Recently in General Category

So I think I got one bike in along with along with last night's indoor triathlon in the last two weeks. Not quite the every day effort that I was hoping for. Add to that the fact that I'm gaining weight faster than my daughter. I could make lots of excuses, but I won't. I need to plan my day better, get to bed earlier and not push the snooze button in the morning. I'm giving myself until the end of February to get into a rhythm and then we'll see what March brings.

In other news, Team Evotri should have some big announcements in the near future. JP is interviewing some awesome pros for the website and Stu has been doing the same on the Simply Stu podcast. We've been planning for our team race at the Rev3 Cedar Point races along with WIBA 2010. Note the new weekend of July 9-11, 2010 and watch for all the news in April.

What with all the celebrating, eating and drinking over the holidays, it's too easy to get carried away with setting crazy resolutions in January. Plus, with the arrival of Elsa Grace, who knew what kind of time there would be? Would there even be time to train? Would I want to? All good questions that I put off for a month until we got into a more "normal"¹ schedule.

Now that Elsa's eight(!) weeks old. we're getting closer to a normal schedule, and since a year (Okay, 11 months) is too long to commit to, I decided to use month-long chunks. It's also handy that February is the shortest month -- not that I'm afraid of commitment or anything. So for February, since I need to get back to active movements, I've committed to doing something active² every day.

Thus far, I'm two for two. Woot! I got a short bike ride in Monday and a nice run in the snow Tuesday morning. (And yes, I ran because it was snowing, not in spite of it.) With any luck, I hope to make it 28 for 28. I'll try to keep some updates logged here, but you can always follow me on Twitter, too.

¹ What's normal anyways?

² Active can be any swim, bike, or run. It can also be breaking out the Wii Fit Plus, or basketball, or walks with my family.

• Evotri Road Trip to New Orleans (Pre race report)
  
• Spirit of Racine Half (A half PR of 4:40!)
  
• Madison Mini Marathon PR
• Delivered I-15 (a big work project)
• Going to six different weddings (two in one weekend!)
• Finishing the front porch railing on the house
• Finished 1st in my age group for the Aquathon series
  
• Started announcing races for Race Day Events
  
• And most importantly, we welcomed Elsa Grace:

Lots of awesome triathlon-related things happened in my life today. They included:

• Arrival of my training plan from Will Smith. The plan takes me all the way through to IM NOLA. It includes fun things like:
  • running in place for a minute or two during long indoor trainer rides,
  • 3+ hour trainer rides,
  • running with really fast and really nice people, but
  • best of all, I don't have to think about what my next workout will be. By following the plan, I can concentrate specifically on each workout and push myself to get better with every stroke, pedal, and stride. Gone is the time wasted about what to do as well as the unconcious tendancy to only do workouts that I can handle rather than push my limits.
• Actually speaking to Will Smith about the training plan and opportunities to train with others. He also agreed to help me by building my bike and allowing me to look over his shoulder and learn all the little cool things. Big kudos and thanks to Will for his help and support. (Plus, his Kiwi accent is fun to listen to.)
• Arrival of my first bit of sponsored gear: my 2XU Elite E:1 wetsuit. The best part is that my size, "medium strong" has a nice ring to it. Now I just to live up to the "strong" part. I haven't tried it on just yet, but it looks really fast just laying on the table.
• Finally, talking with my Evotri teammates as we plan for IM NOLA and the rest of the awesome 2009 ahead.

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!

It took me over a month to get it, but I finally picked up my award for finishing 2nd place in the local aquathon series. I missed the award party because I was in Minnesota for the marathon. When I went to the local store to pick it up, I was curious when the guy started laughing. I mean, I knew I was late, but no need to laugh, right? But then he comes around the corner holding a bobble head. It's a little runner boy in silver (for 2nd place) with a small plaque describing the prize. Quite simply, the best award I've gotten. Click the video to see the bobble in action. (Sorry about the sound.)

Erin tagged me a long time ago to answer some questions. I figured since xt4 just tagged me for something else, I better get this one done.

1. How would you describe your running 10 years ago?
Ten years ago, I was finishing school, not doing any physical activities whatsoever. Unless you count multiple late night sessions of 12-oz curls. Multiple late night sessions.

2. What is your best and worst run/race experience?
My best was the last half-mile of my Ironman. Ted caught me right at the top State St, heading towards the finish line. He asked how I was doing, I replied, "I'm finishing!"

The worst hasn't happened yet. As much as some of these intervals suck, I still am learning much about my running and how much the mind plays a role. In fact, just this morning, on my fourth half-mile of six, I stopped running. For no real reason other than my legs hurt. For a small second, I couldn't believe what happened. But within an instant, I started again and finished out the workout according to plan. For me, the mind is weaker than my running legs. Every tough/bad run tells me how to get better.

3. Why do you run?
I run because it's my weakest leg in a triathlon. When looking at results, almost always I will have the slowest run time of all those that finish in front of me, and probably another ten that finish behind me.

4. What is the best or worst piece of advice you've been given about running?
The best was for a racing a 5K; "When you think you are about to blow up start using your arms. They will be hanging by your side. Pump them. Pull with them."

The worst was when I was told I don't need motion control shoes. Must've been a bad day for Endurance House that day. They made up for it when I went back.

5. Tell us something surprising about yourself that not many people would know.
There was this one time at band camp...

Are you traveling this holiday season? If so, be wary of Deep Vein Thrombosis, or DVT. This overview provides a good summary of the symptoms and impacts. Who knew being healthy could be so dangerous?

Sunday brings a close to the triathlon season, and I'll have one last try to get things right. After the DNF at Devil's Lake, I purchased a new tire, CO₂ pump, and two CO₂ cartridges. I installed the new tire, new tube and practiced with the CO₂ this week. The bike is ready.

Forecasters can't decide whether to forecast rain on Sunday or not. For awhile, there was a 40% chance with highs in the 60s. Then no chance of rain but highs in the low 70s with partly cloudy skies. Now, there's a 40% chance of rain after 4 PM (I'm scheduled to start at 11:22.) with highs in the mid 70s. Aside from the 30mph winds, the weather sounds like it's ready. (At least it's not 34°.)

I also did some recon on the athletes for this weekend. I looked to see how many athletes are returning from the Earlybird Tri on the same course. It looks like I'll be competitive. There are only 9 of us in the male 30-34 age group, and I have the fastest time of those returning. I'm in the fastest wave of swimmers, similar to last time. I plan on a nice sub 6:00 500 swim. I'll keep the bike nice and steady, since I haven't spent too much time in the saddle as of late. I want to run as hard as I can for the entire course. I want to be spent at the end of the race. Absolutely spent. I have mental issues that limit me from pouring it on during the run and I always have something left in the tank. I need to break through the wall and lay it all out there. Am I ready? Check back on Sunday.

Congratulations to all the Ironman Wisconsin finishers. Near perfect conditions provided a lot of success stories. I had a great time volunteering for the race and cheering all of you on. I look forward to hearing all about your races. I hope to post my day here as well.