 we turned in for an out and back section which was 8 miles total. When I hit the turn around I glanced at my watch. I figured that I had about a 2:30 lead at that point which was about the half way point on the bike. I wanted that lead to grow to about 5-6 minutes so I decided I would ride a hard 10 minutes, followed by 5 at tempo, and then put one more 10 minute effort in before I backed it down to prepare for the run. There were a few good climbs out on the bike course and I feel as if I rode them well. I typcially don't go into the small chain ring, but I did just to spin up, and it turned out to be the right thing to do. I ended up averaging 24 mph on the bike which I'm happy with. The Ridley Dean was amazing, and my Zipp wheels helped me to the fastest bike split of the day by 10 minutes.

T2
I took my time, through on my Zoot Ultra Race 3.0's and was on my way.

Run - 1:24:50
I do believe this is the fastest I have ever run in a half ironman. The best part about it is that I didn't run hard. Not that I ran easy, but I was comfortable the whole time. The bike course overlapped with the run course so I could get an idea of how much of a lead I had. I was running for about 5-6 minutes before I saw the first bike come back. I came to find out after the race that I had an eight minute lead off of the bike. The run course (after the huge hill) was an out and back three times. I was able to get some time checks at each turn around...the first one I figured out I had a 1.2 mile lead. Then 1.3, then 1.4, and after it moved up to 1.5 I started changing my focus to seeing if I could break 4:20.

Overall - 4:17:56 - First Place & Course Record
I thought that the course record was 4:23:xx and as it turns out I was right. I felt good all day, and know that I had more in the tank if I needed it. I'm definitely happy with my result and with where my fitness is right now. I know I still have some work to do, but I'm feeling good right now.

Thanks to Jake and the crew at Zoot Sports, I was getting the "Go Zoot" cheers all day, and after the race I answered a ton of questions about Zoot gear. Thanks to GU, nutrition on the bike was 5 GU Roctane (Blueberry Pomengranate), run was 2 Cherry Lime Roctanes, and GU brew to drink throughout the day. Thanks Ridley and Zipp and Cycleops, fastest bike split by 10 minutes. Thank you Garmin, I always knew where I stood on the course with distance and pace. Endure It my bike was primed and ready to go. Lululemon...need I really say any more about how comfortable pre and post race clothing can be? And Kyle Zake for your continued support!

Also a huge congratulations to Sara for her first overall win! She smoked the course in 5:10 and won the overall womans race by 16 minutes (better than the 13 I won by)!! Can't wait to see her smoke Ironman CDA!!!

The First Race Week of 2011

2011-05-09T10:56:00.000-05:00

When I woke up this morning I was amazed to look at the calendar and see May 9th. Where has the start of May gone? I also realized that race season is here. I race on Saturday, it's a small half ironman just east of Louisville, KY. I really don't know much about the race, other than I'll swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles, and run 13.1 miles...hopefully I'll do those things quickly too. This will be the earliest in the season that I have raced this long, and I'm looking forward to it. I was a little sick this past week...Friday and Saturday were off days as a result. I am still feeling a bit congested but I was able to get a solid ride and run in yesterday, so I'm feeling better about things.

Being the first race of the year, you often forget about everything that goes into preparing for a race. I need to get my race wheels sorted out, packed, and a whole bunch of other stuff too all before I leave. Also I need to make sure I'm getting enough rest, and try to get rid of this congestion. I'm not all that worried though, things will get sorted out...they always do. I'm excited to test out my fitness in a race. Training has been going well, and I do feel prepared to race. I'm ready to go into a world of hurt to see where I stand right now.

The next month I will be racing quite a bit...Kentucky this weekend, Galena next weekend, Memorial Day Weeked Off, Leon's the following weekend, and then Kansas...of which after that I will taper for Ironman CDA. Yep going to be busy, especially with some serious training that needs to happen throughout that time too. So basically what some training is goign to look like is racing...followed up by more running after the race. So this weekend after the race I hope to put in another 4-6 miles of running as a "cool down". Luckily for me this week the race is on a Saturday, Galena...a Saturday. Leon's is a Sunday, but I can ride long Saturday before, Kansas is a Sunday, but that's the last effort before my taper anyway. Wow I'm excited to race...this season is going to be awesome!

An Epic Weekend

2011-05-02T11:40:00.000-05:00

This weekend I set out to train a lot! I have to say that I was successful with that. Saturday I set out to ride 100 miles and then run off of the bike. I had wanted to run 10 miles off of the bike, and I ended up settling for 7...not because I felt bad or because I couldn't do it but because my Garmin died. I know lame excuse but as I was running I really needed to hold my pace back because my legs really wanted to go (crazy right?). I thought it would be a better idea to stop at 7 miles than to over exert myself on the last three not knowing my pace. Too dependent on technology, maybe but my confidence was really high knowing I could have continued to run Saturday. My ride went great, I was solo the whole time, fought with the wind all day, and ended up averaging over 21 mph and had a normalized power (and average power) which were higher than last year on a similar type of training ride. Training from the winter must be paying off!

My new Zoot Cycling Kit and Ridley Dean

Sunday I had wanted to put in a huge run. My goal was to go out and run 23 miles at a 7:20 pace. Miles one and two were not pretty, and the thought of turning around was definitely there. I stayed with my plan though and after about 40 minutes felt much better. Thanks to my Mom who rode next to me and gave me water I nailed my longest training run ever, which also finished up my longest run week ever. I ran 63 miles last week, and ended up averaging 7:10 for the 23 yesterday. I could have gone faster, farther...but thought it would be stupid. Which it probably would have been. Training seems to be going well. Now I need to take this confidence into that race I have 8 weeks from now, and nail it! Can't wait!!!

A Big Weekend Preview

2011-04-29T09:46:00.000-05:00

Two weeks from tomorrow I have my first race of the year. This will be the earliest in the season (only by a week) that I have ever raced a triathlon. It is also the longest that I have ever gone to start the season seeing as it's a half ironman. I'm not going to rest/taper for this race as I have bigger plans for this season so I need to continue to to train. I have been having some great days of training, and feel pretty good about my fitness, especially my run fitness. Run training has been consistent and I've been smarter about my running in the past few weeks...i.e. going out slower than usual. Yesterday I had an awesome 11 mile run. It was one of those days where the legs felt great, my breathing wasn't labored at all, and I could have kept going if I had the time. Don't you love those days? I started out with a 6:53, 6:38, 6:30 and then cracked off the next 8 miles with the slowest one being 6:19 (fastest 6:04). No these aren't extremely fast, but for me to run at that pace with the effort (or lack there of) that I had to put in I was excited. I am excited to start to race and excited to start to take some calculated risks on the run!! The past few seasons I've taken risks on the bike, and I felt as if I could...well I will still plan on attacking the bike, but for the first time in ever I feel I can take some risks on the run now too. I'm not sure where those will be yet, but I do plan on putting myself into the hurt locker more than I have in the past knowing that I've been there in training!

Alright for the weekend preview. The sun is finally out, crazy, and I don't think it's a dream, I think it's actually here for a day. With that in mind I'm planning on having a big weekend. Today's training load is going to be rather light which has already included some time on my bike, and will include an easy 6 mile run in a bit here. Tomorrow will be big. I'm going to use Endure It Willowbrook as my homebase for training for the day (mainly because if I come home from a ride and try to get a run in right away my dogs will give me way too much guilt). So the plan is to drop off a back pack of running gear at Endure It on my way out for my 100 mile ride, come back and run 10 off of the bike where I can end up at home for an ice bath. I may ride with a few people for some of my 100...or I may go solo...not sure yet. My 10 mile run will be solo and at slightly faster than Ironman pace hopefully. I'm going to follow this up with a "Marathon Dress Rehearsal" on Sunday where I run 23 miles at planned Ironman Marathon pace. The key here is going to be to keep things in check at the beginning and to push come mile 17ish to hold on to the pace. That's usually where the wheels start to fall off and it's just going to take some focus. My mom doesn't know it yet but she might be riding some bottles for me. So mom when you read this that might be part of your Sunday morning plan. Thanks, you're the best!

But before all of this begins I'll have to load up on Mexican food and tear up the bowling alley tonight. Some people think they can out bowl me...I'm just going to have to prove otherwise.

Dodging Worms...When Will the Rain Stop?

2011-04-26T14:30:00.000-05:00

I'll get to the title in a second, but are there ever times when you just want to put someone in their place? I mean really say what you're thinking, yet you really shouldn't...I mean you could but it would not be in your best interest? I suppose these people aren't worth the effort...so I'll drop it.

Anyway this weather in Chicago right now is not the best! We have had so much rain lately that I've been trying to avoid the worms on the roads and sidewalks during my rides and runs, luckily I don't have that issue swimming, if I did then there would be some serious problems! If I could just make a request that the rain stop I would greatly appreciate it. I don't mind running in the rain all that much, actually I enjoy it if it's warm outside...but riding in the rain just sucks. There is no other way to explain it.

Training has been going well, I've kept things pretty well rounded this week with a couple of swims, bikes and runs so far. My legs feel heavy, and so I usually don't feel like running, although I feel great after a few miles. I was reading the blog for Dave Jewell who is definitely a shoe guru and a great runner and he does something awesome with his 12 year old son. Every week they go for a 40 minute run together. He talks about it here, and I just thought it was a really neat idea! http://endorphinfanatics.blogspot.com/

I should hit one of my largest running months yet this month, and I'm feeling injury free which is great! 2 months from today is Ironman CDA, and I can't wait. I figured out my race shoes today...the Zoot Race 3.0 are going to be my weapon of choice. I can't wait to get more miles on them!!

Why Does It Continue To Hurt???

2011-04-21T10:19:00.000-05:00

Usually Thursdays I have great rides on the computrainer at Endure It. And though I wouldn't say the ride was bad...it wasn't great. I really had to work to hit my numbers, and trust me I'm not complaining, I love doing the work. Actually as time went on during the set I started to feel stronger...maybe it was the other people suffering which really helped to motivate me. I don't know, but either way it was work. On paper the set doesn't look all that difficult, and it really shouldn't have been...but it was work:

15' warm up
4 x 10' (no rest)
-2' @ 80%
-2' @ 90%
-1' @ AT
-1' @ 80%
-1' @ 90%
-2' @ AT
-1' @ 70%
Cool Down

I mean there was only 12 minutes at threshold, 12 minutes at 90%, 12 minutes at 80% and 4 minutes at 70%.

Enough about the bike...the sun is out, and I feel like it's been forever since we've seen it in Chicago. I'm going to take my Zoot Ultra TT 4.0's out for a spin this afternoon...I'm shooting for 8-10 miles and maybe another 3-4 later tonight.

With no school tomorrow I'm going to try to get a high volume day in with a couple of runs, a long ride and maybe a little swim too. Here's the plan for tomorrow for my training day:

5:30 a.m. - Breakfast
6:00 a.m. - Run # 1 (3-4 miles easy)
7:00 a.m. - Long Ride (4-5 hours in the rain)
12:00 p.m. - Transition Run (5-6 miles tempo pace)
1:00 p.m. - Lunch

Maybe I'll get to squeeze a swim in later in the afternoon, but I have to take Winther to the vet to get his knee checked out, hopefully we can get him fixed soon so that he can join me on runs once again!

Saturday should be nicer, so another ride and some running are definitely in order! My swimming assault is going to start next week. I have a few key workouts that I want to fit in every week, and I can't wait to get this season rolling. I want to get that first race out of the way with so that I can see where my fitness is right now. Until I race it will have to remain unknown...I've been training hard, hopefully it will pay off!

A Different Kind of Swim

2011-04-20T07:48:00.000-05:00

Last night at masters Sue (our coach) decided to do something different. Since some of us with the group are triathletes she decided to take out all of the lane lines and we had an "open" water swim practice. I thought it was fun, as it was something different as opposed to following that black line on the bottom of the pool! We did quite a few different things, but I would have to say the most fun thing we did involved the craziness that is a diving well. So we were supposed to swim 3 laps around the perimeter of the pool, no problem right. Well when we arrived to the diving well portion of the pool they had turned the air vents at the bottom of the pool on to full blast...it was like swimming through a huge storm and completely destroyed you! We were pushed all different directions and had to swim our way out of it. It was definietly fun!! The highlight of the night, for me at least, was a particular set that we did after our fun in the diving well. So let me preface this with the fact that I don't think I've ever swam the length of a 25 yard pool under water. We used to practice it once in a while a few years back, but I haven't done it for quite a while. Well we were instructed to swim the width of the pool under water. Typically that would be easier than the length, however the pool we swim in has 12 lanes...we figured out it was roughly 33.47 yards across. My first attempt I was unsuccessful and I made it 10 out of the 12 lanes, but I realized that I really wimped out. So I was determined on my second time that I would make it. I did make it all the way across under water without taking a breath, and the really weird thing is that my legs hurt like crazy when I was done. I'm not sure if it was the lack of oxygen to my muscles or what, but they hurt bad!! Last night was definitely a nice change, it's hard to put a specific number on the yardage that we did, but I know that I got a solid set in because I was wiped when we were done!

This Weather Sucks!

2011-04-19T10:39:00.000-05:00

Alright so we're towards the end of April, sure we've had a few nice days so far, but I am tired of the WIND and the rain. I think I could deal with the rain if it were warmer, but the wind SUCKS!!! I know it's going to be windy on the bike course in Hawaii, especially by Hawi...but that's Hawaii and it's to be expected. Why do I need to train with it day in and day out here in spring in Chicago? Alright I guess that's enough about the weather.

Training has been going well. I've been riding and running quite a bit, the swimming hasn't quite been there, but I have plans to make that work. This mornings computrainer class was tough, I don't know if it's because I ran 12 yesterday and rode 23 or because of all of the training that I've been doing, but it was tough none the less. Our set this morning was:

15' warm up
15 x 3'
-1' @ 120%
-1' @ 90%
-1' RI
Cool Down

Ever since I tested my threshold a few weeks ago (it might be close to a month by now) the workouts have been much more difficult. This is going to pay off...at least I hope it does. The funny thing about the workout today though was that it was hard from the start, but it never really became more difficult. Usually it's tougher to hold through the middle...but today it was just as hard in the first set as it was in the last.

Let's hope that the weather breaks for my long ride on Saturday...I doubt that it will, so it's going to be a long, lonely, rainy sufferfest Saturday morning. Something I can handle...and need to love!

Some New Zoot Kicks...

2011-04-15T08:51:00.000-05:00

When I got home from practice last night I thought it was Christmas in April. Thanks to Jake and the crew at Zoot I have some new kicks to help me prepare and race fast this year. I love my Zoot shoes, and if you haven't given them a try, or it's been a while since you have tried them you really need to! They are only 4 years old in the shoe department and have improved greatly in that time! I have well over 200 miles on my Ultra TT 4.0's and can't wait to rack up the miles on these new ones.

The Zoot Speed.

If you'll notice there are no laces, which should make for a smokin' fast T2...which will lead to a smokin' fast run. The plan for these racing flats are to use them for anything from a 5k up to a half marathon. They're flashy too, which is definitely an added bonus!!

The Zoot Race 3.0.

Another "racing" type of a shoe. Should make for another fast T2 and fast run. My plan right now for this shoe is to race it at the Ironman distance. I'm going to give these a go today for a few miles.

The Zoot Otec.

This is the high mileage trainer for the Ultra TT 4.0 (which I am currently running in). I plan on getting some big mileage from these in the coming 11 weeks leading up to Ironman Couer d' Alene, and then leading to Kona. I wore them last night and they are super comfortable!!

Not a shoe...just Winther keeping guard of the living room.

And Roxy who is my security guard looking over my bike.

About a month...

2011-04-12T08:51:00.000-05:00

...until racing starts. The question is does anyone ever feel ready to race? Right now I do feel like I'm ready to do a half ironman, not sure if I'm ready to "race" a half ironman, but I know within the next month I will be. My race schedule has really filled up pretty quickly and I'm racing 4 times before I head out to Coeur d' Alene for Ironman. I'm kind of excited about racing that many times. Obviously I want to do well, but I think I'm coming to terms with not worrying about the end result and really want to learn from these races. I swore that I would not race an olympic distance triathlon again, but it looks like I'm going to be racing one in early June. The distance doesn't suit me well, but it will push me out of my comfort zone which is something that I really need!

I'm really going to up the volume this next 9 weeks which will be my final push until Ironman CDA (I didn't include my 2 week taper in that time). So I'm 11 weeks out, and I feel fresh, fit and ready to start the long stuff. I feel really good with my bike, awesome with my run, and actually pretty confident in my swim. I need to continue to do the work. In this next 9 weeks it's crazy that I'll be racing 2 half ironmans, an olympic and a sprint...all of which are going to be in a 5 week span. So what that means is mid-week long runs, one weekend day of racing, and the other weekend day as a long ride.

I finally downloaded my pictures from San Diego, so here are a few more:

The view from my hotel in Encinitas, the ocean is to the left and I could see that too

One of my sunset beach runs

Courtesy of Theresa Ancona, I had no idea she was even taking the picture, thanks though!

Surfers...

Not sure where I was, but riding in the sunshine is just amazing

Ouch!

2011-04-07T08:46:00.000-05:00

Typically when I get on my bike to do a set on the computrainer I nail the set. This morning was not the case, I went into the hurt locker early, and stayed there for the entire set. I even blew up in the middle, but stuck with it and brought it all back together by the end. I could try to say that I ran hard the past two days, but screw it that would be an excuse and remember in Wedding Crashers they say rule number ?? "no excuses play like a champion." I pushed as much as I could, and felt like I gave a solid effort by the end, when I really just wanted to bag it today.

My run training has been going pretty well, and I have nailed two solid runs the past two days. I'm going to run today, but really need to keep it slow! It's tough to keep things slow when you're running in the new Zoot Ultra TT 4.0's, I love those shoes!! I don't think I've run in a shoe that is as nice! Swimming has also been coming along nicely, and I have been holding a faster pace than I used to. I still have 12 weeks until CDA so hopefully things will continue to progress, and I'll be able to put it all together for that race. 5 weeks until my first race of the year, kind of scary actually. I feel as if I need to start picking things up a little bit more. I have been consistent which is good, now I need to start to add a little volume, mainly to the swim and bike. I'm happy with my running volume right now, just need to make sure I keep getting those long runs in.

A Few California Pics

2011-04-06T10:01:00.000-05:00

Who wouldn't get used to riding along the ocean every day, the problem I would have is that I would just ride, and not work.

Pacific Coast Highway Near Carlsbad, CA

Chillin at the beach after a morning of training.

My new Ridley Dean, can't wait to get it fully built up.

The new Zoot Ultra Team Cycling Kit. The tri kit is the same except it's a tri top and shorts.

Zoot Ultra Team Camp & Spring Break Training in Southern California

2011-04-04T14:56:00.000-05:00

Last week I took full advantage of spring break. Monday I headed out to San Diego to get out of Chicago, and to get some solid training in. I had just planned on training and relaxing prior to the Zoot Ultra Team Camp which would take place this past weekend.

California was great, I was able to ride every day, run every day and swim every day! I stayed in Encinitas and it was really an ideal location. The local YMCA was only a half mile from my hotel, Nytro was only a mile from my hotel and the Pacific Coast Highway was a quarter mile away. Needless to say my days looked the same, swim, eat, bike, eat, beach, run, eat, sleep. Riding along the ocean never got old for me, I am pretty sure that I had a smile stamped on my face the entire time, and I really felt stronger on my bike as the week went on. It's amazing what a lower intensity and higher volume can do! I never buried myself on a ride, but just stayed comfortable and enjoyed my surroundings. I will say that it is hilly in the area that I stayed, at least more hilly than I was expecting.

I did meet up with the Zoot crew a few times before the camp, once for a run, once for an open water swim which I think they invited me as shark bait, and I checked out the Zoot headquarters as well. What an incredible group of people! They are so extremely dedicated to the sport of triathlon that their passion helps to motivate everyone around.

Saturday morning I checked out the 70.3 that was in Oceanside, as I knew quite a few people racing. This is a race that I really wasn't interested in doing in the past, however I think I may have the bug now. It had Kona and Vegas spots, however that's not the draw for me. The bike course was somewhat challenging and the run was broken up well mainly along the beach (or very near by). It sells out quickly, and I'll have to consider whether I want to race that early or not, but I think it might be an option in the near future.

This past weekend we had team camp with the Zoot Ultra Triathlon Team. I don't think I can really explain how impressed I am with Zoot and all of the people affiliated with the team! It feels like a family, and the other team members are not only some of the fastest athletes around, but some of the nicest people I have met in the triathlon world. Many of them raced this past Saturday, and they absolutely crushed it! I had a blast at camp, the comraderie of the team is incredible, the support from the sponsors is amazing and the hotel we stayed at was sweet! A lap pool overlooking the ocean, how does it get any better? Well it could be better if it wasn't like 90 degrees in the water but that's alright. If you're in the market for some new shoes or apparel, you have to give Zoot a try! Everything is awesome, and their new wetsuit, the Prophet, is incredible! When I got home this morning at 6 a.m. (brutal I know) my new Ridley Dean frame was waiting for me. So I will make sure to post some pics from the trip and of the gear soon. Thanks Zoot and the entire crew for an awesome camp!!!

A Focused Effort

2011-03-24T10:45:00.000-05:00

Today was the second day of threshold testing for the crew at Endure It! I wasn't planning on testing, and took everyone through the warm up, explained some different ways to approach the test and then got them all started. I jumped on my bike and wanted to get a solid tempo effort for the day. What I found was that it was hard to hold a tempo pace. About 5 minutes into the test I decided that I wanted to see what I could do, so I went for it. I was sitting very comfortably over 300 watts, however it was still very early into the 30 minute test, so I wasn't sure what would happen. I did start to feel stronger as time went on, where I also gained confidence. It was just me and that number, nothing else. I did stay focused and had my best test ever.

Earlier in the season I had set a "lifetime" goal of where I wanted my threshold to be. I can say that I smashed that today, so I guess it's time for a new goal. I already have it in my head, and it's going to be tough to attain...but some hard work has never scared me. My legs are screaming right now, and that's while I'm rockin my Zoot Sports Compression tights, I couldn't imagine not having these on. Training is ramping up and I'm seeing some great results from the work that I've been doing. It's nice when things come together. I figured out my new numbers for upcoming workouts...I'm going to be put into some serious pain. Bring it!!

The Power of Belief

2011-03-23T11:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a relatively large training day, computrainer in the morning, a 6 mile run, as well as 4000 yards in the pool. Bike was a non-issue (it rarely is), running has been going well so a non-issue, swimming hasn't been going poorly but when the coach laid out my intervals I thought she was nuts. I didn't believe that I could hit the times that she wanted me to hit...at least not at this point in the season. I do want to swim at this pace come the end of June, but it is still March right? I did agree to give the set a try at her prescribed pace. She believed that I could do it. I don't want to lead on to thinking this was a fast pace for a swimmer...it was a fast pace for me. I was out of my comfort zone and I nailed each one of the times, completely surprising myself! Needless to say I was pumped about this set. I would be willing to say that this was the best set I've completed in the pool. The cool thing was that my "recovery" pace was right at the pace I swam for my last Ironman. I believe that I can swim faster than I ever have before.

I want to keep this rolling, therefore I think I need to keep swimming, the more I swim the better feel I'll have for the water...so you better believe that I'll be back in the water today. And I'll run, and probably some strength work too. I have a challenge to prepare for, and I will win it!

It worked...

2011-03-22T10:25:00.000-05:00

I feel as if I have a small weight lifted off of my shoulders. I have been coaching computrainer classes at Endure It in Willowbrook since October and have been taking a group of athletes through a progression of workouts to improve their fitness. We had the athletes take what we call a "threshold test" in November, January and again this week. November was kind of like a base line, January was after the first bit of "base training" that we did so numbers shouldn't have gone up all that much, and today was the true test (well this week of testing that is). Test results today were great, everyone increased their wattage at least 5 watts and we topped out today with an improvement of 37 watts. That is absolutely incredible! Everyone increased...EVERYONE!!

We had a group of happy people this morning, and I do think we proved to people that the program really has worked. The people who were on the fence now believe. I think I believe in myself a little more as well. I know that the workouts I was writing were effective, and not just for some people, but for everyone. I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to test on Thursday, I tried to really encourage people the whole time to help guide them through the test, which believe it or not took a lot out of me. Yes I was riding and still held an average of about 90% of my threshold while I was shouting out directions to people. I am happy with how things turned out this morning, people have been dedicated to the program and it truly is paying off!

Thinking, Adapting, Motivating

2011-03-18T14:57:00.000-05:00

Before I went out for my run today I heard something that was kind of interesting. It's not the first time I've heard it, but for some reason today I actually thought of the meaning. Why do people say, "wish me luck"? I mean what if that person doesn't want to "wish you luck"? It's like they are fishing for compliments, or something like that. This is not to say I don't appreciate when people do "wish me luck" however, I don't ask them to do so. Isn't it something they should do on their own, not have you prompt them to do so? Don't know why I thought of this, but just had to put it out there.

The past two weeks I've really picked up my running volume, and there were a few days where I thought I might be overdoing it, however as I pushed through those days I think I am now over the hump. Running feels good again, and I think my body is starting to adapt to the higher volume. I was actually smarter with how I built up, and slowly went up each week by a few miles instead of having a 15 mile week followed by a 45 mile week. I'm feeling much more comfortable holding certain paces both on the road and on the track. I guess that just means I'll have to change things up to make sure I keep progressing. This week will end up being the biggest volume in quite a while which I'm happy about. I have found that running 6 days a week is doable, and that I feel better as the week goes on, consistency is key.

I have to send out a special thanks to Jake from Zoot. Not only is the Zoot gear awesome, but he is amazing to work with!! I absolutely love all of the gear and it has helped bring my training to a new level, can't wait to see what it does to my racing. If you haven't checked out the Zoot gear you need to do so! I have been running in the Zoot Ultra TT 4.0's for a while now and they are amazing!! Light, comfortable and I just can't say enough about how impressed I am. Check them out.

During my run today I was thinking about motivation. Different people have different reasons for everything, so I was thinking about my journey through triathlon. At first I thought it was fun (which I still do) and it was something to do, a goal to look forward to completing. Completing being the key word there. As I continued through the sport I started to challenge myself, I mean that's what it's about right? Pushing yourself farther than you thought you could go right? That continues to be a motivating factor for me today. I do believe that there are other outside influences as well though. I think last season I had something to prove, it was an escape, and I embraced it and my racing took me to a new level, a happier place. I do believe that I am capable of much more, and because of that the motivation continues to be pushing myself further than I thought I could go. The great thing about triathlon is that the only thing that can stop you from succeeding is you! I have a great crew to support me from my amazing family and friends to my incredible sponsors, race season kicks off in less than 2 months. Can't wait to get after it once again this year!

Building Up Once Again

2011-03-14T14:55:00.001-05:00

I'm about 15 weeks out from Ironman Coeur 'd Alene. Although it's been a while since my last Ironman (November) this is the "fastest" turn around that I've had between Ironman races. I have always had more than a year in between races, and this will be about 7 months, only to follow up 3.5 months later with Kona. Because it hasn't been that long since my last race I don't think I really lost that much fitness. Actually, as I look at things I would say that I'm putting up some better numbers right now than I was during my Arizona build.

It's also kind of nice to train for CDA without the questions of "are you going to qualify for Kona?" Thankfully I have already done so. Having done so I feel much more confident in training. I know that I can go harder, and know that I have to! There are definitely some big goals for CDA on June 26th, and the only way to get there is hard, smart work. Although I don't have the same "volume" of swimming that I had last year at this time, I would say my swimming is better. My stroke has changed, and I am holding the same times or slightly faster without the effort I was putting in before. The way I figure is that even if I come in with the same time out of the water, I haven't wasted as much energy, which will leave more in the tank for the run. I say the run because I am not that worried about the bike. Idon't think I've had this many miles on my bike so early in the year ever. Total for the year so far I have over 1500 miles on my bike. I would say two-thirds of that is indoors on the computrainer, but a fair amount is outside on my belt drive 29er. My power numbers are higher than they were last year, and I have some serious plans to get some even better riding in building up to CDA than I did for Arizona.

Last week was my largest volume run week in...shoot I don't know how long. I nailed my track workout with mile repeats, and have already done more "speed" work than all of 2010...2 track sessions. Yep I only did one in 2010, so I already feel ahead of the game this year. I have been consistent with my "long" runs and have been doing an alright job of holding back the pace. I should probably dial it back a bit more, but when you feel good you want to go, and when you dont' feel good you still go so that it's over quicker. I'm loving my new Zoot Ultra TT 4.0's, so light and comfortable!!

I'm headed out to Cali in a couple of weeks, can't wait. I plan on putting in some solid training time, along with some quality surf time on the beach. Hopefully the beach time will even out the cycling tan lines that I'm sure will happen.

Welcome Back to the Pain Train...

2011-03-02T08:05:00.000-06:00

This morning was a rude awakening, and a return to the pain train. I hit up my first track workout of the year, and forgot how much that hurts. That little 400M oval, which can come in various colors, could very well be the devil! Today's workout wasn't all that crazy, 4 x 800 in 2:52 with 400M easy between. I am pretty sure that I took it out way too hard, but sometimes that's what happens.

I did make it through the workout and ended up getting 7 miles in this morning, it was great watching the sun come up, and feels great to know I already have a solid workout in today. Yesterday I hit up computrainer in the morning, and then ran a quick 5 miles before masters swimming last night. Let me tell you my legs were not loving me during swimming! Each and every time I pushed off of the wall I could feel the cramps. Luckily I made it through and put on my Zoot Compression tights as soon as I got home. They seemed to do the trick because I was able to get the track workout done without cramping. Another swim is on tap for the day, hopefully things will loosen up for me.

Thanks to Jake from Zoot I've been running in my Zoot Ultra TT 4.0's for my past few runs and love them! Super light and comfortable. I'll be at the team camp in a month, and can't wait!

That Turned Fast

2011-02-22T08:53:00.000-06:00

Last night I went out for my long run, which I have been consistent with and it's been feeling better each week. The plan was to head out for 15 miles. Surprisingly right from the first few steps I took I felt good. My legs were good, not heavy, and there seemed to be a little spring in my step. I had a plan to try to hold a 7:20 pace for the duration of the run, so at the beginning I really held things back and ended up going through the first mile in 7:12, whoops but it just felt really easy. So I figured I would stay with how I felt and take a look at my garmin every so often. As the run went on I continued to feel great. I'm not sure if it is because it was peaceful and quiet, or that my running legs are returning, but I'll take it! My fueling throughout the run was perfect and I actually thought about going farther. That thought quickly disappeared as I was about 1.5 miles from my house.

The roads up until this point were great, all of the sudden I found myself pushing off and not going anywhere. Yep the roads had turned into ice in what seemed like a matter of seconds. I confirmed this by trying to slide on the roads, sure enough I busted out a 15 foot "road surf" yep this was going to be sketchy making it home. I wanted to make sure I was careful as not to take a digger that close to being done. So I jumped onto the grass where I could and was super careful.

All in all a great run! Computrainer this morning took a little extra focus, but I was happy with it none the less.