Tri RobbyB Tri :: Data, Numbers, Boring

I don't know where to begin. I know that it started with my first run on August 16, 2004. It was the first day of the South Beach diet. Though the post says differently, I logged my weight in that day at 213.6 pounds. About a week later I went on my first real bike ride. Real that it was on a road bike with clipless pedals and smooth tires. I continued hop-scotching my way through workouts, soaking up as much information as I could about racing triathlons, let alone training, eating, preparing, and everything else you need to know to actually race triathlons. On September 13, 2004, I committed to the Ironman Wisconsin - 364 before the race. I had to. It filled up in 13 hours.

On my 29th birthday, six weeks into the diet, I'd lost 23 pounds, and went for a 4.5 mile jog in 49 minutes, an 10:55 pace. The pounds kept dropping. I kept working out. In October, I found the Tri-DRS mail list through some other posts and race reports. Ron Gilcreast's Hawaii Ironman Race Report inspired me, as did the many others that I read.

In December, a small test of my fitness at the JMM Alumni meet. Relatively fast times provided encouragement and further spurred me on in training. On Monday, January 24, 2005, I began the "base" phase of my training. I was now serious. My training log now recorded every workout, every mile, every second, every hearbeat, every calorie, and every thought on my way to Ironman. Some days there was more than one workout, but on Mondays there was none. At the end of week one, I trained for 5:39:25. I built time and distance for three weeks, then drop back for the fourth, and repeat that same four-week cycle. In week seven, I experienced my first set back.

I highlighted the entry in orange and made the following note: "Shortened Run b/c of right shin/calf. Feel like I'm doing damage to either shin or Achilles. Need to make PT appt." A few weeks and a vacation later, the pain was diagnosed at Plantar Faciitis. I did my excercises and stayed pain free from running. Biking moved from the trainer indoors to outdoors. I found a new love.

At week 13, I ended the Base phase and moved into the Build Phase. The next ten weeks included intensity into each workout, rising the heartrate and pushing the lactic acid. It was a new experience all over again. I improved at Crazylegs so much, I didn't know what to do. Was I becoming a runner? At the end of May I finished the Mad City Half Marathon.

With the major running events over, I relaxed those workouts to rest my run legs and concentrated on my bike legs. 112 miles is a long way to ride, no matter where you do it. In June, I finished my first triathlon with surprising results. And just like that, we were down to two months.

By now, my weight bottomed out to about 178, more than 35 pounds less than when I started. Think about a small child and then imagine that small child distributed around my mid section and face. I was carrying a small child. No wonder why I was getting faster. On June 30, 2005, I ran 5.5 miles in 51:58, a 9:26 pace and complained my legs were tired from the previous night's brick workout in Pardeeville. I was there preparing for the Pardeeville triathlon. My second and another success. That race weekend ended the Build phase. I now was in the Peak phase.

July was hot, baby. Damn hot. Little did I know just how valuable they would be. I would come home from runs so sweaty, I was wetter than I am after a shower. I bought tubs and tubs of Gatorade Endurance and boxes of Gu energy gels, readying my body for what Ironman provides on the race course.

The summer heat would bear down on July 24, 2005 for the Spirit of Racine Half Ironman. Officially it was 97° in Milwaukee. Racine had it at 99° with heat indecies ranging from 110° to 112°. Average wind speed was above 15mph. What ensued was a large blow dryer blowing in your face for the entire day. It was not fun, but turned out to be very important. To top it all off, our car's ignition broke, requiring an additional day's stay and a tow to the local Ford dealer. A few hundred dollars and a unscheduled day off, and we were on our way.

August was to be the peak of the peak. A week of rest & recovery after Racine and three weeks of hard biking, long running and one final push before the final taper. And then, setback. Patellar Tendonitits was the diagnosis from Dr. Timmerman. So I scaled back on the bike. It was a bit disappointing to stay away, but I knew it was for the best. I learned all about iontophoresis, and practiced stretching really well. The silver lining was that I was running. And I ran the best I could.

And then, it was done. All that was left was a taper. I started to blog my thoughts, counting down the days down and trying to get a sense of all the crazy, excited and nervous chatter running through my head. Soon, the Monona Terrace turned into a small village, an Ironman Village in fact. They set up a Endless pool, Ford brought some cars, and many vendors peddled their goods. I tried to work until the Thursday before, but my mind wasn't really with it. ON Friday, I met with some friends for breakfast at Mickey's Dairy Bar and one last swim after. Saturday I made final checks on the bike and dropped it off along with 2100 others. Then my transition bags went inside along with all the others. And then I rested.

Race Day. The culmination of a lot of work. From Monday, August 16, 2005 until 7 AM Sunday, September 11, 2005, I had swum 157.7, biked 3,063.6, and ran 719.4 miles. All told, I worked out for 364 hours, thirty-nine minutes and fifty-two seconds. On that morning, I calmly floated in the water saw the sun raise behind me, and said, "There it is" when the cannon broke the tension. Twelve hours, fifty-one minutes and forty-one seconds later, it was over.

The year prior I told my family and then the world:

But there's something more. I can't put a finger on it, but there is something deep down that has been nagging at me to go through with it. There's an overwhelming emotional desire to finish. To turn the last corner on the run, buoyed by the cheers of thousands lining that final stretch, would be so cool, I can't even begin to tell you what that would mean to me. I want to cross The Line so bad. But there's this 140.6 miles that have to be completed before that last turn. The past year has been spent questioning that desire, wondering if the pain will be worth it. The debate in my head kept leading back to a memory my brother Mike and I had a long time ago.

That feeling at the finish line measured up to all the expectation. There is nothing like it. I could not take the smile off my face. I will never forget that moment.

Final Charts

Week two of the taper is done. Only one week left.

Are you ready? I am.

Week one of taper was very successful. I nervously went around the bike loop on Saturday. I didn't know how my knee would react & hold up. I'm happy to say that it performed beautifully. I felt no discomfort throughout the 42 mile ride. It set a whole lot of my mind at ease.

I drop off in time and mileage again this week. Just keeping things moving, with minor patches of intensity.

It's done; all the hard training I could do. Thirty weeks of swimming, biking and running. Some were good, some weren't. It's not all over, what with three weeks of taper. But, I won't be able to add any more fitness than what I already have. This is it, for better or for worse. Tendonitis and everything else. My body is set. My mind needs to catch up.

I hoped for this week to be a bit better than it was. Business took me to Purdue on Wednesday and Thursday, which left me a couple of workouts short. I bailed on both Monday's and Friday's swim, opting for more sleep. As mentioned, the next three weeks are taper. The way this week worked out, it'll be like four weeks, really. I'm getting nervous.

As you may have guessed, things are busy. But things are good. I crashed hard last night after a full weekend. First, I ran the farthest I've ever run, completing 18.25 miles in 2:51. I ran the entire time, supported by the wonderful Kris. It was a perfect morning to run; a touch overcast, cool, and no wind. After that, friends came in for the Great Taste of the Midwest.

Then on Sunday, I woke up early to get in a 56 mile ride through the rolling hills east of Madison. I'm happy to report that there was no major pain or discomfort. The scariest part was the numerous dogs that looked serious enough to kill, or ate least eat my leg. Thankfully, all stayed on their property. Then, we all went to Aunt Romayne's for a wonderful cookout and day on the lake, screaming around on her new jet ski. After all that, sleep came easily on the ride home and in bed. So easily, and so needed, that I decided it was more important than swimming in the lake this morning.

The iontophoresis treatment continues this week, and hopefully my bike numbers will rebound it bit. It may be tough with a business trip on Wednesday & Thursday, but I can always run.

I felt the twinge maybe Tuesday, but for sure on Wednesday's ride. There's some discomfort in the outside section of my left knee. I cut off the bike on Wednesday, and didn't go out the planned brick run. I iced and rested it instead. Thursday morning, I got up and tested it running. No pain whatsoever. I think that with another two days rest, I'll be set for Saturday's planned ride of the entire 112 mile bike course. Saturday morning dawns, I'm up with sun, making final preparations for the seven hour ride. Within five minutes of leaving the house, the discomfort emerges, and I say a few choice words, and turn back towards home. I sulked in bed all morning, distraught with what my options are from here. I could rest for a week and see how it feels. No doctor visit. I could see the sports med doctor Monday, and see what they say. Most likely it'll be to rest, but they'll know more about my options for The Big Day. They're triathletes, and know how important this training is. Let's hope they have time to see me.

I may have pressed my luck with today's run, but it absolutely gives me no discomfort to do so. So I ran for thirteen miles, trying out my new plan for the run. I hope to run a faster pace for fifteen minutes, then walk for five. Doing so will hopefully allow me to maintain a faster overall pace throughout, and finish with a respectible marathon time. Today, it worked in 85°F sun. I finished one loop in 2:16. (Compared with my PR of 1:55 at the Mad-City half marathon.) I sucked down lots of Gatorade, three GUs, and two endurolyte caps, and still ended up a touch on the sore side. But that's nothing that Ben & Jerry's can't fix.

This weeks totals are behind expectations because of Saturday's aborted ride. I'm expecting this week to be low, too. We'll see what the doctor says. I just may have started my taper two weeks early. I've also started swimming in Lake Monona, so the swim times may be just a touch off. I keep forgetting to bring my watch.

This past week was used to recover from the race in Racine. I did some easy rides and runs early in week, and capped it all off with a "one-loop" weekend: Once around the bike loop, and once around the run loop.

The conclusion of Week 27 marks the end of July and the beginning of the end. Weeks 28, 29 & 30 will be my hardest, longest weeks of training. I will try to cram as much mileage in as possible. The thought is that I will break down my muscles such that after the three weeks, they will rebuild stronger than before, just in time for The Big Day. After that, there's three weeks of rest & taper (rebuilding), the race, and that's it!

The week was spent tapering and preparing for the Spirit of Racine Half-distance Triathlon. Easy swims, rides & runs paved the way for a very successful day under some awfully adverse conditions. The totals below include the race.

This week is a recovery week, getting the legs back in shape for the final push. So, I'll be swimming, riding and running easy again, just longer than last week. After that, it's three weeks of long distance stuff, averaging about 15 hours per week. That leaves me with a three week taper before The Big Day.

Sweet, sweet recovery. Just like tapering in swimming, my body wasn't really liking doing any work at the begining of the week. Even though I was keeping it easy and relatively short, my body was still sore. But after Friday's easy swim, Saturday's bike ride was a small taste of the final taper yet to come. Because of the head & humidity, I was set to be well hydrated with three bottles. I even brought three Gu energy gels, and rather than forgetting to take them as in workouts past, I used them and it made a huge difference. The course was crowded with a large supported ride of at least 40 people. They were leaving as I was starting to get ready. I ended up passing everyone by the time I was done, recieving one comment: "You're sweating!" "Umm...yeah...It's HOT!" The bank in Verona said 90°F as I was finishing.

I was so tempted to go around again because I was feeling so good, but I held back, knowing I was recovering. I did promise to myself that further rides around the loop will either leave from our house, and/or be twice around.

This week continues the recovery, tapering for the Racine Half Ironman. It starts at 7 AM on Sunday 7/24. (Let me know if you'd like to come, I'll forward you details.) Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well. After that, I jump into a final push of hard training and a final three weeks of taper.

Tired. I never really knew the feeling. Sometimes you wake up, and you're tired. Not really - you're just sleepy. Sometimes you stay up too late and you're tired. Not really - you're just tipsy. Tired is working out for twelve days in two weeks; a total of eighteen workouts including a sprint triathlon. Twenty-seven & one-half hours total, averaging 2.3 hours per day (not including the two rest days). If you need to see it to believe it, check the current training log.

To counter the tired muscles, I've got two recovery weeks ahead of me, followed by the Racine Half Ironman. After that, another couple weeks of hell (read: big time hours) leading up to three weeks of tapering and then the big day. That fact that it's now exactly two months away is a bit frightening. (Yikes!)

Summaries from two weeks this week. I was too busy working out to get last weeks up in time.

Contrary to the post title. Everything is fine.

June was my Biggest, Bestest month yet. I emphasized the bike and it is paying dividends. My run totals are half of what they were in May, but me and my body are OK with that. Plus, I was training for the Mad-City half marathon then. I may be swimming too much, but I like doing it; running, notsomuch.

Overall, there's only 2.5 hour increase in effort from May, but more than 111 miles in distance. Translation, I'm riding the bike more, which is basically doing more, faster. (1.1 mph faster, in fact.) This data supports that what I'm feeling in the field further fuels the fire to get out there and do more (within limits of course).

July promises to be another big month. I've got a sprint tri in Pardeeville this Saturday, and a half ironman three weeks later. That one will provide plenty of feedback for what will happen on the Big Day.

A wake up this week. The high of Sunday's race wore off at 5 AM Tuesday morning. The legs were just not there for the first ten miles. Even spinning in the easy gears. But, the body bounced back immediately and we set ourselves up for some milestones. First, on Friday, I swam a 3000 yard (1.7 miles) for time. I swam it in 37:58 for a 1:16/100y pace. Extrapolate that to a full 2.4 miles, that's a 53:46 split.

Second, I biked from Madison to Verona and around the the loop once on Saturday. Seventy-one miles. In mid-summer heat & humidity. Within the first tenth of a mile, I'd lost the thing to hold my fluid in the aero bottle. In the rapid stop to pick it up, I clipped out with the wrong foot, and gently fell into grass. Fresh Gatorade flowed out of the bottle, over the handlebars, and onto my leg. Great, some ride this is going to be. Turned out, the rest of ride went swimmingly, but the thing fell out at least a dozen more times. By the end, I was anticipating it, and caught it twice before it hit the ground, all the while I stayed upright.

Finally, Kris, my coach, rented a kayak while I swam along side in Lake Mendota. It was a nice open water swim. I swam, with some rests, for 55:31, covering about 2 miles, matching approximately the same pace set in the pool on Friday.

This week is the final of the 10-week Build section, meaning I'm eleven weeks away from IM Wisconsin. It features the Pardeeville Sprint Triathlon, on Saturday. I will be training through this one, meaning no easy workouts and taper, and even additional workouts Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

This week was all about the race. I was worried about hurting myself by training. Am I resting enough? What should I pack? Will I look like a dork? Turns out, everything went just fine.

I'm kicking up the mileage again this week and will continue it through the next. A week from Saturday (July 2) is the Pardeeville Sprint Tri. I doubt it will be as successful, and I don't plan on resting before or after it. (The weekly summary table includes the race distances.)

Now that's what I call a week! Seven straight days of workouts, all of them quality.

I made up for the unplanned rest day and worked out twice on Monday, swimming in the morning and then biking to Verona and back after work. It started off well. On Wednesday, I again ventured out to Verona to practice the Triterium course. I did the bike course twice, and ran around for just over the 5K required in the race. It felt slow, but my times were right on. Thursday morning I was out to Verona and back, this time on the full Ironcourse (I had been using the Capitol City Trail to get to Syene Road.) Using Rimrock cuts off about five minutes total. I stayed out a bit late Thrusday night, discussing politics with Jess, and Friday suffered. My fault, totally, not drinking or eating properly beforehand. I pulled out of the water a bit early swimming due to a lack of energy. Friday was stressful at work, so I stayed home Friday night and packed for the weekend away from home.

Saturday started with a simple 45-minute run. We packed the bikes, got ready for a wedding and headed to my Aunt's in Palmyra. There, we dropped the bikes off, and continued to Franklin and Milwaukee for Jill & Jeremy's wedding. I tried to save my legs and not dance, but then I got challenged. Can you turn down a challenge? I didn't think so. Wild, uncontrolled, white-man wedding dancing ensued. It was fun.

Sunday we headed back to Palmyra and got set for a day of training. The weather was perfect - about 80°F and partly cloudy. I shoe-horned myself into the new wetsuit while Kris and family climbed into the pontoon, my support craft. The plan was to swim a bit around the lake and see how the wetsuit worked. I started off a bit quick, dodged some other boats, and got in about 25 minutes of swimming. A rough guess of 2000 yards. Before hand, I had got my bike set for a transition quick bike around the lake. I was feeling the swim, and didn't feel like running, but a loud "Go Rob! Go!" from Kris got the legs working, and about 45 seconds later, I was off around the lake. About six minutes later, I was back. It took about two minutes for my legs to really start working, but they came around. Later, I cooled down, changed gear, picked a route, and headed out for a nice 36-mile ride through the Kettle Moraine countryside.

It was an epic week in time, mileage and effort. This week will be a slight taper for my first triathon Sunday. I've set a goal of 1:12:30. Stay tuned to see how it turns out. Better yet, come to it and cheer me on.

What a quick week! That sure went fast. I'm now officially freaking out with less than 100 days left. That just doesn't seem like enough. Why can't I win the lottery and quit work for a little while?

The week started with a not-so-lazy day wesuit shopping on Monday. It was great to sleep in, but I find my "rest days" are really busy catching up with everything else that falls to the wayside during the week. After swimming Tuesday, I got a call from work saying they needed someone to fill in at a golf outing. Ummm...just twist my arm. With that, Wednesday turned out to be a good day. I swam in the morning, stopped at work for a half-hour, and then went golfing. I even packed the bike and running shoes just in case I could sneak out to get a brick workout in Verona. I got in only about half of what I wanted to do, but that was a blessing in disguise. The two burgers and three cookies I snarfed down at the course had a curious way of stating their existance when I was running. It wasn't pleasant. I then ran Thursday morning, now training on the roads the Ironman course will follow. However, I don't think the issues with the right calf have cleared up just yet, so I'll hold back on running, concentrate on my exercises, and slowly work back the running while filling the extra time with biking.

We spent the weekend in Milwaukee celebrating a very special birthday and riding the "50-mile" course in the Miller Lite Ride for the Arts. I quote "50-miles" because the route covered about 57 miles, not the fifty as advertised. But Kris did awesome in the hot sun, and we know have the bike short tan (which has to gain membership to some sort of club). Got in an unplanned rest day on Saturday, highlighted by a nice two-hour nap. Then took another one Sunday after the ride. I think I really needed it. This week: bike, swim, and then bike again. Throw in some exercises, maybe a wetsuit, and top it all off with wedding Saturday.

My season started Sunday. At 18 weeks of formal training, I'm now ready to start really testing my fitness. First up, the Mad-City Half Marathon. (You may have already read my race report, so I won't go into the specifics here.) The week started off normally, but then quickly reduced intensity to rest for Sunday's race. I still managed some good time and mileage. I even got to bike with Kris on Saturday. This weekend we'll be in Milwaukee for to visit friends and participate in the 50-mile loop of the Miller Lite Ride for the Arts. Later in June, the season continues with my first triathlon, the Wisconsin Triterium in Verona. I'll be doing the sprint course. After that, I hope to be in Pardeeville on July 2, and then in Racine for the Spirit of Racine Half Ironman on July 24. Training peaks in mid-August before I taper three weeks before September 11.

Now that the half marathon is over, the remainder of my training will concentrate on time in the saddle, and less in the shoes. The bike leg of an Ironman course is 79% of the 140.6 miles. Right now, according to my training log, only 74% percent of my mileage has been on Sting. (Based on average speed, 54% of my race time will be on my bike. To date, only 45% of my exercise time has in the saddle.) The biggest advice Nelson, an IM Lake Placid finisher, has given me is to spend time on the bike. With only about 100 days left, I intend to do just that. (Running's really not my thing anyways.)

Even though there's a day left of training, I'm totalling the month of May today, 'cause it just makes things easier. Things are just a bit less than April as I missed few workouts with some illnesses and work. By being on the bike more, you'll really start to see things jump in June.

I hope that there are many more weeks like this one in store. Everything went so smoothly. There was just a bit of workout juggling due to some work conflicts, but I got in the pool three times, and increased the intensity on the bike and run. The week was highlighted by Saturday's ride around the Ironloop and adjacent connection. It was ten minutes short of the scheduled three and one half-hour ride, but it was enough. I started in Verona at Fireman's Park (site of the Triterium Triathlon next month) and headed out from there. I wasn't alone. Everyone was taking advantage of the sunny, windless weather after the nearly three weeks of rainy, drab days. It was intimidating to see a group of three from Illinois unpack their bikes from their car. Their front tires alone looked more expensive than my entire ride. But, no bother, let's just ride. I set out before them and another group of 20 from the local Head Hunters's Tri club. I may have overpowered the first section, hoping to escape the peer pressure. I train alone for a reason.

I was tickled to find out in the course of my ride that the group of 20 seemed to be chasing others that I eventually passed on the course. And the three from Illinois? They were starting their second loop after I tacked on another 23 miles. Of course, that meant they were doing 80 for the day, but I held my own by not being passed by them. A big boost to the confidence level that I actually can hold my own. Now, I just need to do it.

My legs were a touch sore and achy from Saturday's ride. I didn't know how they'd respond Sunday. I needed the run, just a week before the Mad-City Half-marathon. I felt every one of yesterday's 63 miles while stretching.

"This could be bad. Let's try walking...Not too bad, maybe we should try running. Hey, this actually feels pretty good."

Aside from the warmish morning and lack of hydration, the run went just fine. No significant pain anywhere.

I plan on tapering the run a bit this week to rest for the half-marathon Sunday. The bike and swim will follow workouts according to a recovery week. Then, two weeks of full workouts, then rest for the Verona Triathlon on Father's Day.

The week finished with a 3-hour ride on Sunday. In a normal week, that doesn't really sound like much, but when you throw in the events of the weekend (12 hours of drinking in a pub crawl), it was a monumental mental effort to get out there. Talking to Kristin about it, she asked if I listen to anything while out there. When she learned I didn't, she said, "That's a lot of time to be out there with your thoughts." Depending on your mood, that can be a serious situation. I've discovered reading other triathlete blogs that there's a regular dialog on long workout sessions. Your thoughts are the only thing keep you in check.

My thoughts tend to be self-defeating. During workouts they tend to be along the lines of, "Your legs hurt...You're out of breath, let's walk for a bit...This hill is really big. Are you sure we can do it?...The wind is going the other way, why are we riding into it?...We can cut this swim short; who needs to go 2000 yards anyways?" Responding with a simple, "You can do this, you can't give up," works in the short term. Once you get up the hill, touch the wall, or take the last step, reaffirming the accomplishment is ammunition for the long term. It's verifiable proof that you can and will finish.

Getting out there is another battle entirely. The alarm always goes off before you're ready, and those Sunday afternoon naps can be disastrous. Often the most difficult part of the workout happens before you get on the bike, lace up the shoes, or strap on the goggles. Working up the courage to hop on the saddle, put one foot in front of the other, or jump into the water can make or break that session.

It came to a head Wednesday. Actually, it was in my head. I had enough snot and congestion to really sock me out. Kris found me on the bed zoning out, just sitting there waiting for nothing. She took one look, and made me skip the swim and sleep for another 45 minutes. It worked wonders. I also missed the evening's workout to get some work done. By the time Thursday came around, I was fresh to finish the week. Until Sunday that is. What was supposed to be a half-hour nap ended up being an hour and fifteen minutes, and much harder to wake up from. But I won the internal battle with my mind and got out and completed the three hour ride.

A challenging week mentally. Work is still crazy busy, with late meetings and some deadlines. Throw in some training, lots of snot and you've got one tired Robbyb.

The week started off with last Saturday's cold. Praise be to the Wal-fed for congestion relief. Although the muscles were sore and slow to recover throughout the week, it went better than I anticipated. Swimming was sub-par, but that's a bit expected seeing as the breathing was already hampered with all the snot.

Thursday's ride was a lesson in weather. The forecast finally predicted highs above 60°F and I wanted to capitalize on what promised to be a pleasant day. I woke with the rising sun over a calm Lake Monona and called the local weather line for the morning's temperature. "...it's 42°...Winds: calm...Feels like: 42°..." Sounds good to me. Shorts it is. But, I'll wear my jacket and long gloves just to be sure.

Enter the weather lesson. When the ambient winds are calm, I average about 18mph on my bike. That means I create my own wind chill, making it feel like it's 30°F when riding. Thirty degrees does not feel the same as forty-two. Add to the mix that most of my route around the Capitol City Trail lies in a marsh, about ten feet lower than the surrounding land. With the calm winds and cool night, the air settled into the cool marsh dropping the air temperature another 5-7 degrees. Nice. I was anticipating spring and I get the middle of winter. Luckily, I haven't succumbed to shaving my legs, so the extra hair kept them warm. But my fingers, out in front and breaking the wind, didn't have it so good. It was all I could do to keep them warm. Lo, it was all I could do to wiggle my fingers from time to time. Here's the moral: Don't trust your brain if it's before 6AM.

I am happy with my totals for Week 15, the second in my Build Phase. Over 100 miles total again, but this time without any extra rides to pad the mileage. Average paces are faster, and amount of intensity is increasing.

First introduction to intensity, races and ruts. (You've already read about the intensity and race.) Overall, I feel like I'm getting into a rut. Hopefully, I can snap out of withthe increase in intensity, but I need to starting riding and running new routes. I can't do anything about swimming, but I'm used to that. In fact, swimming is quite good. Wednesday's workout consisted of 20x200 on 3:00. I built up each group of five, and recorded my time for the final one of each group. They went as such: 2:23, 2:21, 2:19, 2:15.

Getting a cold late Saturday prevented me to finish out the week properly. I slept in Sunday to 9:45 AM. Even resting most of the day, I ended up only lasting a half-hour on the trainer. I was on the trainer becuase it's May 1st and it's 30° outside and snowing. Only in Wisconsin.

A much needed rest week. My body is carving another rest week, so we'll have another. Except that I start to raise the intensity and introduce intervals of increased effort. Nothing much to start; don't want to scock the body too much. Thus ends my 'Base' phase a begins the 'Build' phase. I continue to Build for the next ten weeks, and we'll finish a 'Peak' phase leading up to the big day.

The highlight of the week was riding with Nelson on Sunday. He was good enough to bring his bike into town for our foray. Unfortunately, the conditions were a bit harsh. When I got up at 7 AM, it was 33°F with 10 mph winds, gusting over 20. It was a brisk wind to say the least. Friday's swim featured a 500 at the conclusion of the workout in 5:55, just seven seconds off the Alumni Swim.

The past twelve weeks have been long and strong. Every workout, ride, swim, and run has been done at a pace so that my heart rate wouldn't exceed certain levels. By keeping the heart at a lower rate, I remained in the aerobic zone, so my body was burning more fat than carbs. As a result, my muscles are leaner and stronger, ready to go for long(er) haul. In response, my body weight reflects the new, leaner me. My average weight this week was 178 pounds. It is my first time under 180 in ten years, even lighter than when I met Kris.

There were no recreational rides this week, so the volume and time are less than in weeks past. Also, I had to cut Friday's run by fifteen minutes to get to Sting on time. (I wouldn't really miss it with Sunday's 90-minute run covering 9.5 miles.) My body is tired from the past three weeks, where I put more time in than the previous five weeks combined. I rest with about 8 or 9 hours of light activity this week. After that, it starts up again, as we move into the Build Phase, working intensity into the mix.

Great stuff this week. Finally got sound advice on the feet/calf issues, and am working at preventing further setbacks. Running this week was superb. I'm really itching to step up to the next level of workouts, which include builds intensity while increasing the miles. Saturday's bike ride reminded me that there are plenty of hills to conquer, most of which beat me right now. I did get the bike topped out to 42 mph on a long down hill.

We made it past 11 hours this week with a recreational ride with Kris' parents on Sunday. What a weekend. Six and a half Friday night, 48.5 on Saturday, 8.2 Sunday morning, and another 18.3 Sunday afternoon. A total of 76.5 miles in three days. See below for details.

There's nothing like coming back from a vacation to warm weather. It did rain throughout the week, but I was able to get all my runs done outside. The week kicked off with a perfect run on Tuesday. It was 44° and the sun was just rising. I finished the hour-long run eager to continue the week's training. It rained Wednesday and Thursday, sending me inside for on the trainer. By Friday, the weather improved considerably. I finished my longest run to date, then did it again two days later. The bike ride Saturday was most encouraging.

I eclipsed the 10 hour mark for a single week. With the long ride outside, it pushed my mileage above the century mark, both personal bests. It should be the same this week. If the weather holds, the mileage may go up with more rides outside.

The Wakulla Suites hosted our family again for the week prior to Easter, twenty-six years since our first visit. The Wakulla has a special place in all our hearts. Each year, we're anxious to see what changes have been made since we were there last. Life changing years included the installation of microwaves in every room. It was nine years since I was there last. I brought Kris along, 6 months into our courtship. After that trip, I didn't know if she would continue dating me. She did, and we returned triumphantly this year, excited to be back.

Instead of driving the 24+ hours to get there, everyone flew into Orlando, and we made the trek to the Atlantic Coast. I finished Week 8 off with an hour-long run on Sunday. I swam once in the City aquatic center, a really nice 50-meter by 25-yard pool. Of course they had it set up long course. The wind was whipping off the adjacent municipal golf course, making for difficult swimming. Swimming against the wind from the deep end of the pool made it feel like I was swimming up hill. I also got in three additional runs, with one on the beach. Running on the beach is not easy. Even though we ran on the hard sand by the water, the relatively strong winds and pitch made for a tough outing. Obviously, there was no biking, but I think the body surfing made up for that.

I tested running this week, and I'm quite pleased with the results. I did my Pain Free exercises every day, and the running was free of pain. (Couldn't resist.) The week's highlight was a 2000 straight (40 lengths without stopping) I swam. I just put my head down and told myself to get done with it. I finished it 27:10, which was averages to about 1:21 per 100 yards. Not too shabby. The toughest part was convincing my mind that I could finish it. It kept saying to split the swim into parts, taking short breaks between each. I shot it down every time, and finished the swim without stopping.

A really busy but successful week at work and the recovery from the forced rest last week cut into training time this week. I'm now in Florida for relaxation and sun. But that doesn't mean a week without training. I ran an hour tonight to finish off Week 8. We'll get some swimming and running in this week, and then visit a podiatrist and work really hard when I get home.

I experienced my first setback this week. After last Sunday's long run, the legs were sore. They didn't recover like I wished they would and were still a bit sore going to bed Monday. The next morning, things felt better until I started running. I lasted only 15 minutes before I stopped, hopefully preventing any additional injury. I can't quite find the cause, but it's mainly my right leg. It involves the shin, calve, and arch. I saw my doctor on Friday and have upcoming appointments with Sports Med and a podiatrist. Based on recommendations, I picked up the book Pain Free to see if that will help in the mean time. After one day of the Pain Free exercises, things are feeling better. I'll try running a bit this week to see if things have rested enough yet. Any pains and I will stop immediately.

Basketball ended in the worst way imaginable. Think of bad, and then triple it. At least Thursday nights are open again.

I upped the hours this week with an easy swim on Monday. Slight pains in my shins are starting to cause some concern while running. I cut this morning's run in half because I didn't want to push it. This week is scheduled to be a bit shorter, so I'm going to expand it and do very little running, and pay a visit to my PT. Besides, work is keeping me really busy, and I'll be able to get some stuff done in the mean time.

Our last basketball game is this week, thankfully. We haven't been doing too good. A lot like those college teams that you see at the bottom of their conference year-in and year-out. We win one to get the hopes up, and then we lose three in a row. I'm glad it's over. Without it, Thursday nights will open up. Also, I was worried about getting seriously injured. Just last week I jammed my finger and couldn't wear my wedding ring for three days. It's still swollen. And my nose is still sore from getting an elbow to the face two weeks ago. Everyone's already looking forward to softball, anyways.

Week 5 was a very busy week. I got in my nearly 7.5 hours of scheduled exercise (again the swim was lacking) alongside charging 52 hours to work, with an additional 12 hours donated for training on Friday night and Saturday. Lots of rearranged workouts and venues. The long bike ride (1:40) on Saturday started at 9 PM, and the long run followed the next morning at 9 AM. Even with a full night's sleep, I passed out in the bed after showering.

February was the first month (although the shortest) that I was working out according to a specific schedule and plan. The total of just over 28 hours is a nice average of an hour per day. As comparison, January was 19:13, or about 38 minutes per day. March will see those number go up as weeks climb toward an average of 10 hours. Basketball ends in two weeks (Mar 10), so that will open up more time to get things done around the house. On this swim deficiency...I will switch some things around to include 3 swims per week, allowing for increased swim time for the week, but each one at the same distance (around 3000 yards) as I have done previously.

I kind of lost track of where I was last week. I realized that trying to keep myself aligned with the book was wrong. I was confusing myself. So, I'm correcting it right now. This completes week four. I know that because it's been four weeks since I started training in earnest. The first recovery week went well. I feel the body has recovered a bit, and I'm ready to continue to ramp up the effort. Unfortunately, this week is setting up to be a bit crazy at work, with night meetings, and a night in Milwaukee. I'm arranging several things to make it all work. I have a feeling something will get missed. Let's hope it doesn't, but it's not the end of the world if it does. One thing I have noticed is my hydration. I've been a big fan of water, but as nutritional as it is, I don't think that's cutting it. I drank a lot of water today, and ending up in the bathroom a lot, only to find myself rather dehydrated later tonight, wanting more. I have to look into it, but my theory is that I'm not getting enough electrolytes (sodium, potassium, or chloride), from my diet and/or hydration. I'm going to try some hydration supplement tablets when they come, but maybe I'll get some Gatorade in the mean time.

Oh yeah, here's the latest graphs.

And that completes Week 2. Technically, it's my third week of training in earnest, in the sixth week of the year. Keep all of that in mind when viewing the current training log. (pdf) It's more than what was originally planned with the Valentine's Day 5K on Saturday. It was a great day to run. By the time it started, it was 42° and sunny. Beth was in town and ran it with us. I finished in 24:44, averaging just under 8 minutes per mile. Not too bad. I've got another 5K in four weeks. We'll see what another month can do.

I did the long bike after the 5K on Saturday, completing the hour and a half at a really easy pace watching Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. I did the long run on Sunday indoors, as the rain and high winds weren't too run-friendly. It was my longest continuous run, and I finished half of a half-marathon (just over six miles) in the allotted hour. I thought I'd be sore after all the activity, but this morning had nothing to really complain about.

This week, I'm going to scale back to about six hours, and rest. The following week will notch it back up to about 8 hours and I'll continue to build for three weeks, with a rest week during the fourth.

Week 1+ is in the books. It's Week 1+ because it was more than Week 1, but less than Week 2 in terms of training hours.

This week, I had longer swims to make sure I swam for an hour at a time. The run is the most surprising stat. I continue to improve. In the first week of 2005, I averaged more than 11 minutes per mile. This past week, I averaged 9:17 per mile, a drop of nearly two minutes per mile. The bike has followed suit, but isn't nearly as dramatic: 4:29 to 4:18. This could be due to the trainer as well as a leisurely bike outside on Saturday. Either way, everything is clicking and I'm psyched to keep going.

Next week (Week 2) marks the official 30-week countdown until Ironman Wisconsin. The long ride is 1:30 and the run is for an hour; my longest yet. There's also a Valentine's Day 5K on Saturday that Kris and I are doing together. I plan on doing it in addition to everything else.

Bonus: In addition to these posts, I'll be uploading a summary PDF of my training log.

The first week of my base is complete. I exercised for 5 hours, 39 minutes, and 25 seconds. It's a bit short of the scheduled six hours because of the swimming. I completed swim workouts in my book, but they took me a lot less time than expected. In the future, I will adjust my swim workouts to meet the expected hour-long swims. I also completed my first "brick" workout. A brick is the combination of a run workout directly after a bike workout. Being the first week, it was relatively easy. (30 min bike/15 min run) The week concluded with an hour-long bike Saturday, and a 45 minute run (outside!) Sunday. Here's how each discipline broke down:

The body is holding up well. My left Achilles tendon was sore after basketball Thursday. My basketball shoes are the only ones without arch supports, and that might have been the culprit. By the run Friday night, it was still sore, but didn't hurt while running, so I pressed on. The week ended with a splurge of food at the local Vitamin World, originally just to get some soy protein for some homemade energy bars. I don't know how to explain what happened. It just did. It was very surreal and now we have plenty of low-carb energy food at home.

For Week 2, there is a slight increase in workout time for a total of 6.5 hours.

Here's what I did last year. All since August 16, 2004: