Going for Distance

Long Time Coming

2009-07-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

So...Long time no write....

Come a long way from 'really feeling the effects of an Oly brick'.

Didn't do the Donner International in 08 as the wildfires in California forced the cancellation of the event. Instead my first tri was the Pyramid Lake Sprint in August 08. Really bad swim, in some horrible water. But...had a blast. Not long after I signed up for the Buffalo Springs Lake Ironman 70.3. As preparation, I ran the Denver Half Marathon in Oct 08 as preparation. Sub 2 hours and felt great afterwards. Spent six months (Dec 08 to June 09) focused in on the Half Iron.

Come June 28th...Officially an Ironman 70.3 finisher. Not a fast time by any means, but you have to start somewhere. 6:37:24 and I could still walk, think coherently, smile afterwards.

Most recently just completed Donner Lake International in 3:30. Unfortunately, another horrible swim and severe leg cramps on the run. My head just wasn't into it and I need to re-evaluate what I'm doing. I think that I have my training under control, but I need to get a better handle on my nutrition.

Looking at going Paleo diet, except for during workouts. I still plan on using carb drinks, bars, and gels/gu; but everything else will be paleo.

I'm going to try to use this more often as a good chronical of my journey to Ironman St. George on May 1, 2010.

More to come.

It's good to be back.

C

Bad week = sore

2008-05-20T00:17:00.000-07:00

Sunday was my first brick that was Oly tri distance...and I'm feeling it today. I can cycle double the distance without being overly stiff the next day, but adding on the run makes quite a difference.

My last week of work, I had to cover on the swing shift. My sleep patterns were completely thrown off. I didn't get much sleep and was battling with 96 degree heat. I also need to pace myself better on the bike as well as the start of the run. On the bright side, this was my first ride with aero bars and I love them. I felt like a missile being guided down the road by a white stripe on my left.

Although my time was slow, I feel ok as this was the first time I had run a 10K as well. I am confident that by July I will be feeling better and can successfully complete my first Oly tri.

Starting to come together

2008-05-07T23:34:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to feel my technique come together.

Yesterday was a pool workout with mostly drills. Putting together everything into a full freestyle stroke, I was able to start to feel myself as I moved through the water. I'm starting to feel more like I'm gliding through rather than trying not to sink. If I can just relax enough to make my breathing easier, I would be set.

Today was a 4 mile run, still a slower pace, but close to my targeted heart rate for the workout. Right about mile 3.75, I enjoyed a great moment that comes along on a rare occasion. As I am coming up the hill to my apartment, my mind drifted just enough to realize that 6 months ago I could not have done the workout that I had just done. Those moments are rare but make every second of training worth it.

Beating out the rain

2008-05-05T12:14:00.000-07:00

When the forecast calls for rain on a cycling day, you always hope the weather people are wrong. I can stand a run in the rain, but I prefer not to traverse slick roads and be covered in traffic spray. It's not to say that I won't ride in this condition (afterall, I'll probably race in it someday) but it is much more pleasant when it's dry out. Luckily, I made it back in with about hour to spare.

For someone who has never done multiple hours on a bike, I just can't describe the feeling. I completed my first 3 hour ride yesterday (averaging 15.0 mph with 2940 ft of elevation gain) and the feeling afterward is simply unique. The feeling of exhaust, completion, and joy are a strange mix that truly must be unique to endurance sports. I would not have made it through without the trusty gels. I know they are mainly for nutritional value, but on an 11% grade 2.5 hours in, it also was a huge mental boost. Just eating something made me feel like I would be able to make it through.

I realize after this ride that I have a long way to go, but at the same time it feels all the more possible that I will get there.

Glad today is recovery day.

The journey has just begun...

2008-05-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

I have taken the first step to my goal of becoming a triathlete on the ultimate level...ironman.

I've been called an athlete in the past, but the word endurance has never been in the equation. Baseball was my sport growing up an heavy kid in Denver. A large number of my summer memories from my childhood involve baseball.

High school arrived and baseball was pushed out of the lineup. I wanted to play football. When the spring semester of my freshman year rolled around, but I refused to get involved with the politics that came along with high school ball. Our football coach required us to take on a spring sport, and so I was left with the only option of joining the track team. I threw discus and enjoyed it.

When I got into college, football was no longer an interest for me. I stuck with track. I wasn't going to win any championships, but I stuck with it. My junior year I placed seventh in the hammer throw in the conference championship meet. At conference, my senior year, I went out with a bang. I didn't place, but I got a PR in the discus, hammer, and javelin.

And then track was over. Suddenly, for the first time since I was old enough to play T-Ball, I didn't have a sport. It was at this point that I picked up a road bike. Took some of saving and my graduation money and got a Raleigh supercourse. Great bike and I absolutely love it. However, I was only riding it during the summer. After two years, I was really starting to lose any fitness that all the years of sports had built up.

October 07 rolls around and I realize that if I don't make it back to the gym, I would be going down the path to eventually being obese. Also around this time, NBC's show Biggest Loser had some contestants on who were younger than me (only 23) and it scared me. I realized that I needed to start exercising again. I joined a gym and started lifting and running on the treadmill. I started just shy of 200 lbs and I am now down just under 170. The exercise made me feel great, but I was quickly becoming bored with it. If I were to keep healthy, I was going to have to find something different. About a month ago, I had an epiphany...

Triathlon

And not just any triathlon, I was going to complete an ironman.

I changed gyms to one that had a pool, I starting taking out my road bike (even on days that were below freezing), and I actually feel motivated to get out of bed on the weekends. I used to roll out of bed around noon, but not I'm waking up at 7 without my alarm.

I feel motivated and alive. I have started the long, grueling path to being able to complete an ironman. The goal is Coeur d'Alene in 2010. I just hope that two years is enough time to get ready for this event. I plan on doing my first tri this summer (event TBD) and just build from there.

The journey has just begun...