2010 or Bust!

Well, it's been a while since I've written in here! The remainder of the 2009 season went well. I won a couple race towards the end of the year and placed 53rd overall (8th in my age group) at the Duathlon World Championships down in North Carolina this past September. I was hoping for a little better finish, but overall we had a good trip and got to see some old friends I hadn't seen in a while. I took 2 months to really relax and do things I don't normally get to do as often as I'd like (hiking, watching movies, spending more time with my wife and family, and of course drinking beer with buddies). I slowly started to work back into a rythm in December and then really dropped the hammer on the training again in January. Things are coming along quite well at this point and I'm excited for what 2010 will bring. Lacey is also getting back into the training after taking last season off due to some reoccuring stress fractures in her lower leg. We finally found a doctor that told her more than just "don't run so much". This doctor did some tests and found she had low bone density and her body wasn't absorbing calcium like it was supposed to (duhhh)......I thought this was kind of a no brainer and should have been taken care of about 3 doctors ago, but at least we finally found a doctor that cares. So now Lacey is feeling healthy and training strong (crossing our fingers for no more injuries).
So bring on 2010!!! My goals for this year are a bit different than in the past. I'm looking to really start training for the 70.3 (Half Ironman) distance. I've done a couple of these races in the past with sub par results. I always seemed to face some nasty stomach and nausea problems about half way though the run. I think a lot of this has to do with the lack of long rides (4+ hours) and/or long bricks. These 4-5 hour workouts train your muscles AND digestive system to handle the rigors of long distance racing. In the past, I've just trained for olympic distance races, so my workouts were very intense, but were rarely longer than 2-3 hours at a time....so my body really didn't have to do a lot of digesting during the workout. So although Ironman or half ironman racing/training isn't necessarily harder than racing/training for an olympic distance race, it is definitely different in how nutrition is handled and how the intensity/volume ratio is figured. So I basically have 1 goal for 2010 with a number of "supporting goals" to get there.

1) Sub 4:15 Half Ironman at the Rev3 race in Sandusky, OH in September

a. Drop the anchor and swim faster (sub 31:00 for 1.2 miles)...need to be swimming 4-5 days a week (12-15 kilometers per week). I have a fast group to swim with, so my swimming is going to continue to improve.
b. Need to be doing more long rides especially this spring (100-120 mile rides) and continue with most of the TT intensity workouts.
c. Sub 1:20 during the half marathon segment (just under 6 min/mile).
d. Nutrition- teach the stomach to quit being a little bitch and absorb the fucking food so that things don't fall apart half way through the run segment of the race! This is actually the ultimate question mark in racing strong in Ohio next fall.
e. Stay healthy and stay motivated!

So that's it! I'll be training 15-20+ hours a week, so my training schedule will be busy.....but I'll still try to find time to blabber on the blog whenever I can. All the best and goodnight!

Mid Season Push

Well, about half the racing season is finished and things are going pretty good. I'm not quite where I'd like to be at this point, but I'm healthy and still mentally motivated to take on the next couple weeks of intense training. I have one more triathlon planned (Detroit Lakes, August 15) and then it will be all about getting down and dirty to prepare for Du Worlds at the end of September.
I think the one thing that isn't quite where I'd like it to be right now is my run. I came out of the gates this spring running fast, but have plateaued a bit in the middle of the season.....need to find a way to bust out of that groove and move to the next level. Today I had a great 12 mile tempo run up the bluff and through the forest trails in Myrick Park. The toughest part of the run was actually my warm-up due to some intestinal problems. As I upped my pace to a tempo pace at the beginning of Grandad's Bluff my guts decided it's time to go.....NOW. I immediately did a run/waddle off the road and onto a deer trail. Let's just say I wrecked a good pair of socks, but I came out of the deal clean and ready to run. The socks saved me, but being kind of a neat freak, I was still treating my left hand like an ugly step-child for the rest of the run (I even hung my hand out the car window on the ride home until I could wash up just to be safe:) The remainder of the run was easily clicking away 6:30 miles on the flats and hammering up the hills to finish a solid workout. I would like to be running a 35-36 minute 10K off the bike in September, but I just need to keep hammering away the miles, train smart, and hope for the best. Well, I have to get be up at 5AM for a swim workout, so I better sign off. Hope everyone is doing well and I'll talk with you later (promise next time I'll not discuss the details of surviving with just socks in the woods)!

Getting There

Well, the Rochester Triathlon this past weekend was a blast! I had my own cheering section as many friends and family showed up to the race....it always seems like you push just a little harder when someone is there screaming for you. The men's elite race was extremely competitive this year with some of the fastest in the midwest showing up put down the hammer. I didn't have quite as good of a race as I had hoped for, but was able to crack the top 10 (9th place; 2:05 olympic distance). My cycling legs and running legs were off, but surprisingly the swim is really starting to come around.....each swim workout the past couple weeks I seem to be getting a little faster. This little fact has kept me positive this past week in hopes that all 3 disciplines will be spot on for Lifetime Fitness next Saturday. I was also happy to hear my training partner Jeff Fleig decided to sign up for Lifetime too.....a great guy and a great competitor. Even though we are in separate heats, you can bet we will both be picking it up a notch knowing the other is out there hammering on the same course.....I can't think of a better way to start a Saturday!!

Time for a new Speedo?

Well, I went to the pool for a quick swim workout over lunch. I was in a hurry, so I almost did not notice that I could see daylight through the crotch of my trainer shorts. A closer look showed the seam in bottom of my shorts had given way and there was now a 4 inch hole in my trainers. As I hate to miss a workout, my first knee jerk reaction was "ah fuck it, no one will notice". Then common sense settled in and I knew my swimming workout was shot....so I opted to grab an extra pair of running shorts and a t-shirt in my car and got a good weight lifting session in. But as I was walking out to the weight room a sudden revelation came over me.....how long had the hole in my trunks really been there? I usually swim early in the morning and am usually really groggy when getting dressed and shuffling out to the pool. There have honestly been mornings where I double check myself to make sure I even have my trunks on just before exiting the locker room to the pool (so far I've never totally forgotten the trunks). Could the hole have slipped by me during previous swim workouts? The previous day I shared a lane with a water jogger as old as Moses and he spent an aweful lot of time hanging out at the wall just standing there (probably laughing his ass off)......were my boys hanging out during every freaking flip turn (awwwkward)?!?!?! I try to tell myself that the hole wasn't there before or even that the hole wasn't nearly that big and wouldn't have been noticed by anyone during previous workouts. Moral of this story is simple, don't be a cheap ass, buy new trainer shorts before your balls fall out of them! Here endeth the lesson. Big race this weekend in Rochester. Feeling pretty good, but will defintely need a great effort to finish respectably in the deep men's elite field. Good night ya' all!

Smooth Sailing!

Well, I finally got some time to blog as this is a scheduled recovery week. Everything is feeling pretty good right now after finishing off this past week with a super-brick on Saturday and a 16 mile run on Sunday:

Super Brick Workout-

30 minute warm-up

1. 8.5 mile on bike at race pace (25 mph average)
2. Immediately rack bike and transition to running shoes
3. Head out on trail for 2 mile running interval (5:40 / mile pace)
4. Rest 8 minutes and repeat 2 more times!
Great race specific workout!

Looking forward to the first triathlon of the year this Sunday. The water temp is 59F as of yesterday, so not looking forward to having blue balls........but still a great chance to get out and drop the hammer for a couple hours!!

Apple Du

Well, the Apple Du was a huge success. With all the hype of the duathlon world championships being held in the U.S. this year, a lot of talent from all over the U.S. showed up for this race hoping to earn a spot on Team USA and race at Worlds in September. With only the top 3 in each age-group earning a Worlds slot, a lot of talented elite athletes would be going home empty handed. I was happy to be coming into this race healthy and I was REALLY looking forward to duking it out with some world class talent.
It always seems like the hardest part of a race is the beginning. The anticipation build during warm-ups, the 'on-deck' call for my heat, and then walking up to that starting line and getting the 10 second countdown before all hell breaks loose....it's during those 10 seconds when the Five Finger Death Punch tune I had playing in my head gets put on mute, the leaves no longer seem to rustle in the near-by trees, and I swear the guy next to me can hear my heart trying to jump out of my chest. Just when I'm about ready to jump out of my own skin the guns goes off and I have work to do. It's funny, but all the doubts and fears I have beforehand seem to disappear. I'm too busy finding position in the pack and establishing a pace that is going to make me suffer, but not die. That's kind of how the race went yesterday....the hardest part was getting over my nerves beforehand, the easy part was going out and racing hard. I was fortunate enough to lower my previous personal record at this race by 2 minutes and win my age-group to earn a spot at the World Championships in September. It was a big relief to race well with a lot of competition present, but I know I'll need to bring it up one more notch to really get it done at Worlds (French dudes in spandex are surprisingly fast). I had cut down my swim yardage in the past month during the final preparation for this duathlon, so now it's time to get back in the pool regularly and crank the swim back up for the tri season which gets under way in a couple weeks. Keep on keepin' on everyone!