Some Hills and a pool time trial

Normally I take Sundays off of training but it was going to be a nice day out so me and 3 other friends decided to head out to Clermont for a afternoon ride. The intent was to try to get in at least 2 hours or around 35 or more miles. It didnt really work out that way. Not a big deal though as we all agreed this would be more of a fun ride than training. There is a bike trail in Central Florida called the West Orange Trail that takes you from one area of Orlando out to Clermont. Clermont used to be the home of the USAT National Training Center but USAT split from that agreement so now its just a REALLY nice facility called the National Training Center. Clermont has been a hotbed of triathlete training for years because of the lakes and hills.

Anyway there has recently been an extension of the West Orange Trail further into Clermont so we all decided to take it to see what it was like. It was very nice and also added some hills to our ride which I liked since I dont get alot of hill training around where I live. But once we got out further into Clermont I recognized where we were from some of the races out there so I diverted the group to a rather large climb. We decided after that climb to head back. We only got 25 miles in but we figured with the added hills and it being Sunday afternoon that was fine with us.

This morning Amy and I hit the pool for more of a "recovery" type swim as our legs were still feeling it from this weekend. But at the end of the swim I decided to go a quick 100 time trial. I was hoping to beat IronJenny's 1:09 but to no avail, she smoked me on the water. Best I could do at the end of the workout was a 1:15. Nothing wrong with a little competition :)

First run in a while

This morning I did my first run in probably 2 months. I warmed up good on my bike trainer for 20 min before I headed out for a short 20min run. Didnt want to pile up a longer run since its been a while. I have injured myself in the past by doing too much too fast. The first 8 to 10 minutes was a bit of a labor. I think after that my legs got into a better rhythm. My breathing was a little rough but I will chalk that up to lack of conditioning on the run. All in all I would say not too bad for my first day back. Good warm up, took it easy, and stretched good.

Think I am actually happy to be back on the road.

Running to commence on bad Plantar

Today after my Physical Therapy on my foot my friend Ed (my physical therapist) basically said it didnt seem like it was getting better anytime soon so there was really no point in taking any more time off. He just advised me to take it slow and be sure to warm up good and stretch alot.

Even the doctor I went to see a few weeks ago didnt really object to me running again. He basically said sometimes it will heal up in spite of what we do. He did tell me that he couldnt predict how long it would take to heal even if I took time off....could be months. Sorry Doc,,,,I dont have months. Already paid for races and cant flush money down the toilet. So I appreciate the advice and well wishing but its time to get back on the road.

Ahh,,,to live in Florida

You have to indulge me this time of year to hold my nose in the air a bit since I live in Florida. As I look at other parts of the country dealing with ice and snow and hearing about people spending most of their bike time on the indoor trainer because of weather I appreciate what Florida offers this time of year. I swam today,,,,,OUTDOORS! Thats right, February in the Orlando area gave us a beautiful 80 degree day today and instead of hitting the indoor pool I thought how novel to be in the swimming pool in February outdoors. It was great! I much prefer as I am sure many others do, to swim outdoors in the sunshine.

So to all my northern friends, dont get too mad,,,,afterall when you all are training in beautiful summer days, I am battling brutal heat and having to start runs at 4am just to avoid heatstroke in August. Thus is the reason I must crow this time of year,,,to live in the Sunshine State! Happy Training.

Today's Workout:
Swim 1500

The Mystique of Ironman

I could write for 2 hours on the mystique people seem to associate with doing an Ironman,,,bottom line is you just cant understand it until you have been there. I love the reactions I get when people find out I have done an Ironman since they usually view it as some unreachable goal. However there are a few things I like about the reactions the most,,,but most recently one in particular.

I had never done a marathon until I did Ironman. Conventional wisdom and thinking says that I should have done at least one marathon to know what I was in for prior to the race. But I didnt think conventional wisdom made any sense in this case. You see I looked at it very simplistically. If I train for and prepare for an Ironman, what difference does it make if I have ever done a marathon prior? My answer is it doesnt...and to be honest,,,,,it didnt make any difference.

I love the reaction I get from people when they ask me if I have ever done a marathon and I say yes, and then of course the follow up question is which one, to which I respond, Ironman Florida. It usually takes them a minute to register because they are trying to figure out which "Marathon" I am talking about. Then I get the big eyes and WOW factor. They cant believe that I had never done a marathon before I did Ironman. I am temped to never do one unless its in an Ironman,,,,but that probably will not happen.

So people ask what are some of the cool things about doing an Ironman....well one is definitely the reactions you get from others when they find out.

Today's Workout:
Swim - 1250 yds

Pretty Cool Huh?

Some of you may already have something like this but I think its pretty cool. I jumped on my handy design software and did up this MDot look to place on my computer desktop. I like it alot as it reminds me everyday of the Ironman. If you want it for your desktop, just let me know and I will send you the file.

No more time to wait

I have officially run out of time on my Plantar Faciitis. What I mean is I cannot take any more time off of running. I have tried and it is still there. I have to run now in spite of it. That means I am sure it will take forever to heal, but I have St. Anthony's coming up at the end of April and I am so far behind on my running its not even funny. Even though I bike and swim still, I am gaining weight which will make it all that much harder also getting back into the run.

At this point I am fairly resolved that St. Anthony's will just be a day to finish and hopefully legs will feel ok. Perhaps I will be better to focus on having a good race later in the season. But I will still have fun at St. Anthony's, it is a great race for anyone who has never been there.

Today was cold out so I rode my bike trainer for an hour this morning. Wasnt bad since the movie Rocky was on TV!

Good Swim today

Got in a really good swim this morning. Last night I put together a workout for Amy and I to swim this morning. The workout main set was using a 1:50 base/100m. I dont think Amy had done one like this before so I told her she needed to bring her watch. Just in case it was too fast for her I also had an alternative 2:00 base schedule that would allow a longer rest break. Well wouldnt you know it,,,as we jumped into the pool Amy "Forgot" her watch!!! Now its only a little crucial that you have this to effectively do the workout. She thought she could use the pool clock but as we looked at it we realized it was not working correctly.

Now of course I know it was an honest mistake that she forgot her watch but I have to give a little bit of a hard time about it. So the decision was made that she would stay with me as long as possible to use my watch and times. She did really well until we got to the 4th set and she started to tire. At that point she shifted to the 2:00 base times. But I was proud of her. Her swimming will continue to improve and I told her in the car as we left that she was going to be kicking her friends butts coming out of the water. Too bad you cant win a race on the swim :(

I also spent 20min on the elliptical today because I havent been running because of my Plantar issues. I hate that machine but I guess I need to be doing something to start getting my running fitness back.

Todays swim: 1,550yds
WU - 200 (50 swim/50 drill x 2)
MS - 150/250/350/250/150 on 1:50 base times
CD - 200 with pull buoy

DVD different than Television Broadcast

First let me say I am still a supporter of the Ironman brand. However I was very disappointed when I received my 2006 DVD copy of the world championship only to discover the background music in the video was completely changed from the NBC broadcast. Now you may think this is no big deal, but I say watch the NBC broadcast then stick then DVD in and you will understand. We have digital cable at our home so as I waited on my DVD to arrive I had watched the show probably about six times. Its motivating, keeps me in the mode to train to race. And I thought they did an awesome job with the production this year, the music was very inspiring and fit the competition.

Then I get my DVD and very excited to have it now commercial free, I stick it in only to hear what I would refer to as "stock music" in the background that was enough to put one to sleep. I have been around enough productions in my career to know what cheap sounds like and unfortunately that is what Ironman did in this case....they pretty much cheapened out. My biggest disappointment in them although was I thought I was buying what I saw on TV and its not. Its like hearing a song on the radio, then buying the CD and the song is different.

Ironman you are still good, but you botched this one!

Swimming with the G-friend

Yesterday afternoon Amy and I swam together. Last time we swam together she was with another friend in her lane so I was in my own lane. We shared a lane this time. One of the things I have learned about Amy is that sometimes she gets a "little" competitive. I noticed it the first time we ran together a while back, whenever I pulled just a hair ahead she would catch up to stay as even as possible or just a foot stroke ahead. I actually find it all kind of funny.

So in the pool she knows she is not going to beat me but it was great to see her push herself harder to keep up. And I gotta say she did a really good job. Ok, yes, I lapped her once but she kept pushing and when we got done with the workout she told me she thought it was good for her to swim with me because she pushes harder. I was happy to hear that because I want her to get better and feel like she is faster come race day because I know that would make her happy when she crosses the finish line.

Yesterdays Swim:
WU - 200 (50 swim/50 drill x 2)
MS - 300/400/300 w/1'break
CD - 150/pull buoy
Total= 1350 yds

Props to Desiree Ficker!

About a week ago I sent Desiree Ficker an email through her website on behalf of my girlfriend Amy. I sent it to Desiree because I read an article in Triathlete Mag that she mentioned she has wheat and gluten allergies. Amy, in the last year has discovered she also has the same type allergies, which many times makes it difficult to transition to eating very different. Amy is also training for her first Ironman 70.3 so nutrition will play a role in how her body responds. Honestly I didnt think we would get a response but I put Amy's email address for Desiree just in case.

This morning I received an excited thank you email from Amy as she forwarded Desiree's response. And best I could tell it was a personal response. It encouraged her for her training for the upcoming 70.3 and then Desiree went into telling Amy some good food options for her to consider. This is why Triathlon is so great in my opinion. Because even the Champions are part of us. I feel pretty confident had I sent that to a professional NBA, MLB, or NFL player their agent would have hit the delete key.

So props to you Desiree! Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to offer some encouragement and tips to help another aspiring triathlete along her way!

Riding in the rain is no fun

This morning I went out with some friends for a 30mile training ride. The weather was supposed to be cloudy but no rain until later. I told my friend that at 5:30am if I rolled over and heard rain I was out. I dont mind if once I am riding I get caught in some rain but I hate starting out in the rain. Well it took about 30min to drive to our starting point and about 5min out it started to rain. Holy Crap!!! you've gotta be kidding me.

Well since we were up already and all the way out there, and the rain slacked off by 7:30 we began the ride. That was the last time we were dry. The rains came down for pretty much 80 percent of the ride. On top of that it was in the 50's temperature. So we were cold and wet. My feet were so cold when we got done I took my socks off and they were red.

It wasnt entirely miserable, but I would prefer not to have to do that ride again in those conditions any time soon.