Sunday, September 26, 2010

THE FALL OF SUMMER TRIATHLON


At this stage of my training it seems that every weekend is a test. It starts with the test of my will to get out of bed, prepare my bottles, set up my transition in the garage. Testing of my nutrition strategy for Ironman and my ability to finish my scheduled workout without cutting it short and never looking to far ahead in the days training.
Saturday my scheduled workout was my own personal triathlon. The best part of this triathlon was that regardless of my circumstances or how my body felt, I would finish first! My "event" started with a 1/2 mile swim followed by an 80 mile bike and then a 6 mile run. 
Although the first day of Fall had passed, the weather forecast for the weekend was very unFall like with predicted temps of 90's to 100's.
My swim went well although I felt tired from my swim workout the day before but I finished and headed to transition one which was the back of my Honda Pilot to get on the bike. The first 40 miles I did the usual local race ride or "Food Park" as it's known then headed from the coast inland to pick up more bottles at home and ride Santiago Canyon to get in some hills. Now I knew the weather forecast and riding inland was not a good idea but hey...I'm training to be an Ironman right? As I rode further in to Santiago Canyon I watched my computer temp rise steadily  from 94 degrees to ....107 degrees! My toes were beginning to heat up in my all black bike shoes and after a few miles I was getting the dreaded cyclist hot foot. The feeling of your toes cooking in a microwave like little sausages ready to explode thru your shoes. Fortunately I got a flat in an exposed area totally devoid of shade which allowed me to get off my bike and take off my shoes. 

 Now I was spending a little more time on the bike than I wanted to and my two bottles were empty partly because I used them to douse my toes. This is one of those training moments I thought where I just pull out my cell phone, call for help and have my wife pick me up. No one would blame me...it's 107 degrees! Oh and of course when I get home I will still run my 10K. In my cell phone pouch I see the $10. I remember there is a store within 5 miles. I can fix the flat and ride to the store get some Gatorade, finish my ride and start my run. I fixed the flat was able to ride to the store downed one bottle of Gatorade and put the second one on my bike. Finally at home, I started my run with a side ache for the first two miles (too much liquid before the run) and finished the days workout with one of my slowest runs ever. My personal triathlon was over, I finished first or last depending on how I chose to view the outcome of the days events but one thing I learned from this "race". During an Ironman weather can be unpredictable, flat tires are a possibility, you can come up short on hydration or nutrition and you can make a choice...you can throw in the towel and DNF. No one would blame you...it's an Ironman, or you can overcome, persevere, push on until you finish.
Today I gained just a little more mental toughness, an edge if you will, for my Ironman.




Sunday, September 19, 2010

BIKE SANDWICH IRONMAN STYLE


 For lunch I'm having a "bike sandwich". Why a bike sandwich? This helps to prepare your body for what an extended duration of effort and fatigue will feel like without the risk of training injury by breaking up your long run in to two portions.
Last week I talked about how my training is getting to be a drag. So much of training for an Ironman is your mental attitude and outlook. There are some things I never allow my mind to think about during training...for instance during my long bike of 60 -70 miles I never think about the run I have to do after the bike, where I'm going to run or how my legs might feel when I start my run. If I start this type of thinking I begin to lose the joy of being in the here and now of feeling great on the bike and how well my ride is going. 
This week I had an opportunity to rejuvenate to some degree as I had a "recovery" week that looked like this:
MONDAY - Off
TUESDAY - Brick.  Bike 16.5 miles Run 4.4 miles
WEDNESDAY - Swim 1 mile. Run 5.0 Miles (track workout 1,200 repeats)
THURSDAY - Off
FRIDAY - Swim 1.1 miles.
SATURDAY -  Ride 3:27 (68.1 miles)
SUNDAY - "Bike Sandwich" Run 8 mi. Ride :30 min. Run 5.4 mi.
This was the first of four "bike sandwiches" I'll be doing over the next few weeks. Again, if I start to think about the second run during the first run it seems overwhelming to me and I find myself losing the joy of the moment and even slowing down. It's important to just focus on the current task at hand and how your body feels at this moment, for this portion of your workout. Never, I repeat never, think to far ahead in the days workload! Focus and complete one task at a time and enjoy the moment of your effort in the here and now. This will also serve you well at race time.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

ENDURANCE, ALL IN A WEEKS WORK

This verse from Hebrews speaks to me this week: Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. 
I'm at that point in my training where its getting to be a grind and at times difficult to be motivated to work hard. On the other hand my Ironman is roughly 11 weeks away and the training I do now is more critical than say my training 11 weeks back. I know that my patient endurance will help me to find God's will for my Ironman journey.

MONDAY - Off

TUESDAY- Brick. Bike 1:38 (30.3 miles) Run 6 miles.
WEDNESDAY - Swim 1,500 yds. Run 5.0 miles (track workout 1200 meter repeats)
THURSDAY - Bike 1 hour hills. (18 miles)
FRIDAY - Swim 2,300 yds.
SATURDAY - Brick. Ride 3:47 (73.9 miles) Run 4.5 miles.
SUNDAY - Run 12 miles followed by a :50 easy bike (12.9 miles).

Monday, September 6, 2010

EATING FOR AN IRONMAN



As I continue to rack up the mileage and hours of training for Ironman Arizona I'm amazed at how much fuel I burn and how much I need to take in. With my wife Liz training for a marathon at the same time as my Ironman training, our nightly dinner table is loaded with thousands of calories which usually includes lots of pasta, steamed rice, or potatoes with fish or chicken a vegetable and of course our staple of a loaf of warm bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A tasty meal for sure but basically this is what we eat every night...except for last night. Sunday night we decided to take our recovery meal to a new level and go to In N Out. First we had to complete our training plans which for me was a 12 mile run followed by an hour on the bike. For Liz it was a 16 mile run. There's nothing like a Double Double after a long workout!

ITEMS ORDERED
2- Cheese Burgers
3 - Double Doubles
3 - French Fries
 

TOTAL CALORIES - 4,110

It sounds like a lot of calories until you compare it with these numbers. 
TOTAL REPLACEMENT CALORIES NEEDED FOR IRONMAN ARIZONA - 3,323
ANTICIPATED CALORIES BURNED AT IMAZ - 8,664