30 Weeks To Go

Yesterday marked 30 weeks until Ironman Louisville.  This seems like forever and tomorrow at the same time.  It is forever in the sense that the formal training calendar hasn’t begun yet and it’s 10 degrees outside today.  It is tomorrow in the sense that I have to get myself ready for 140.6 miles in 30 weeks!

Age groupers starting the swim 

Training last week was minimal because we had to head out of town for a funeral and the weather in Ripon, Wisconsin featured a high of 2 degrees and a low of -17 degrees.  Needless to say there was no outside running happening.  We were also pretty busy during the trip, so there was no trip to the hotel gym either.  I did spend about 45 minutes walking the hall of the hotel one night in an attempt to register as many steps as possible on my FitBit. 

Monday:           Nada  (last minute errands and shopping for clothes for our trip)

Tuesday:           Zilch   (decided to play Monopoly with my son instead of ride after work)

Wednesday:      Swim 1,800 yards

Thursday:          Zero (in Wisconsin)

Friday:              Nil (in Wisconsin)

Saturday:          Nope (got home after midnight, son's Pinewood Derby, and daughter's basketball tournament)

Sunday:            Bike 20 miles

Needless to say that these excuses need to STOP.  This won't be a problem once formal training begins, but may, at times, be a struggle while in the base phase.

Okay - back to the FitBit.  I have been using the FitBit since November and I really like it (except that you don't get any credit other than "active minutes" for time in the pool or on the bike).  The iPhone app works well, and I don’t even notice that I’m wearing it.  In fact, the only time I take it off is while swimming.  The daily step goal that I have established is 10,000 steps per day, which is a challenge on work days.  I found that my step totals on work days are typically 2,000-3,000 (unless I work out).  Yikes – that’s a lot of time on your rear. 

In order to get 10,000 steps outside of my scheduled workout, I have been making a point to get up and move around at least 3 times per day.  At the same time, I wanted to find something that will help in terms of the Ironman, so I’ve been using these 5 minute breaks to walk the down the 9 flights of stairs from my office to the underground tunnel that connects some of the buildings on our campus and back up again.  If this continues, I should have huge quads and calves!

Does anyone else use the FitBit?  If so, let’s connect through the app and compete!

One last note (not sure if I mentioned this before) - two more Honey Badgers (my running/multisport team) signed up for IML so I now have more training partners.  Hoping to pick up one more soon.

Here’s to a more productive week!

Gearing Up the Bike

This week's GoPro test video:

It's mid-January.  The days are short, the nights are long, and the temperatures are low.  As far as training goes, there's not much to see here this week (oops).

M:   Rest (Adam's birthday)

T:    Bike - 18 miles (trainer)

W:   Rest (school meeting)

T:    5.6 miles (Forest Park loop)

F:    Rest (lazy)

Sa:  Run - 10 miles (Tower Grove park)

Su:  Bike - 12 miles (Grant's Trail)

I'm guilty of missing a few workouts this week, but that's just the way it goes sometimes.  However, I was able to complete the latest cycle of the Icy Iron put on by my tri club (scoring a gift card to my local bike shop).  In the Icy Iron, you must complete the Ironman distance in swimming (2.4 miles), biking (112 miles), and running (26.2) over a specific six week period.  Despite the holidays and a confirmed case of Influenza A, I was able to complete the cycle, logging  3.84 swim miles, 135 bike miles, and 50.85 run miles.

One of the highlights of the week was Sunday when the temperature was good enough (and my schedule was clear) to allow me to get on my tri bike for the second time ever for a quick 12 mile ride.  (I have been riding my road bike on the trainer this winter).  

For Ironman Louisville, I will be riding a Cervelo P2.  This bike and I just seemed to click while shopping the different models.  When you're 6'5", there's not a lot of options out there for you, and it didn't take me long to settle on this beauty.

From my two rides, I can tell that we still have work to do to get to know each other better.  My feet were a bit sore in the new shoes/pedals, and my neck and shoulders need to get better acquainted with the angles on this bike which are a lot more aggressive than my road bike.

One of the important things I need to do as I get ready for training and race season is to determine what gear I will be using.  I have already settled on Shimano TR52 shoes and Shimano 105 pedals.

I'm still researching the hydration system I'll use and whether I want to use an aero helmet during the race.  I might rent Zipp wheels for race day, but am undecided.  For the hydration system, I'm looking at the Xlab Carbon Sonic system which is made specifically for the aero seat post used on the Cervelo P2.  For the front, I'm considering the Profile Design Aero HC.

For the helmet, I'm thinking about the Giro Air Attack or the Louis Garneau Vorttice Black Knight if I really want to push it.  I have a tendency to look down while riding, so a helmet with a tail probably isn't a good idea unless I can break that bad habit.  Does anyone have opinions on helmets?  (Gretchen - I'm looking at you...I think you ride with an aero helmet, don't you?)

Finally on the nutrition front, I have been clipping recipes or ideas from some triathlon newsletters or magazines that I receive.  I will pass along those that are good or have been helpful for me.  We tried the mushroom and swiss frittatas this week, which are essentially mushrooms, onions, eggs, and rice cooked in a muffin tin.  They were quick to make and reheat well from the freezer.  Variations on this will probably be a staple for me this summer.  Here's a link to the recipe.  

Until next week!

A Tough Week for Training

Wow – last week flew by and it’s time for an update.  After the great snowmageddon of St. Louis on January 5th, the temperatures plummeted and we had a few cold days and a bit more snow.  Since then, the temperatures have rebounded, stores were able to re-stock their eggs, milk, and bread, most of the snow has melted, and people around here have stopped losing their s*&@ over road conditions and school closures.

 

On the training side, the weather made last week tough so I spent most of the week indoors:

Monday           18 mile ride (trainer)

Tuesday           4 mile tempo run (indoor track)

Wednesday     1 mile swim

Thursday         rest

Friday              20 mile ride (trainer)

Saturday          8 mile run (Forest Park)

Sunday             1 mile walk

Total = 52 miles

Ideally Sunday would have included a bike ride and/or swim, but I was completely and totally exhausted for some reason.  I thought a walk with the dog would have helped, but it didn’t.  I remember having days where I felt like this during training last summer for Ironman 70.3 Muncie – sometimes you just have to listen to your body, rest, and live to fight another day.

In other training news, we’ve been working on “cleaning up” our nutrition.  Last week included a number of vegetarian meals, juicing, quality snacks, etc.  The week did end with a few treats at a trivia night and a piece of my son’s birthday cake on Sunday, but overall it was a good week. 

While I still have a number of “gear issues” to address before racing season starts (aero helmet, on-bike hydration system, etc.), I have been working on getting acquainted with the GoPro I received for Christmas.  I am continually amazed at the quality of the video you can get from this tiny device as I think back to the old shoulder-mounted home camcorders.  The GoPro unit fits in the palm of your hand, can be mounted virtually anywhere, and quickly downloads for editing.  Here are the results of some of my testing:

You can’t watch a few of these from a mobile device due to copyright issues on some of the music.  I haven’t found a legal way around this yet – sorry about that. 

I’ve purchased a bike mount for the camera so that I can take some video and/or stills during training to help document the journey.

The GoPro was also a deciding factor in signing up for the Quivering Quads trail half marathon in March.  I’m not as interested in running the race as I am in running the race with the GoPro.  This course should make for some interesting footage, I hope.  Seems like misplaced priorities, but a number of people from my running group swear this is a good time.

Here We Go!

This is it - my first blog post!  My goal with this blog is to document my journey to become an Ironman finisher at IM Louisville on August 24, 2014.  My intent is to post at least once each week, and I am hopeful that a full-time work schedule, an Ironman training schedule, and the schedule of my wife and kids will allow me to stay active here.  I'm sure it will be fun to look back at this once I reach my goal.

2014 will be my second full year for triathlon.  My race experience to date includes 3 olympic-ish distance races (500m pool swim, approx. 21 mile bike, 4.5 mile run) and one half ironman (Ironman 70.3 Muncie).  I feel like this experience has taught me some of the basics, but I clearly have a lot to learn during my journey.

Right now, I am focusing on cleaning up my nutrition, learning about gear, hydration, race strategy, etc., gearing up for training, and working on my base.  I guess it's also time to start looking at the races I will compete in this season, although that's hard to do when it's -8 degrees with a foot of snow outside.

Although I have been working out fairly consistently (despite the holidays and a few illnesses), I am now roughly following this base schedule:

M:  1-hr swim
T:   1-hr bike
W:  off
R:  1-hour run
F:  1-hour swim
Sa:  1-hour run
Su:  2-3 hour bike (although I'm not sure I can do 2-3 hours on the trainer without going insane)

I will also be incorporating strength training somewhere within this schedule.

My formal training calendar starts in early April, and I'm excited to get started!