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One of my favorite distance sets is to increase your distances to a max and then work your way back down. It kind of looks like this:

Last night, I did this set, working the 300s & 500s hard, and maintaining a steady, moderate effort on the 400s & 600, while warming up and cooling down the 200s, respectively. Nothing too earth shattering, but I did like the results of the two 500s. With one week left before the Alumni meet and my annual swimming of the 500 against the JV, I was psyched to see some OK times. Because of the mountain, I didn't go my hardest, but I did concentrate on form and kicking. That lead to two 6:08s, which is just over 1:13 per 100. And then on the second 300, I went a 3:35, slightly slower than my T-pace average of 3:32, but again, I wasn't going all out and it was after 3000 other yards. This means I should hopefully be able to go under 5:40 next week, which is the main goal.

In other disciplines, Coach Will Smith has been keeping the bike training lively with all sorts of intervals, big gears, high rpms (120!), and long, grind it out type rides. I've been working my way through season 2 of The Wire for the shorter rides and look towards other action movies for longer rides. This weekend it's Hancock. I'm totally getting my money's worth in Netflix.

Running has been easier, but that's on purpose. The first few runs after the marathon were quite surprisingly grueling. Yet another reminder at just how tough a marathon is. So we started slow and short to get used to running again. I've worked myself up back to where I think I need to be. In fact, just this past Sunday, I covered 8.2 miles in 1:09. The best part is that my perceived level of effort matches years past, but the actually pace is faster. I owe all of that to the marathon training.

I should be getting my next training plan from Coach Will any day now, which will start my formal training for Ironman New Orleans 70.3. I can't wait to see what type of pain he has in store. Bring it!

So it's been a bit since I've update. Most of my training has been for the Twin Cities Marathon. Work and vacations have taken up the rest of it. Along with the big Ironman Wisconsin weekend, I've had a breakthrough in my running. Simply put, too much information can be a hindrance.

My Garmin Forerunner can tell me everything I need to know while I'm running. Really, really cool. As a dork, I tend to obsess over the information while I'm running. But, that was distracting and my running suffered. So on Friday's 10-mile tempo run, I stopped looking at my watch, save for the mile splits. I had such a successful run then, I decided to see what I could do on this week's 15-mile long run. (Which I had to delay until this morning b/c of the IM WI festivities.) And wouldn't you know, I was able to average 10 seconds/mile better than I was schedule to. In fact, I broke my PR for a half-marathon distance (13.1 mi). Take a look at the table below to see the results.

Just one more 20 miler this weekend, then it's taper time! Now I need to start to figure out just how to pace myself through the full 26.2 miles.

To top it all off, it was really something to watch the City wake up around me. Starting at 5 AM in pitch black with very few others being active, I finished after dawn at 7 AM. Just something cool to witness.

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.