Strangely, writing this final report to wrap-up some items feels bittersweet. For almost a year, Ironman Texas was my one real goal race where everything else was merely a part of building towards this race. I certainly leave this experience better off because of it-- I have made some great new friends and gotten to know other friends better, I have improved my fitness by any standard I can think of, I pursued and achieved a difficult goal and (regadless of whether it was my first or only Ironman race--hopefully first of several/many) I had the experience of a lifetime throughout the process.
What Did I Do Right?
1. I did the training. I was prepared for this race and told myself--and others--that I was only coming off the race course one of two ways: running across the finish line or being dragged off by events entirely beyond my control. I am glad to say that it was by crossing the finish line!
2. I entered the day with a plan and followed it for the most part. Things went well where I followed my plan and I spent most of the day on or ahead of schedule with my plan. Where I went off plan...well, that is below this section.
3. I picked a great race for my first Ironman experience. Sure the weather was tough, but I always knew that was a likelihood. By my doing a local event, I found that I had friends all over the place. It was definitely a great motivator seeing them out there along the course and at aid stations. When I crossed the aid stations that had a volunteer that I knew, one of them would often walk with me for a moment to make sure I had everything I needed and grab it for me if I did not. The other benefit of a local event was being able to stay at home and save money on not having travel costs.
4. I put Body Glide into every transition and special needs bag. By doing this I had access to Body Glide at several points during the race and was able to prevent additional chaffing issues when they started in a location where I had not previously chaffed--and while chaffing was never an issue during my training, it became one during the race....fortunately, a problem that was marginalized because of my preparation.
What Would I Do Different Next Time?
Not much, I had a good plan and had problems with it's execution, so I think I would largely work on improving those things for next time. As far as specifics:
1. Don't deviate on the nutrition plan! I made one minor change that I thought was inconsequential, but it looks like it could have been the cause of my upset stomach. In brief, I had trained to sip one aero bottle (mounted to the front of the bike) with a solution of electrolytes over the entire ride while also taking in one bottle of water plus other nutrition each hour. What I decided to do at almost the last minute for convenience was to put drink each hourly water bottle through the aero bottle and dissolve the electrolyte tablets for an hour at a time. What I did not consider was that the electrolyte solution was a moderate acidic solution and I spent 7 hours consuming this solution where I had been used to my primary method of fueling being near a neutral pH.
2. I found that my wet feet during the bike ride were uncomfortable at times and I wished that I had an extra pair of socks to change into in the second half of the bike ride. Other than feeling uncomfortable, I don't see that this cost me anytime. I have some friends who ride without socks and that may be a potential solution as well.
3. Swim without the tri top on if I wear the two piece tri suit in the future. For some reason the tri top was chaffing around the front of my shoulders and had not done this before. The time saved by not having to put on the top in transition was minimal and I could have saved myself some minor discomfort issues early in the race.
All in all, the positives far outweighed the negatives in my race experience and I accomplished the goals I set forth for myself. I am looking forward to my next Ironman race experience even though I have not yet decided where and when it will be. A return entry to IM Texas is not likely due to other races already on my schedule, so perhaps another 2012 PIM race location or even the 2013 IM Texas event will be selected.
Strangely, writing this final report to wrap-up some items feels bittersweet. For almost a year, Ironman Teaxs was my one real goal race where everything else was merely a part of building towards this race. I certainly leave this experience better off because of it-- I have made some great new friends and gotten to know other friends better, I have improved my fitness by any standard I can think of, I pursued and achieved a difficult goal and (regadless of whether it was my first or only Ironman race--hopefully first of several/many) I had the experience of a lifetime throughout the process.
What Did I Do Right?
1. I did the training. I was prepared for this race and told myself--and others--that I was only coming off the race course: running across the finish line or being dragged off by events entirely beyond my control. I am glad to say that it was by crossing the finish line!
2. I entered the day with a plan and followed it for the most part. Things went well where I followed my plan and I spent most of the day on or ahead of schedule with my plan. Where I went off plan...well, that is below this section.
3. I picked a great race for my first Ironman experience. Sure the weather was tough, but I always knew that was a likelihood. By my doing a local event, I found that I had friends all over the place. It was definitely a great motivator seeing them out there along the course and at aid stations. When I crossed the aid stations that had a volunteer that I knew, one of them would often walk with me for a moment to make sure I had everything I needed and grab it for me if I did not. The other benefit of a local event was being able to stay at home and save money on not having travel costs.
4. I put Body Glide into very transition and special needs bag. By doing this I had access to Body Glide at several points during the race and was able to prevent additional chaffing issues when they started in a location where I had not previously chaffed.
What Would I Do Different Next Time?
Not much, I had a good plan and had problems with it's execution, so I think I would largely work on improving those things for next time. As far as specifics,:
1. Don't deviate on the nutrition plan! I made one minor changes that I thought was inconsequential, but it looks like it could have been the cause of my upset stomach. In brief, I had trained to sip one aero bottle (mounted to the front of the bike) with a solution of electrolytes over the entire ride while also taking in one bottle of water plus other nutrition each hour. What I decided to do late for convenience was to put drink each hourly water bottle through the aero bottle and dissolve the electrolyte an hour at a time. What I did not consider was that the electrolyte solution was a moderate acidic solution and I spent 7 hours consuming this solution where I had been used to my primary method of fueling being near a neutral pH.
2. I found that my wet feet during the bike ride were uncomfortable at times and I wished that I had an extra pair of socks to change into in the second half of the bike ride. Other than feeling uncomfortable, I don't see that this cost me anytime. I have some friends who ride without socks and that may be a potential solution as well.
3. Swim without the tri top on if I wear the two piece tri suit in the future. For some reason the tri top was chaffing around the front of my shoulders and had not done this before. The time saved by not having to put on the top in transition was minimal and I could have saved myself some minor discomfort issues early in the race.
All in all, the positives far outweighed the negatives in my race experience and I accomplished the goals I set forth for myself. I am looking forward to my next Ironman race experience even though I have not yet decided where and when it will be. A return entry to IM Texas is not likely due to other races already on my schedule, so perhaps another 2012 IM race location or even the 2013 IM Texas event will be selected.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Ironman Texas 2011 Race Report
Last summer when the registration for the inaugural Ironman Texas opened up, I was refreshing the computer screen until I could register---and I was registered within minutes! I knew this was going to be an adventure, but little did I know just how much of an adventure it would be!
I started a 20 week training program for my race that coincidentally began January 1st. Steadily the training weeks got longer and longer and longer, with an occasional recovery week thrown in after 3 build weeks. I remember that February through April had many long and dark workouts, and many times I felt like I was still asleep when I got to the gym to swim or ride. In time I was also so tired that I was not always sure I could complete a workout without falling asleep. There is a lot of stress that goes with training for an Ironman, but I also feel like it was worth every minute of effort I put out. I have so many good memories that I could never remember them all at the same time if I tried.
Anyway, on with the race report.....
I set 3 alarms to be up at 3:30am and within minutes I was packed up and ready to head out the door. Technically virtually everything was packed up the night before--and unpacked and repacked..... Since bikes and transition bags were turned in the day before the race all I had to do was get myself there ready to race and turn in my special needs bags (one bag for each the bike and run that was available at key points in the race in case there was something I thought I might want or need). I head out, get parked near the race and get to transition by 4:30am (I have to love being so close to this race--2.5 miles from the start line!). I check my bike, set up my nutrition on the bike and head out towards the swim start area. As I walk along I bump into various friends and talk about the race.
By the time I get down there and get all ready to go it is about 30 minutes until race time. As I am standing around with friends waiting to enter the water, we realize we are only several feet away from one of the male pro racers, Tim O'Donnell and his girlfriend Mirinda Carfrae. Tim goes on to take the Men's 2nd place in this race and Mirinda is the reigning Women's World Champion. In a few minutes we are in the water, I find a place to hang onto a nearby dock to avoid using energy treading water before we start as the final minutes tick down.
At 7:00am the gun goes off and the race begins. I was caught in a tight-ish pack for most of the first part of the swim and held back by so many slow swimmers that started at the front of the line. I also wanted to try to swim at the outside to start, but there were still athletes getting into the water when the gun went off and they blocked that route for me. I expected bumping and jostling and was not surprised at the swim being rough at times and did not think it was that bad. The next day I heard several multi-time IM-er's describing it as worse than their other IM swims, so maybe I was better off being planned to expect worse than it was. Here is a photo showing a sample are of the swim start.
Being my first Ironman swim, I projected a 1:40 swim time and was clocked at 1:40:03.
As I make it in, I get to the ladder at the swim exit and pick up my transition bag on the way from the water.
I had a good bike ride for the first half, but started having problems early. For some reason my bike computer was not registering out of transition (and I did check it before the race) so I made a very early quick stop to realign it. All was good for the first hour and a half as I was pretty much on pace and then little things went wrong. First, the screen showing my speed went blank and never came back on, so I biked on heart rate and perceived effort as my guide, which is what I use for my effort level anyway. About an hour later the zipper broke on my nutrition box and I had try pry it open. Still, I made it through the first half of the bike ride about 7 minutes ahead of my goal range. However, I started feeling nauseous around mile 60 and by mile 70 was in urgent need of a rest stop. After a longer stop than I wanted at the porta-potties and making sure my feet were OK in my wet socks (next time I am considering a mid point sock exchange), I then got back on the road. I did not time my stop but it probably got close to 15 minutes. I did feel better for the next 20 miles but then the nausea returned around mile 90 and stayed with me all day. Seeing friends late on the bike course did perk me up a bit but my stomach was not happy.
I did finish the bike in the back end of my (7 to 7:30) target zone with 7:24. I thought my T2 was slow but it was faster than I thought it was, I headed out on the run. I really did enjoy the run course, and was almost always near someone cheering or volunteering, but my stomach kept bothering me. I walked the first half mile to get started and when I saw a friend who motivated me to start running. The best run I could manage was a 3 minute run/2 minute walk on this loop--however that still got me around loop 1 in approximately 2:02 on my watch when I hoped to average around 2 hours per loop.
It did feel good to run but I was always so close to being sick when I ran. By the time I got to mile 12 I was realizing that even this effort level was pushing me to nearly vomiting and I feared that might push me too close to dehydration, as I saw a number of runners go down from dehydration and heat exhaustion. I decided at that point that I would rather walk and guarantee a finish than push my pace and risk failure, so I walked much of the rest of that second loop and just ran where there was better crowd support. About a mile into the last loop I was feeling somewhat better and wanted to try to run some more, but the guy I was walking with kept wanting to drop out so I stayed with him and talked him through the last loop until we got around the mile 25 marker. At that point I told him he had about 45 minutes left with a 20-25 minute walk ahead of him and I started running again until near the end. I waited near the finishing entry to Market Street for a minute or two to get a place with no other athletes in the finishing chute and then went for my finish.
I was glad to have the chance to go in and high-five a bunch of people on both sides and really have fun with my finishing run before I crossed the line.
It was not long until I saw friends and fellow OutRival Racing members come up and hug me and tell me how happy they were for me and want to ask me all about the race. That really made me feel so great to share those moments with friends!!
Finally, before I drive away from the race area to head back home, I am adding the new distance sticker to my car!
Ironman Texas was an awesome experience! I may have had things go wrong, but I also was well enough prepared to overcome those problems and succeed in finishing. In the end, I was able to endure and still enjoy my race. A friend of mine had once told me that there is no real plan for Ironman because things will go wrong. I remembered this statement during my race and told myself that I would be fine---and I was. This Ironman journey was the adventure of a lifetime and I would not trade it away for anything! As difficult as this was, I can't wait to do it again!
I...AM...AN...IRONMAN!
I started a 20 week training program for my race that coincidentally began January 1st. Steadily the training weeks got longer and longer and longer, with an occasional recovery week thrown in after 3 build weeks. I remember that February through April had many long and dark workouts, and many times I felt like I was still asleep when I got to the gym to swim or ride. In time I was also so tired that I was not always sure I could complete a workout without falling asleep. There is a lot of stress that goes with training for an Ironman, but I also feel like it was worth every minute of effort I put out. I have so many good memories that I could never remember them all at the same time if I tried.
Anyway, on with the race report.....
I set 3 alarms to be up at 3:30am and within minutes I was packed up and ready to head out the door. Technically virtually everything was packed up the night before--and unpacked and repacked..... Since bikes and transition bags were turned in the day before the race all I had to do was get myself there ready to race and turn in my special needs bags (one bag for each the bike and run that was available at key points in the race in case there was something I thought I might want or need). I head out, get parked near the race and get to transition by 4:30am (I have to love being so close to this race--2.5 miles from the start line!). I check my bike, set up my nutrition on the bike and head out towards the swim start area. As I walk along I bump into various friends and talk about the race.
By the time I get down there and get all ready to go it is about 30 minutes until race time. As I am standing around with friends waiting to enter the water, we realize we are only several feet away from one of the male pro racers, Tim O'Donnell and his girlfriend Mirinda Carfrae. Tim goes on to take the Men's 2nd place in this race and Mirinda is the reigning Women's World Champion. In a few minutes we are in the water, I find a place to hang onto a nearby dock to avoid using energy treading water before we start as the final minutes tick down.At 7:00am the gun goes off and the race begins. I was caught in a tight-ish pack for most of the first part of the swim and held back by so many slow swimmers that started at the front of the line. I also wanted to try to swim at the outside to start, but there were still athletes getting into the water when the gun went off and they blocked that route for me. I expected bumping and jostling and was not surprised at the swim being rough at times and did not think it was that bad. The next day I heard several multi-time IM-er's describing it as worse than their other IM swims, so maybe I was better off being planned to expect worse than it was. Here is a photo showing a sample are of the swim start.
Being my first Ironman swim, I projected a 1:40 swim time and was clocked at 1:40:03.
As I make it in, I get to the ladder at the swim exit and pick up my transition bag on the way from the water.
I had a good bike ride for the first half, but started having problems early. For some reason my bike computer was not registering out of transition (and I did check it before the race) so I made a very early quick stop to realign it. All was good for the first hour and a half as I was pretty much on pace and then little things went wrong. First, the screen showing my speed went blank and never came back on, so I biked on heart rate and perceived effort as my guide, which is what I use for my effort level anyway. About an hour later the zipper broke on my nutrition box and I had try pry it open. Still, I made it through the first half of the bike ride about 7 minutes ahead of my goal range. However, I started feeling nauseous around mile 60 and by mile 70 was in urgent need of a rest stop. After a longer stop than I wanted at the porta-potties and making sure my feet were OK in my wet socks (next time I am considering a mid point sock exchange), I then got back on the road. I did not time my stop but it probably got close to 15 minutes. I did feel better for the next 20 miles but then the nausea returned around mile 90 and stayed with me all day. Seeing friends late on the bike course did perk me up a bit but my stomach was not happy.
I did finish the bike in the back end of my (7 to 7:30) target zone with 7:24. I thought my T2 was slow but it was faster than I thought it was, I headed out on the run. I really did enjoy the run course, and was almost always near someone cheering or volunteering, but my stomach kept bothering me. I walked the first half mile to get started and when I saw a friend who motivated me to start running. The best run I could manage was a 3 minute run/2 minute walk on this loop--however that still got me around loop 1 in approximately 2:02 on my watch when I hoped to average around 2 hours per loop.
It did feel good to run but I was always so close to being sick when I ran. By the time I got to mile 12 I was realizing that even this effort level was pushing me to nearly vomiting and I feared that might push me too close to dehydration, as I saw a number of runners go down from dehydration and heat exhaustion. I decided at that point that I would rather walk and guarantee a finish than push my pace and risk failure, so I walked much of the rest of that second loop and just ran where there was better crowd support. About a mile into the last loop I was feeling somewhat better and wanted to try to run some more, but the guy I was walking with kept wanting to drop out so I stayed with him and talked him through the last loop until we got around the mile 25 marker. At that point I told him he had about 45 minutes left with a 20-25 minute walk ahead of him and I started running again until near the end. I waited near the finishing entry to Market Street for a minute or two to get a place with no other athletes in the finishing chute and then went for my finish.
I was glad to have the chance to go in and high-five a bunch of people on both sides and really have fun with my finishing run before I crossed the line.
It was not long until I saw friends and fellow OutRival Racing members come up and hug me and tell me how happy they were for me and want to ask me all about the race. That really made me feel so great to share those moments with friends!!
Finally, before I drive away from the race area to head back home, I am adding the new distance sticker to my car!
Ironman Texas was an awesome experience! I may have had things go wrong, but I also was well enough prepared to overcome those problems and succeed in finishing. In the end, I was able to endure and still enjoy my race. A friend of mine had once told me that there is no real plan for Ironman because things will go wrong. I remembered this statement during my race and told myself that I would be fine---and I was. This Ironman journey was the adventure of a lifetime and I would not trade it away for anything! As difficult as this was, I can't wait to do it again!
I...AM...AN...IRONMAN!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Ironman Texas 2011
My day at IMTX was full of problems--and a full race report will be forthcoming....eventually. However for now here is all you need to know: I completed Ironman Texas 2011 in 16:35:49!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
IMTX Training Totals
Here it is, we have reached the end of the training program.
I will leave this 20 week program better than when I started it. I am fitter in both terms of physical ability and leanness. I have lost around 18-19 pounds from January 1 through a weigh-in 2 days ago. Given the expected weather I have been taking in extra water over the last few days to make sure I don't get caught dehydrated, although I suppose that also means I will go into this race a pound or two heavier than I was a few days ago.
I have completed my training and here is a basic summary of my workout totals over this period.
Swim 141,990 yards (80.68 miles)
Bike 1,662.55 miles
Run 468.09 miles
Total 2,211.32 miles
While I can't say for certain at this point what I expected 20 weeks back, this was certainly my expectations. At this point, my bags are packed up and turned into the race or sitting by the door ready to head out with me at a very early hour in the morning. Throughout all this training I was buoyed by the support of friends from all corners of my who lent words of support, many times coming at points were I was feeling down for one reason or another. These words of support provided me great encouragement and motivation to continue to press forward through the darker days of my training.
Now, I am here, and Ironman Texas is........tomorrow!
I will leave this 20 week program better than when I started it. I am fitter in both terms of physical ability and leanness. I have lost around 18-19 pounds from January 1 through a weigh-in 2 days ago. Given the expected weather I have been taking in extra water over the last few days to make sure I don't get caught dehydrated, although I suppose that also means I will go into this race a pound or two heavier than I was a few days ago.
I have completed my training and here is a basic summary of my workout totals over this period.
Swim 141,990 yards (80.68 miles)
Bike 1,662.55 miles
Run 468.09 miles
Total 2,211.32 miles
While I can't say for certain at this point what I expected 20 weeks back, this was certainly my expectations. At this point, my bags are packed up and turned into the race or sitting by the door ready to head out with me at a very early hour in the morning. Throughout all this training I was buoyed by the support of friends from all corners of my who lent words of support, many times coming at points were I was feeling down for one reason or another. These words of support provided me great encouragement and motivation to continue to press forward through the darker days of my training.
Now, I am here, and Ironman Texas is........tomorrow!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Prelude to Ironman Texas
Before I go off to race at Ironman Texas I wanted to write a note of thanks to the many friends, family and supporters I have had help me over the last several years of training that have brought me to this point. There is no way that I could ever remember every name, and so few of those names read this blog (much less know about its existence), but still there are so many who have been a part of helping me get to where I am now.
It has been over five years since I made the decision to embark on a path that has ultimately led me to this point. In fact, it took almost a year before I to start running once I made the decision that I would do it, and even then in that next year I managed to gain 10 pounds thinking that I could eat anything I wanted because I was running. (Was I ever wrong!)
Much of those five-plus years I wandered in the wilderness of the athletic world like a young child lost in the mall as I was overcome by the wondrous assortment of training and racing options. Ever so slowly, I learned more through experience and through the friends I made as I shared their experiences--runners and triathletes are among the kindest people, and so many of them are among my dearest friends! I saw many others around me have more apparent success than I, but that was most often measured in their goals and not mine...and I continued on my path...
The worlds of running and triathlon have given me great joy and many friends, but perhaps their greatest gift to me is their part in helping to transform a very overweight, pre-diabetic 40 year old with multiple borderline results on his physical exam to a healthy, vibrant 45 year old who is at his former high school and Marine Corps weight and whose most recent physical exam was noted as having the blood pressure of an athlete and had lost over 30% of his former weight.
No single event--not even Ironman--was ever more than a temporary stop along the way to my real goals. Those goals were always to lose weight, reclaim my health and life and to to have some fun along the way. I am happy to announce that I have accomplished those goals!! Regardless of anything that happens on May 21, no matter what the finishing time is or is not, I have already!
Thank you for being a part of this journey with me. I look forward to our continuing the adventure!
It has been over five years since I made the decision to embark on a path that has ultimately led me to this point. In fact, it took almost a year before I to start running once I made the decision that I would do it, and even then in that next year I managed to gain 10 pounds thinking that I could eat anything I wanted because I was running. (Was I ever wrong!)
Much of those five-plus years I wandered in the wilderness of the athletic world like a young child lost in the mall as I was overcome by the wondrous assortment of training and racing options. Ever so slowly, I learned more through experience and through the friends I made as I shared their experiences--runners and triathletes are among the kindest people, and so many of them are among my dearest friends! I saw many others around me have more apparent success than I, but that was most often measured in their goals and not mine...and I continued on my path...
The worlds of running and triathlon have given me great joy and many friends, but perhaps their greatest gift to me is their part in helping to transform a very overweight, pre-diabetic 40 year old with multiple borderline results on his physical exam to a healthy, vibrant 45 year old who is at his former high school and Marine Corps weight and whose most recent physical exam was noted as having the blood pressure of an athlete and had lost over 30% of his former weight.
No single event--not even Ironman--was ever more than a temporary stop along the way to my real goals. Those goals were always to lose weight, reclaim my health and life and to to have some fun along the way. I am happy to announce that I have accomplished those goals!! Regardless of anything that happens on May 21, no matter what the finishing time is or is not, I have already!
Thank you for being a part of this journey with me. I look forward to our continuing the adventure!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
IMTX Training Week 19
Last week was Week 18 of Ironman Texas Training. It was the first full taper week and I was still feeling tired, although I could tell that I was getting rested as my times were improving without trying to go harder/faster. I did drop one bike and one swim workout on Wednesday due to a combination of a busy work schedule and general tiredness.
Here is how this past week of training breaks down:
Swim - 6,500 yards, 2:25:09
Bike - 43.47 miles on trainer and roads, 2:39:48
Run - 22.0 miles, 4:18:46
Overall training time: 9:23:43
In a way I am relieved that I am done with the bulk of my training. I know that I am done with the heavy part of my training and mostly need to rest and stay limber and in shape at this point. I feel that there is not much more I can do to improve my conditioning this close to the race, but if I am not careful I could undermine my conditioning.
During this past week the signs of the Ironman race coming to my neighborhood have become obvious. First, a fleet of trucks is parked along a utility easement that is central to a large part of the run course. Second, tents have started to be set up in an open area that will be central to some of the pre-race festivities. Finally, actual signs stating about race day traffic delays have started to appear.
Tonight my training group had a panel discussion and Q&A session where several local athletes who had each done several Ironman races discussed various aspects of race day expectations and planning. I think I am in for the experience of a lifetime this week!
There are only 6 days until Ironman Texas.....
Here is how this past week of training breaks down:
Swim - 6,500 yards, 2:25:09
Bike - 43.47 miles on trainer and roads, 2:39:48
Run - 22.0 miles, 4:18:46
Overall training time: 9:23:43
In a way I am relieved that I am done with the bulk of my training. I know that I am done with the heavy part of my training and mostly need to rest and stay limber and in shape at this point. I feel that there is not much more I can do to improve my conditioning this close to the race, but if I am not careful I could undermine my conditioning.
During this past week the signs of the Ironman race coming to my neighborhood have become obvious. First, a fleet of trucks is parked along a utility easement that is central to a large part of the run course. Second, tents have started to be set up in an open area that will be central to some of the pre-race festivities. Finally, actual signs stating about race day traffic delays have started to appear.
Tonight my training group had a panel discussion and Q&A session where several local athletes who had each done several Ironman races discussed various aspects of race day expectations and planning. I think I am in for the experience of a lifetime this week!
There are only 6 days until Ironman Texas.....
Sunday, May 8, 2011
IMTX Training Week 18
Last week was Week 17 of Ironman Texas Training. This week was transitioning from the build phase to the taper period. I missed two training sessions this week, one swim and one bike, just because I was too tired to get up and out of the house early in the morning (not to mention sleeping through my alarms!).
Here is how this past week of training breaks down:
Swim - 6,400 yards, 2:20:54
Bike - 60.80 miles on trainer and roads, 3:28:59
Run - 26.36 miles, 5:25:09
Overall training time: 11:15:02
In a way I am relieved that I am done with the bulk of my training. I have never been this consistently tired since I was in basic training back in 1985--and at least then I had the benefit of youth! I figure that my two lost workouts cost me about 3 hours of training time, but also pointed out that I dearly needed the rest as well. After that, I am looking forward to race day so I can be done with this whole thing--I am ready to done and for this whole thing to be over! I have enjoyed the process even though it has not been easy, but it is time to be finished.
Overall I am feeling really good right now-still tired but good. This week's workouts have shown me signs that my training has gotten me to where I want to be and I do feel ready for the coming race.
Next week is a full blown taper week and then comes race week. At this point I can taste the excitement and anticipation of the race ahead of me. Last night I watched a few hours of the finish line video from Ironman St. George and I am really feeling psyched up at this point.
From this point on I am going to redouble my efforts at the base of my plan (diet, rest and other non-training items) while concentrating on training effectively without overdoing anything. I feel that there is not much more I can do to improve my conditioning this close to the race, but if I am not careful I could undermine my conditioning. I have come a long, long way over the past few months and I am close to enjoying the race for which I have so long prepared.
Only 13 days until Ironman Texas.....
Here is how this past week of training breaks down:
Swim - 6,400 yards, 2:20:54
Bike - 60.80 miles on trainer and roads, 3:28:59
Run - 26.36 miles, 5:25:09
Overall training time: 11:15:02
In a way I am relieved that I am done with the bulk of my training. I have never been this consistently tired since I was in basic training back in 1985--and at least then I had the benefit of youth! I figure that my two lost workouts cost me about 3 hours of training time, but also pointed out that I dearly needed the rest as well. After that, I am looking forward to race day so I can be done with this whole thing--I am ready to done and for this whole thing to be over! I have enjoyed the process even though it has not been easy, but it is time to be finished.
Overall I am feeling really good right now-still tired but good. This week's workouts have shown me signs that my training has gotten me to where I want to be and I do feel ready for the coming race.
Next week is a full blown taper week and then comes race week. At this point I can taste the excitement and anticipation of the race ahead of me. Last night I watched a few hours of the finish line video from Ironman St. George and I am really feeling psyched up at this point.
From this point on I am going to redouble my efforts at the base of my plan (diet, rest and other non-training items) while concentrating on training effectively without overdoing anything. I feel that there is not much more I can do to improve my conditioning this close to the race, but if I am not careful I could undermine my conditioning. I have come a long, long way over the past few months and I am close to enjoying the race for which I have so long prepared.
Only 13 days until Ironman Texas.....
Sunday, May 1, 2011
IMTX Training Week 17
This was Week 17 of Ironman Texas Training. This week was the last of the big training weeks and ended the final build phase of my 20 week training program.
Here is how this past week of training breaks down:
Swim - 10,100 yards, 3:58:09
Bike - 100.24 miles on trainer and roads, 6:00:18
Run - 32.40 miles, 6:31:32
Other - stretching specific or other training workout, including race transition times, 0:30:00
Overall training time: 16:59:59
Yes, that was my actual total time. Just think I could have a 17 hour week if I only worked out 1 second longer. ;-) This week was my third-longest workout week in terms of time trained, although this was definitely a better week than the second-longest week of training time.
This was another good week in terms of how I felt about my overall performance in training. I felt I was stronger and faster in each sport this week--even when my bike training ride on the race course was into a strong wind I was able to hold my goal pace without blowing up my heart rate. I definitely went through this last build week tired most of the time, but I was still able to find the effort level to put out good workouts for those times where I was exercising. I did have a one hour bike workout that I canceled due to tiredness early in the week, but aside from that it was a good week. Mostly it was the rest of my life that had to deal with the "tired all the time" version of me.
Next week is the beginning of the pre-race taper period. I am so excited that I can hardly believe the race is finally getting here!! Of course, I already know my coach's thoughts of a pre-race taper are far more active than what I would schedule--then again she has gotten me this far, so I will be staying on-plan through the race.
I can tell that I am far from the only one concentrating on the short time left before race day. Yesterday there were quite a few others riding most or all of the Ironman Texas bike course, and I had the opportunity to chat with a few other cyclists from around the greater Houston area. Today I ran with some local friends on a good portion of the Ironman Texas run course and saw a lot of runners dressed in various tri gear practicing their on-course running.
Only 20 days until Ironman Texas.....
.....and I am ready!
Here is how this past week of training breaks down:
Swim - 10,100 yards, 3:58:09
Bike - 100.24 miles on trainer and roads, 6:00:18
Run - 32.40 miles, 6:31:32
Other - stretching specific or other training workout, including race transition times, 0:30:00
Overall training time: 16:59:59
Yes, that was my actual total time. Just think I could have a 17 hour week if I only worked out 1 second longer. ;-) This week was my third-longest workout week in terms of time trained, although this was definitely a better week than the second-longest week of training time.
This was another good week in terms of how I felt about my overall performance in training. I felt I was stronger and faster in each sport this week--even when my bike training ride on the race course was into a strong wind I was able to hold my goal pace without blowing up my heart rate. I definitely went through this last build week tired most of the time, but I was still able to find the effort level to put out good workouts for those times where I was exercising. I did have a one hour bike workout that I canceled due to tiredness early in the week, but aside from that it was a good week. Mostly it was the rest of my life that had to deal with the "tired all the time" version of me.
Next week is the beginning of the pre-race taper period. I am so excited that I can hardly believe the race is finally getting here!! Of course, I already know my coach's thoughts of a pre-race taper are far more active than what I would schedule--then again she has gotten me this far, so I will be staying on-plan through the race.
I can tell that I am far from the only one concentrating on the short time left before race day. Yesterday there were quite a few others riding most or all of the Ironman Texas bike course, and I had the opportunity to chat with a few other cyclists from around the greater Houston area. Today I ran with some local friends on a good portion of the Ironman Texas run course and saw a lot of runners dressed in various tri gear practicing their on-course running.
Only 20 days until Ironman Texas.....
.....and I am ready!
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