2011 Bike/Run/Swim Totals

My goals for 2011 included CDA Ironman, healing up my plantar fasciitis, to swim more efficiently and faster and have a good nutrition plan for IM.  My 2011 season went FAR beyond what I imagined it would.

Ironman CDA (11:06) went GREAT!!  A day I will remember FOREVER!!!

I PR'ed my 5K (19:32)

I PR'ed my Half Marathon (1:29:17)

and finally I PR'ed my Marathon (3:12:53) and qualified for Boston at the same time. I am so grateful to have the health and opportunities that I had this year!

Bike   
199h 17m 05s  - 3372.63 Mi
Pace: 17.34 Mi/hr

Run
148h 23m 02s  - 1094.55 Mi
Pace:  08m 07s Mi

Swim
88h 23m 59s  - 233391 Yd (132.608 Mi)
Pace: 02m 07s /100 Yd

Strength:    14h 22m
Cross-Country Skiing:    1h 00m
Snowshoeing:    4h 00m

Total Training Hours for Ironman 2011

When you see the road closure signs going up in Coeur' d'Alene, you know race day is getting CLOSE!!

Took this pic after an open water swim with James & Paul.  The water was COLD and ROUGH! 6/19/11

 Rosi and the girls each picked out a stone and gave them to me for Fathers Day! Loved them!

One of my daughters suggested I carry them while racing.  :-)  I will...but not physically.

Here are my total Ironman training hours/miles to date:
 

	My Actual Training Miles
Swim	92.4909
Bike	2365.07
Run	591.83
	Ironman Race Distance
Swim	2.4 miles
Bike	112 miles
Run	26.2 miles

Accumulating all the miles I trained in the last six months and dividing them by the race distance, you will find
- I swam 2.4 miles 38.5 times
- I rode 112 miles 21.1 times
- I ran a marathon 22.6 times 

How fast will I be able to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles consecutively?  It will be interesting to find out.  If you are not able to be at the race you can get live updates the day of the race from 
http://www.ironmanlive.com/
Rene Guerrero
Race# 1935

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!!

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!