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!