Bowling

Oh yeah, Just to follow up on some non-endurance sports of mine. I rolled a new high score on my first trip bowling this season -- 265 --. I was quite happy but then reality came back into focus and followed up with a 132. Along those lines a big CONGRATULATIONS to my best friend Mark for rolling a 300 game at his league. Way to go bud.

HUFF 50k

Well it's been a really long time again. I'm still not getting the hang of this regular writing thing. My latest adventure was the HUFF 50k trail race yesterday. We had our first real snow of the season the night before so it was a true HUFF experience. Slippery and beautiful all in one. I did only 2 long runs going into this race a 20 miler last week and a 16 miler the week before that. My only goal for the race was to finish. I did that and actually had a very good race. This was my first ever race at marathon or longer distance that I was able to complete with no walking. Big thanks to PMAC a teammate from TriFort that ran with me. Just having him there was a big push to keep moving at some of the rough times. Once again my performance in the cold was good. I just wish I could get that to transfer to warmer races.
Results from yesterday: 4:52 21st overall and 4th in AG.

Post Ironman blues

Well things definately did not go as planned. I started puking at 60 miles and just couldn't pull it together. I avoided a trip to the med tent but never got past the 72 mile mark of the bike course. I didn't even feel like I was sweating on the bike. It started to get warm but I was just cruising and staying relaxed the whole time. Just after the special needs pick up I took a swig of the new bottle and it was even chilled still but the taste was off and it just set my stomach off. I sat at the aid station for 30 minutes in the shade but the thought of getting back to Madison and starting a marathon in that heat made me vomit again and start to get dizzy. The temps had gotten up to 87* I heard later and it sure felt like it. I really think I am done with Ironman until they put one in Antarctica. I'll stick to the Olympic distance that I am competitive at and throw in a few halfs as well. Maybe I can get to a sub 4:30 for a half-Iron???? As this week goes on it is getting easier to deal with another DNF but some times it still makes me cry. I just wish someone could tell me why it happens. The stomach issues not the crying.

Big props go out to the other guys in the club that finished the race. Especially to Jerry 3rd in his AG just missing a slot to Kona by less than a minute. 11:04 was a rocking time on that day. Tom also had a great race going 11:42 with minimal training this summer. Way to go guys I'm extremely proud of all of you and glad that I got to train with you this season. It's all about the journey right?

Taper????

Well it is now 13 days until Ironman Wisconsin. I'm back to feeling very confident. I know that I will finish and that really helps to take a lot of the pressure off. I still have it in my head that I would like to come in close to 11 hours. That will mostly depend on what the day gives me. I truly believe that the fitness is there and if I EXECUTE on race day it will happen. Of course that is the biggest challenge on race day. Executing the plan and making it through the dark periods that we all face during an IM.
I am attempting a different type of taper that I believe will help on race day. In years past with Ironman and marathons I've done 2-3 week tapers. After reading posts by ChuckieV and talking with Zach Ruble. I am going with very little taper. While both of these guys essentially say that training through the race will give you the best results I have decided to train through but at a slightly lower volume. I am still doing hard efforts this week and next week but the volume this week will be at approximately 90% of the last few weeks and next week will be at 65%. As always it is an experiment and the results are purely subjective. How can you really measure the effectiveness of a taper? If I feel good on race day it was a success, if I'm tired it didn't work out so well. Stay tuned for the results.

Catching up....

WOW, It's been a long time since I got to this. I guess in my quest to stay balanced writing got pushed to the side. It has been an incredible summer. We went to the Outer Banks in June with 2 other families. It was a great week of playing on the beach and learning to surf. Unfortunately my best friend tore his knee apart the week before we left so some of our play was hampered by his immobilizer. He had surgery to repair 3 of the 4 ligaments holding his knee together and is going through some horrific therapy now.(not at my hands) Training for IM has really gone well. Lots of big rides and some real focus to my LT training. Swimming dropped off for a while but has built up in the last few weeks and is starting to feel strong. My running frequency was picked up in July and the length of my weekday runs has never been this consistently high. I really think that this race will go well if I can execute on race day. Of course that is always the hardest part! I'm leaving for Madison in the morning to train on the course for 4 days. We will get close to 300 miles of riding in the first 3 days. There will be some transition runs after those rides and a loop of the course (13mi)on Sunday before we head for home. We have done this before and it really helps with knowing the course and building confidence in the training up to this point. It could be hot and I'm looking forward to practicing in some heat. It has been a record cold summer here in IN. Great for training but it has me worried that the heat will hit again on race day and I won't be used to it at all. The goal for a sub 11 hour race is still there and everyday I gain confidence. I'll try and stay updated on this more frequently. As always thanks for reading.

I feel a groove coming....

Really starting to feel good about training again. I've hit a good level of consistency and feel the fatigue building. It's been hard not to run more but I really think it will pay off to stick with more riding and swimming for another week. Having said that I'm going to do my first tri in the morning. That water is really going to be cold. Not really hoping for much as far as being competitive but we'll see what happens.

Great weekend!

Started out on Friday night getting in some yard work before the rain came and felt great to have that out of the way. Woke up early Sat and got dressed to go for a ride. Drinking my coffee and checking the weather was disappointing it was 41* outside and not what I consider ideal or really even pleasant. With time constraints I hopped on the trainer and caught up on TV and got a nice 2 hr ride done. Next up was running errands with G-Man and playing in the backyard. We started repaving the patio that has been torn up all winter and then he went down for a nap. I must say the patio turned out great. Movie with the guys that afternoon and dinner with all the kids and wives afterwards made for a great Saturday. Slept in on Sunday and played with G some before heading out to the farm to relocate the RC track then a very nice 55 mile ride in the afternoon with some guys from the club. Bonked hard on the way home and struggled the rest of the night to not eat everything I could find in the kitchen. Managed to get a little of everything in this weekend; training time, family time, and bro time. Great Weekend!

Race Report for Glass City Marathon (Toledo)

Well things did not go as planned for this race. I did manage to stay relaxed up until the night before the race. Woke up at 2 or 3 in the morning and was keyed up for the race. The distressing part was the severe change in temps the last few days before the race. It was HOT. Into the 80's for a few days and it was forecast to do the same on race day with a catch. T-storms were also forecast so there was hope for me. I got out of bed and it was cloudy and 54* with a light breeze, still decent conditions I thought. That all ended about 1/2 mile into the race. The clouds went poof and the full blue skies opened up. Heading out along the south side of the river into a nice breeze and still felt pretty good. I was staying at a nice 6:45 pace and feeling good but cautious. As the temps continued to climb my pace slacked a little and I began to think that I could stay 7:00 pace and maybe pick up some more time in the last few miles and still get under 3 hours. That goal was then replaced with stay within BQ time and go under 3:15. The turn back to Toledo on the north side of the river meant the light breeze was behind me and it felt like the oven had been turned on. At around 19 miles the warning signs of dehydration were starting to come on so I switched to getting done with out going into the med tent as my goal. This meant walking too much and taking it easy. Dumping water over my head all day had helped but at times I got to preoccupied with cooling off and did not drink enough. Lesson -- drink first then cool down -- especially when the aid stations are 2-3 miles apart. Only vomited once at the 25 mile mark and jogged the last mile in. Finished at 3:34:44 25th place overall and 10th in my age group. I was very discouraged after this race and even contemplated bagging Ironman. But I think I've worked through the doubts and accepted that it just wasn't my day on Sunday. One of these days I'll figure out how to race longer distances in the heat, I know I will be able to do it. Thanks for reading.

Taper Time

Well it's finally here. Taper time. This time I'm going to work on staying more relaxed and not get stressed out. Last year I had a great race at the Sunburst Half going in with the only goal of getting a quick training run and seeding time for Chicago. I'd like to think of this race as nothing special in my head and just let it happen. "Easier said than done."

I miss my bike.

Went out tonight after work on the bike. It was so nice and sunny that the training plan had to change. Called a freind and headed out for a nice spin. Ended up riding about 1 1/2 hours. I really enjoy getting out on my bike. I'm really looking forward to May when running will be a once a week thing while the legs recover. Right now the plan is to ride 4-5 days a week and swim 2-3 times with maybe one run just to keep the feel. Getting out on my bike is such an awesome feeling after riding the trainer all winter. I wonder if people in the warmer climes get that rush at any time? It isn't that running is a chore, it is my first love. Riding is a close second however. I don't know how to really describe the feeling.
I can't decide on a race for May. Our club race is on the 16th but that water is REALLY cold and it would be only 2 weeks past the marathon. I'm just waiting to see what happens for now. The rest of year looks like it will be:
June 7 Rockman Half Iron
June 14 Flag City Tri
July 11 Muncie Endurathon Half Iron
July 25-26 Pancake Stage Race
August 6-9 Madison Training Trip
Sept 13 Ironman Wisconsin
Sept 26 Fort 4 Fitness Half Marathon
Nov 7 Iceman Cometh MtB Race

Hoping to add in a shorter tri somewhere in May and July just not sure where yet. Maybe an Xterra event for the July race and some other MtB races in October to get ready for Iceman. Of course everything could change at the drop of a hat so this is just a loose outline for the season ;D

Coming off a terrible week of training. I had a good race on Saturday at the Nutri Run 20k and hit my goal pace for the marathon. This was a very hilly course and it felt good to still stay on pace or under. I then spent 2 days with De and Gavin at an indoor waterpark and had a blast. Unfortunately I woke up Tuesday morning with a really sore throat, a sure sign that my bi-yearly sinus infection was about to start. I loaded up on Zinc/Vit C tabs and took another day off hoping to catch it early. By the time I got home on Wednesday I was still too tired to really work out. I finally got some short runs in on Thur and Friday and decided to go shorter than planned on Saturday as well. Today was a good day, ran 6 this am and went to the weight room then took advantage of the sunny weather and rode a quick 12 outside after work. Feeling good tonight so hopefully back on track this week with 4 weeks to go until the marathon. Sorry about the whining there, I guess my wife is right I don't take illness well at all. I'm going to post my race schedule some time this week so it feels more official and gives me more of something to shoot for in training. It's too hard to focus on an Ironman that is still 5 months away.

Coming off of a recovery week. Reduced mileage but attempted to keep the intensity up. It's always interesting to see how my body reacts with some days off. Some weeks I feel like a million dollars with some time off and others I feel as if my legs will seize and not work correctly. Last week was a seize week. I still had trouble getting out of bed this morning to go for a run but when I was done, as always I felt much better. Last week was good in that I managed to get to the pool twice. I worked on my summer schedule some more and that always helps to get me pumped up for the season. It probably also helps that the weather is starting to get much nicer. Of course with the infinite wisdom of our government we had to start daylight savings again last week so it's back to the dark ages here in Indiana.

A good weekend of everything

I had a great weekend. Managed to get a little bit of everything in and felt good about all of it, mostly. Friday was the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show in Indianapolis. I took the day off from work and drove down early. Saw some amazing bikes and met a few guys that I get to ride with from time to time. Of course I forgot to take my camera so I don't have any pictures of my favorites. I still managed to get home and run a few errands before getting home to spend the evening with Gavin and De. Saturday I slept in a little and then took off with my best friend for Indy again. This time we were heading for the Supercross races and a day of drinking with another college freind of ours. The Ram's Head brewery has some excellent beers and great food that make it easy to spend an afternoon there. The main races don't start until 7:00 but we usually get there around noon to have lunch, drink, bullshit, and drink some more. It's a great day that we've been doing for close to 10 years now and I look forward to it every year. The hard part is getting home at close to 2:00 am and having to do anything on Sunday. But in my effort to stay BALANCED I got up fairly early with De and Gavin for some quality time before heading out for a 20 mile run with some great runners from Ft. Wayne. Doing this run was a good challenge for me. We start with a steady pace for the first 10 miles then a quick stop for drinks and clothing changes as needed. We then went back out for another 10 miles with a gradual increase in speed. We went from a 6:54 down to a few 6:35's for 8 miles then slowed for a cool down of 2 miles. Home in time for Gavin to wake from his nap and then play until dinner at my mother-in-laws. A great weekend with a little of everything. It is going to be harder to fit in everything as the training picks up for Ironman but thankfully my wife understands and she makes it easier for me to chase my dreams. For that I am eternally grateful that I found the perfect woman. I love you De.

Good solid week of training. Put in some good hard efforts and managed to get into the pool once. Finished with another quality long run yesterday. Started with 10 mile loop with the guys at ~8:00 pace stopped for a quick drink, bathroom break, and 1/2 a powerbar. Went out for another 8 mile loop and gradually upped the pace. Finished the last 2 1/2 miles at 6:40 pace and felt strong. The fatigue is not there at the end of the run and I'm very pleased about that so far. Of course the start of these runs is slower than I would normally do. After this next recovery week I'll attempt to do the entire long run at a slightly faster pace and still up the pace at the end. I'm looking forward to a down week with more rest. I'm glad that I was able to push this week as the fatigue was building. That contradicts what I said about not being tired at the end of the run but the fatigue between runs is what I felt. During the run it isn't like I can feel the accumulated the fatigue, yet.
In family news it looks like we're heading back to the Outer Banks in June. Our friends are going along with us and we have a house close to the dunes right on the beach. It is always nice to play with the boys on the dunes and at the beach. Running along the coast is nice as well. I may have to see if the XTERRA race in Richmond, VA is going to be on one of the weekends we're out there. It's a really tough course and I would like another crack at it. My first time there was not pretty at all. More on that later.

Sorry it's been a while. I've been really busy getting the website for the Tri club updated and I know very little about computers. Amazing the whole thing hasn't crashed yet. This week was a very good week of training. My first real hard workouts in a while and I could tell while I was doing them. The surprising thing is that I don't feel it after the workout is over. Am I not going as hard as it feels like? Do I have it in me to go harder? Today was my long run and that is really going well. I've been able to start the last 2 weeks long runs with friends for a 10-11 mile loop and then go out alone for 6 more miles. The new part for me is picking up the pace for the last 6 miles to marathon pace + :25 and holding that steadily. It is going surprisingly well and I hope to push the pace even more as my tolerance picks up. The nice part is that I'm not really that tired at the end of these runs. I think the base mileage from Chicago is still in my legs and making it easier to go longer. Hopefully this holds true going from the marathon in the spring and into Ironman in September......

Last week was overall a good week of training. I had some good runs and swam once and rode the bike twice as well. It was a challenge to do anything outside with the avg. temp something like 10 degrees all week. It was -16 on Friday when I went to work. I was contemplating going with a coaching service for the season and looked at a few different possibilities. Overall though I feel that I have the knowledge to train properly. I have a degree in Kinesiology and have been running for over 20 years now. I'm not saying that I know it all but I definately feel confident in setting up a plan that will work for me. I think I was just looking for someone to be more accountable to, someone that says why didn't you do the intervals yesterday or should you maybe take a break? For now I'm not going to sign on with a coach.
It's definately time to make some solid decisions on races for the season besides Ironman Wisconsin. I would like to find something to race at every month. I've always said I would do this and then the first few months get away from me and then I get into full training and hate to take a day away from that. This year I'll try again and if I have to I'll add to the race to get a full training day in. Foolish? Maybe but it may be fun. Reading some posts over on Jog.Hard have me thinking that it's to easy to be a great trainer but a bad racer. I think if you race more often it helps develop that feel. That "killer instinct" that is needed to chase down competitors. I've felt that lacking a bit over the last 5 years. Am I getting soft? old? or am I just afraid to hurt like I used to? Hopefully more racing will rekindle that instinct. Time to find a race for January!!!

Well I managed to get to the pool twice this week. Yesterday I was at the end of my set doing some 100's and noticed that my arms were so ridiculously pumped that they didn't want to bend normally. I guess that months off will do that. Today was going to be a rest day but we got 3 inches of new snow. The new XC skis were just screaming to go out for a trip around the golf course. Oh how nice it must be to live in an area with groomed trails. At least here I can take Kona along and let him run free. We went out for a relaxed 45 minutes. I realized this is the kind of workout that a GPS would be nice to track. That's a lot of cash for an occasional off road workout though :) That's the nice thing about this time of year. Workouts are very relaxed and if I wander a bit it's okay. When the meat of the season gets here I get more concerned about hitting the workout as planned and hate to miss sessions. It is getting close to time to start building more base miles. I'm also considering finding a triathlon coach this year. The problem again being the cost. Why is it that this sport continues to get more and more expensive? I guess it always was but 20 years ago I had no money and just did what I had to so that I could race. Going to the bigger races like Ironman have their associated costs but it seems that the farther I go into this the more I think I "need". At least I continue remind myself that you can't "buy speed", that for every fancy gadget, I have to train that much harder to justify the expense by working even harder. I was lucky enough get a great deal from a friennd on a PowerTap. Sadly I have yet to really learn how to put it work. I had it for all of last year but with the limited training that was completed I really didn't learn how to use it. That is on of my goals this year to train with more purpose. Do what I need to do and not let the whims of others dictate my training.

Welcome

Welcome to my firtst attempt at blogging. I'm not entirely sure what the content of this site will be, but mostly it will follow my training for triathlons, running, cycling, and the many other hobbies in my life. Life is always about Balance. Balance between work and home. Balance between friends and family. Balance in training. Balance between wants and needs. There is always a struggle to find the "middle ground" and keep things in moderation. Life with a family and training for Ironman is a constant struggle to keep a balance. Some days it's more family and others it has to be about Ironman. Hopefully when it is all done and over with the balance between the two will be there and everyone is happy. Here's to the start of 2009 and my first blog... I hope you enjoy the trip.
Paul