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!