Are these my clothes?

There are four things that stand out for me in training for the Ironman

1. The amount of weight I am losing.
2. The huge training volume that is involved
3. How supportive my wife is
4. It is great to have mentors or advisers when going through this journey

I was looking at my last blog post on how my weight was dropping. I thought 172 was low, but it wasn't so bad.  My average weight now is about 165, I have hit 159 multiple times after my long rides/run.  I quit lifting weights altogether in April as you can see from my April Totals.  I have lost a lot of muscle and fat.  All my clothes fit BIG on me and sometimes I wonder, "Are these my clothes"?  I feel as if I am a little boy trying on his Dad's clothes since everything fits big!  When I am wearing my cell phone on my belt and keys in my pocket they actually start to pull my pants down!  Speaking of Dad....I am SO excited that my Dad and Step-mom Barbara will be coming out to watch me do IM!!!   Way cool!! :-)

Random pic I downloaded from Internet on how I am starting to feel with my clothes.  :-)

Training volume has been HUGE.  I have NEVER worked this hard and this LONG in my life.  The run sessions range from 1-2 hours, the swims range from 1-1.5 hours and the rides....well....they are the longest...they can last up to 6.5 hours.  As of today I have officially done 6 centuries (rides 100 miles or more) in the last 2-3 months.  They were some great rides.  For me it is always funner to ride with people...even if I am getting dropped!  Some notes from my bike logs:


4/30    100 miles -First century of the year!! WahooOOOOOOO!!!  Rode the coeur d'alene loop twice with Matt, Tim and Eve.Good luck to Tim who will be doing CDA.
5/7      100 miles -Century ride on Centennial Trail with Lee.  Lee is also doing CDA this year and will certainly PR!  My seat needed adjustment and I noticed I had a flat when I got home.  Maybe it was a slow leak?
5/15    102.1 miles -Lilac Century
5/21    100 miles -Century ride with Jim B, his first of the year.
5/28      91.55 miles -Rode CDA loop with Craig and Erica, killer tempo workout!  Good luck to Craig and Erica, they will also be racing CDA this year!
6/4     108.67 miles -Rode the CDA loop twice with James and Haley. Paul did the first loop with us. I was hangin on for my life!
6/5     108.26 miles -Lilac route in reverse, Jim B rode about 18 miles with me.  I missed a turn which added the extra 8 miles.  I was pretty exhausted after riding back-to-back centuries.

2011 Lilac Century: I am wearing yellow & black on the right.

Matt Fuller's Pit Stop on Rimerock Rd (CDA loop). On the second loop James, Haley and I stopped here and loaded up on some cold water!  Thanks Matt!!

 I certainly couldn't have registered and trained without the support of my wife, Rosi, and my girls.  A big THANK YOU for supporting me on this long, time consuming, triathlon accessory buying adventure!!  I feel some of my runs and rides are spiritual.  It is time when I am by myself with my own thoughts. Sometimes on these training sessions my eyes fill with tears because I am so grateful and thankful (aren't those the same?) for my health and being able to run or bike and the sacrifices that my family is making on my behalf so I can achieve this enormous goal.  Thank you Rosi!!

Rosi rockin the free style!  Rosi & I went to Witter Pool (pool length = 50 yards) for some swimming over Memorial Day weekend.

It is great to have mentors/adviser on this journey!  A big thanks to Matt, James, Josh and Bobby!!  Matt Cusack (IMCA finisher) is like a Triathlon Encyclopedia!  James Richman (IMCA finisher/Kona Qualifier), who is also doing CDA (he's going to kill it out there!), has tons of experience in bike racing and running.  Josh Kaptor (IMLP finisher) and Bobby (is going to rock IMLP this year) of BT were very knowledgeable.  Between these four guys I got TONS of advice on things like wheels, tires, tubes, training, tempos, tapers, biking form,  running more frequently as opposed to just running long, bike cassette selection, discounts on equipment, how to avoid injury, nutrition, support, tri articles, encouragement, inspiration and more. 
I was lucky to train with Matt and James as they live in Spokane and are hardcore triathletes.  THANKS GUYS!! 

The four wise men of triathlon

Here are my totals for the last two months...


Mays Totals
Bike:          33h 56m  - 564.03 M
Run:           22h 09m 59s  - 163.9 Mi
Swim:          14h 02m 40s  - 38000 Yd

April Totals
Bike: 20h 16m 25s  - 345.04 Mi
Run: 12h 56m 26s  - 93.01 Mi
Swim: 1h 35m  - 4250 Yd (this was when I was sick, I couldn't swim etc.)
Strength: 30m

....and finally...I am SO excited my race wheels FINALLY arrived tonight!!  It took me while to get those tires/tubes on, but they are ready.  I now have to move my cassette over and take em for a spin!  Thanks Rosi for the early Father's Day gift!!!!  Nineteen days!! ....getting excited and nervous!!

Trainers, Treadmills and SuperFeet...Oh My! :-)

It seems like just yesterday I was writing up my training totals for January. I started this blog entry at the beginning of March and haven't had time to finish it. The title pretty much sums up what February, March and some of April has been like. Due to the long winter here in Spokane I did most of my biking on the trainer and most of my  runs on the treadmill. They are monotonous, but it was kind of cool to watch shows while riding on the trainer. The few times I have ridden outside it has been WINDY!!   It also has been snowing today 4/21, but it just doesn't stick. It will be interesting so see what the race season weather will be like here in the Pacific Northwest.

My Plantar Fasciitis seems to be under control. I went to see Bill Codd at B&B Physical Therapy and brought my old running shoes so he can evaluate them. His reaction was pretty much like "I can't believe you were running in these!". The running shoes I had were thicker and the bend in the shoe did not match the bend in my foot. I ended up going to Runner's Soul and picking up a pair of Asics DS Trainers. I also started using Superfeet. I tried the Sole inserts, but the arch in them did not match the arch in my foot and it was painful to run. I actually use the Sole inserts for my work shoes instead. Bill also put some wedges in my shoe to help prevent the arch in my foot from collapsing. So the running has been going well!!


I ran across this quote in regards to Ironman race weight the other day in a forum:
"the trick is to keep losing weight until your friends and family ask you if you've been sick. then you know you're within 10 pounds. if they start whispering to each other, wondering if you've got cancer or aids, you're within 5. when they actually do an intervention, you're at race weight." - Slowman
I had to laugh because I definitely have been losing weight.  I had to get a new wardrobe when we went to Orlando for spring break.  I have also had multiple people tell me I look "slim", "trim" and like I lost weight.  I think I weighed about 187 lbs before training for IM and currently I am about 172, after one of my long bike/runs I weighed 166 lbs.  Yikes!

Here are my totals for
February 
Bike:    295.22 Mi - 18h 22m 16s
Run:     89.89 Mi - 12h 57m
Swim:   32500.00 Yd - 11h 49m 12s

and for  March

Bike:  419.04 Mi - 24h 41m
Run:  116.41 Mi - 15h 16m 01s
Swim:  28100 Yd - 9h 24m
Strength:  3h 00

My longest bike rides in March included a 70 miler, a 74.5 miler and finally an 82 mile ride (Thanks Matt & James!).   I need to get a century in soon!  Which brings me up to date.  At the beginning of April we went to Orlando for Spring Break with the Wiser family and had a great time.  I did one run and one swim there and took the rest of the time off.  I few days after getting back I caught a cold  and now I am trying to shake that cold.  I started an antibiotic, but it has been causing me headaches.  Finally yesterday 4/20 it has been a little more tolerable.  Hopefully I am turning the corner.   This month I've only been in the pool twice!  The last time was 9 days ago due to the cold.  I gotta get back in the water SOON!!

A couple of pictures and a video from out trip...  :-)

M I C K E Y!!

Yes those gators are real!  I even got to feed them.

First Month of Ironman Training

My first month of Ironman training is down the hatch. Here are my stats:

January 2011 Totals:
Bike:	16h 29m  - 286.03 Mi
Run:	8h 15m 25s  - 57.05 Mi
Swim:	15h 43m  - 36150 Yd
Strength:	6h 05m
Cross-Country Skiing:	1h 00m

 ...and comparing to last year

January 2010 Totals:
Bike:	7h 37m - 127.74 M
Run:	9h 30m 35s - 69.20 Mi
Swim:	11h 40m - 22150.00 Yd

I still have plantar fasciitis which is affecting my running. I have been doing lots of stretching, icing and exercises, but I still have soreness and tenderness when running more than 3 or 4 miles.  I am getting more and more concerned.  I was hoping to do a couple of races like the Frost Bite (last month), Partners in Pain and Snake River HM, but the way things are looking I will probably have to pass on those.

As far as training is concerned, I am certainly training differently than I was for Troika (half iron distance) last year.  For Ironman, I am actually following a training plan.  I decided to skip masters swim in January and February, I am not sure if/when I will go back to masters.  I am swimming solo at the gym and I have been happy with my workouts there and the flexibility that comes with that. 

Additionally I have learned a lot about Ironman training and about myself.  A few observations that come to mind not in any particular order:
1. Training is on your mind ALL the time.
2. January is a significant date for us folks training to do Ironman CDA .  It seems the clock starts ticking at this point.  If you don't start training, you are falling behind!
3. I shower more at gyms than I do at home!
4. It has been COLD here in Spokane, hence most of my training is done indoors on the bike trainer or the treadmill.
5. Last weekend I rode 2:45 on the bike trainer, the longest I have ever done.  This weekend my plan calls for 3 hours...ouch!
6. While on the bike trainer, watching something on TV makes ALL the difference.
7. Triathlon can be expensive: bike, cat eye for bike, wet suit, wheels (hopefully), new shoes etc.
8.  Family support and flexibility is crucial.  A BIG thanks to my wife for taking on more responsibility when needed!
9. One of my goals while training is to think about the race more.  While riding, I need to envision the race.  The same for running and swimming.

My swim is my limiter and I really want to improve on it.   Yesterday my plan called for a 2500 yard swim, no warm up or cool down.  I was a bit nervous about this swim.  I even considered doing a different swim, but I figured it would be a good time to see where I am at.  I swam a nice comfortable pace and tried to glide as much as I could.  When gliding I have to hold my breath longer and keep my chest/head further in the water. In the end I was real happy to have completed this swim in 38m 26sec which is at a pace of 1m 32s /100 yards.  February is off to a great start!  Happy Training!

The Western Digital WD TV Live Plus Rocks

This multimedia player is just the coolest!  I bought this at the end of 2010 and have utilized it lots.  You connect it to your TV (and computer network) and you can play videos/movies (.avi, .mpeg, .iso, etc) or music (.mp3) that reside on a network attached station (NAS) or from a shared computer hard drive.  This is great way to watch shows while you are on the bike trainer.   Lately while I am riding I have enjoyed watching Spinervals, Ironman World Championships and Tour Des France races....inspiring stuff!

"Play media from your home network and the Internet on your big screen TV. Plus, enjoy access to your Netflix unlimited membership and other premium content. Don't confine your movies, music, and photos to your small computer screen. Experience them as big as life on your TV in Full-HD 1080p with WD TV Live Plus HD media player".  For more info see it on Amazon.

2010 Bike/Run/Swim Totals

Bike

1838.12 Mi - 105h 28m 10s

Pace: 17.62 Mi/hr

Run

739.75 Mi - 102h 14m 12s

Pace: 08m 12s Mi

Swim

235655.00 Yd (133.894 mi.) - 117h 22m 33s

Pace: 02m 59s /100 Yd 

Tri-Fusion End of Season

Tri-fusion EOS Party 11/19/2010

I had a great triathlon season.  This year I did my first triathlon and I finished the season doing Troika, my first half ironman distance tri.  It was a fun and challenging time.  I learned a lot about myself, my capabilities and gained a great respect for long distance triathletes.  Triathlon is a sport that requires a lot of discipline and heart.

This year I also joined Tri-fusion triathlon club.  It is a group of highly motivated athletes who live life to the fullest.  I am constantly inspired by other members.  At the End of Season Party a video that highlights the season was played.   It was broken up into three segments so it can be uploaded to UTube.  A big thanks to Dave Erickson for creating it!







Thanks to Karla for this humorous comic!

Ironman Coeur d'Alene Bike Elevation

The IM race is on my mind a lot. Such a big commitment.  At this time I am not getting all the hours of training in that I would like.  Maybe it is that time of season.  I am too tired to get up early in the morning and after work and family time I am pretty tired too.  I am probably averaging about 5 hours a week of training.  I know in January this will have to increase significantly.  This image will give me incentive to get on the bike, some major climbing!

 If that image doesn't, this one will.  A BIG thanks to my wife for supporting me on this big endeavor and for allowing me to get a new bike for Christmas!!  Here is a great review of the Felt B16.

2011 Felt B16

Hope everyone is enjoying the season!...oh!...and you better be good or else!...hehehe