RACE REPORT - Peters Canyon Trail Run #1

Competition... without it, the well of focused training begins to run dry. I hit my stopwatch to start another 10 mile run followed by a 15 mile bike all at 75% or less of my max heart rate and I wonder if I'm really improving on my fitness when one long run feels just like the last long run. Fortunately the first competition on my race schedule was coming up and though it was only a 5 mile run (no biking or swimming this day) it's a course that has nearly 1,000 feet of elevation gain in those 5 miles. A great opportunity to see where my run fitness is at. I was joined by my wife Liz and our neighbor Susanna. The weather was perfect for running, overcast and cool. This race is a great well organized small event (400 runners) that runs through a wilderness park near our house. A post race BBQ is served to deserving runners after a hard run. The course is mostly on fire roads with some single track and each race of the series they alternate the course to run clockwise or counter clockwise. Today they would run the race counter clockwise which I feel is the harder direction. The reason, it puts all of the hard climbing at the front of the race and I just don't feel warmed up after only one mile before the climbing starts.
The gun went off and I settled in to a hard but controlled tempo to warm up. My goal was to run hard but not all out and see if I could beat my PR for this course from last year. If my training is on track for Ironman I should...but you never know. Last year at this race I injured my hamstring so I didn't want to treat this as an all out race for fear of another hamstring injury. On the hilly part of the course I managed to catch some runners who were ahead of me. I looked at my watch with 1.5 miles to go and knew I was running well. My final official time was 42:42 beating my previous best on this course by over three minutes. What did I learn from this race? My training plan is working. All of the base mileage runs keeping my HR under control are paying off. Now I can refocus on my training knowing I'm going to reap the benefits at my next competition.

IRONMAN 24 WEEKS OUT

Since my last post I did have to fight off a sore throat and slight cold that limited my training to some degree. I also took some time off work to get extra rest that I needed. The training that was impacted the most were my swim workouts. When you can't breath and have a sore throat, getting in a pool and swimming laps just isn't fun. Thankfully my cold was short lived and I'm back in the pool and have had a solid week of training. At this point I'm not too concerned with my swim training, but I will start increasing the length of my swim workouts by the end of this month. I keep reminding myself that the swim is only 10 -15% of my overall Ironman time so its more important to focus on the bike (my strength?) and the run. Here are my numbers from last week. I plan on posting my workouts every Monday so you can get a glimpse of what it takes to be an Ironman. I'm realizing now that one of the most important aspects of training for an Ironman is proper sleep. For me that seems to be 8 hours. Challenging when you're married to a beautiful younger woman.

MONDAY - Off
TUESDAY- Brick. Bike 1:15 Run 4 miles.
WEDNESDAY - Swim 1,000 yds. Run 6.5 miles
THURSDAY - Bike 1:00 with hills.
FRIDAY - Swim 1,000 yds.
SATURDAY - Brick. Ride 2:45 (52 miles) Run 4 miles.
SUNDAY - Run 9 miles followed by a :45 minute bike.

Ironman Weekly Workout

I've settled on a training plan and over the past two weeks began training for Ironman Arizona (IMAZ) which is November 21st. You can find my training plan here

http://www.trifuel.com/triathlon/ironman-workouts/ however as I post my workouts you will notice that I'm not completely following the plan. I always want to give priority to my God and ministry, my wife, my daughter and then training. With that in mind my training has to be fluid and what I've found training for a Half Ironman is you can cheat on the hours per week as long as you give more intensity to a shorter workout. My goal is to finish an Ironman not qualify for Kona and I have no aspirations at this point to do more than one Ironman event. At this point I don't have a particular time goal however I want to finish strong meaning finishing is never in doubt. I do have some deep personal reasons for doing an Ironman which I will discuss later. Here is what last weeks training looked like. I'm in a base building phase so these workouts are lower intensity (aerobic zone only).

Monday - Day Off

Tuesday - BRICK. Bike one hour with hills, Run 3 miles.

Wednesday - Swim 1,000 yards, Run 4 miles

Thursday - Bike 1:15

Friday - Swim 1,000 yards

Saturday - BRICK Bike 48 miles, Run 3 miles.

Sunday - Run 9 miles followed by :50 minute easy bike.

Unfortunately after this weeks workout I've come down with a virus that I feel is due to lack of sleep and rest. All of the Ironman advice I read says be sure to get 8 hours of sleep and rest your body. Something I neglected to do last week.

Ironman Life

Its been three weeks since my last post and although I've enjoyed not having to be committed to doing or finishing a workout its time for me to begin my training for Ironman Arizona (IMAZ). What most people don't realize is the time it takes to train for Ironman and the potential for collateral damage to others due to missed commitments or lack of quality time with God, family and friends all for the sake of doing a workout. Instead of eating a family dinner with my wife and daughter they eat while I bike and then run. Sometimes I get back from my ride and as I start my "transition" in the garage, I look and see my wife and daughter sitting at the kitchen table eating and talking...its where I want to be...and I miss them, but then I focus... Ironman is the goal! As I start my run away from the house, the warm kitchen, the love inside, for a very breif moment I wonder...at what cost?
My wife wrote me this wonderful letter as I was competing at the Oceanside 70.3. I'm so blessed.

To my awesome husband, 3/27/10
Look at you swimming, biking, and running – who would have ever thought!
I am so very proud of you for doing this Ironman event. Never mind that it’s half the distance, you are an Iron Man to me! Having done two of these crazy races, I know what it takes – the long hours of training, the endurance, the motivation (especially trying to convince myself to go for a swim!), the fear of the unknown, but most of all the excitement and anticipation of knowing what a huge accomplishment it will be to cross that finish line. You are such an incredible man and I know you can do anything you set your mind to do. If you want to complete the full Ironman, you can and you will! I will be with you every step of the way, even if it means giving up a workout of my own, cooking dinner every night, going to bed early, riding my bike next to you while you run… or running with you – whatever will help you the most! Just to see you cross that finish line, knowing your heart and how you did it to give glory to God and not yourself, would be worth it all. God paid a great price for you. So use your body to honor God. - 1 Corinthians 6:20. I know your heart is in the right place, and you show that you live this quote, even just by saying that you want to. I am so proud to be with such an awesome man. Thank you for who you are!
Love,
Liz

Lottery Update

I'm sure everyone has guessed by now that I did not get a winning ticket for the Ironman Championship at Kona. I'm not too disappointed. In some ways it would add more stress with travel arrangements etc.
I will still be competing in Tempe at Ironman Arizona which was my plan from the beginning. I've ridden the bike course and I ran a lap of the run course so I have a certain comfort level in competing there.

While it would be awesome to race in Kona, it will have to be another year. Or maybe not at all. My goal is to finish one Ironman in my lifetime...but I hear once you've done one you will find yourself doing another.

IRONMAN LOTTERY

When I didn't have a confirmed slot for Ironman Arizona (IMAZ) I decided to take a chance and enter the lottery for a slot at the World Championships in October at Kona HI. What better way to do my first Ironman than at Kona with all of the top triathletes in the world!

Since I entered the lottery I now have a slot for IMAZ and tomorrow 4/15/2010 at 9:00AM PST I find out if I win a lottery slot to Kona. I have to laugh at entering a lottery to endure what is known as one of the most difficult and punishing endurance events in the world. It sure would help with training and motivation to know that at least I would get to recover for a few days in Hawaii!

My real dilemma if I were selected...should I do two Ironman events in the span of six weeks? Check back later or visit Ironman.com for the Kona lottery results!

Ironman 70.3 Recovery and Post Race Wrap up

Ironman California 70.3 could not have gone better for me. After six months of preparation I reaped the rewards of dedicated training and planning. My fear of swimming in triathlons is mostly gone. I wanted to train more on the bike and I'm not is strong as I used to be but what training I found time for was intense and paid off. Most surprising to me is how far I have come as a runner. I hated running and was terrible at it, now I actually enjoy it, though not as much as the bike! I've only been running seriously for maybe 15 months and I've come so far in that time. In fact after looking at the IMCA results, I ranked higher on the run than I did on the bike! Unbelievable! I want to thank God who strengthened me and kept me injury free, my wife who gave me so much advice and encouragement especially with running. I want to thank all of you who prayed for me. Know that I felt your prayers and was able to also use them to lend encouragement to others while I was running. I want to give credit to Matt Lieto who I've never met, but based my training plan on.

RECOVERY

Sunday after race day. This is so critical. I recommend you get on the bike and do a very easy spin for 30 to 60 minutes. I've found this spin ride to be so helpful after you push your body. It helps to flush the muscles and keeps you from stiffening up. My wife and I rode 15 miles at a 14 MPH pace on a flat bike trail Sunday. Wear compression socks for 24 hours after the race! I know I've said it before, I swear by compression socks. They work!

Monday and Tuesday Off.

Wednesday - Easy 4 mile run at 9:15 pace.

Thursday and Friday Off

Saturday 48 mile easy bike.

Sunday 4 mile easy run at 8:45 pace.

For the next three weeks I will be in what I call a recovery maintenance cycle. I will be working out regularly but not with intensity or volume. The idea is to recover and not lose to much fitness and also to get the mental spark back that you need for dedicated training. That feeling of wanting to run 12 miles or bike 80 miles or swim 40 laps. Speaking of swimming, of the three disciplines, I came out of IMCA with a self diagnosed strained shoulder that could have only happened during the swim. Although 8 days later it's not hurting now, I'm taking no chances and plan on staying out of the pool for another week. Beginning in May I will start building my base as the following 26 weeks of training will hopefully culminate in peak fitness on November 21st.

I'M GOING TO IRONMAN ARIZONA!!