Infinite Runners

Need For Speed + Details

Yesterday was a double workout with an 1:15 swim and an hour run. I was tired and still somewhat drained from the weekend (even with Monday off). So today was only a scheduled 1.5 hour ride and I was curious as to what it would bring.

My sleep was not great last night and I was still tired just driving to the Newtown Bike Trail. Well, the tiredness stayed with me for the first 10 miles of the ride. I only managed to average 17.9 mph on the way out. I was hoping to go faster coming back from Loveland (my turnaround). The last 2 miles before I hit Loveland I started to feel much better and it was a nice day which mentally helped. I took a minute break at Loveland to regroup, refuel and get ready.

I left Loveland and knew immediately that I was going to crank it — I had the need for speed. The only thing that was going to slow me down were the 6-7 street crossings. The course back is a very slight downhill which helped. I seemed to get progressively faster as I was around 21-22 mph the first few miles and then I was hitting 23 to as high as 26 mph at times the last few miles. I clicked my computer at the end of the ride and realized I averaged 21.7 mph back. It probably would've been around 23 if not for those street crossings. It was a hard ride but felt really good to bust it out.

If training, preparation and nutrition are not enough to handle then they throw logistics and event details at you. A couple items I can check off the list:
- My bike is scheduled for its final tune up on Thursday.
- I have organized with TriBike Transport to have my bike shipped to the event.
- Via an e-mail today I am an official entrant into the race and setup for their number selection process due to happen June 6, 2008.

Things still to do:
- Rent a wetsuit for the event
- Confirm/Purchase and practice in an outfit I will wear in the race (IMPORTANT)
- Check into a car rental for the event
- Determine what gear to ship and what will go in my luggage
- Check on new tires for my bike for the event
- Figure out what all to take

Glen Update:
Glen will not be competing in the event this time as his job had him traveling quite a bit and it destroyed any kind of continuity he could build for training. So it will be just me.

Looking Ahead:
This weekend is going to be tough as I have an hour swim on Saturday along with another 3 hour run. I then have a monster 6 hour bike ride on Sunday. It's going to be a fun one.

My First Century

I always thought about doing a century ride or cycling 100 miles but never thought I would do it as a workout. Well, Sunday was the day as I rode 50 miles up the Little Miami Scenic Bike Trail and back to Newtown where I started to cover the century mark. It was a scheduled 5.5 hour ride and I wasn't sure if I could hit it but the weather was good and I felt pretty good.

I started the ride at about 2:07 pm and conditions seemed ideal to try and complete 100 miles. The ride started fine and I knew I needed to average somewhere around 19 mph if I were to make it. I figured I would stop in Morrow (mile 25) for a quick sandwich break. My stop was about 4 minutes and I already felt a little tired - I am sure it was from Saturday's brick workout. My next stop was to make it to Yellow Springs which I thought would be the 50 mile mark.

Around 30 miles I hit Morgan's Canoe Rental and saw quite a few people enjoying a canoe ride down the Little Miami. I then soon past my farthest previous point around 36 miles and was now in new territory. I was pleasantly surprised as the trail opened up and went through some nice farming areas and picturesque countryside.

Things were going along smoothly up until mile 43 when I saw an ambulance and police car up on the trail ahead. By the time I reached the accident site the vehicles were backing up slowly which meant I had to go slow behind them until they reached a road. I first went slowly and then decided it would be a better use of my time to stop quickly and eat a PowerBar and drink what was left of my Gatorade. I started again and easily caught back up with the vehicles and by this time other cyclists and pulled along next to a guy that appeared to be a serious cyclist. I asked him how far to Yellow Springs and if there was a store nearby as I needed some more Gatorade and food. He said that Yellow Springs was another 20 miles and thought that it was another 12-14 miles to a store. That meant I would need to hit 55 to get to a store or wait another 25-30 miles on my return ride, which I did not want to do.

My original plan was to turn around at 2 hours 40 minutes so that I had a little buffer time (5 minutes) if I had a flat tire or some other issue on the way back. I was determined to cover 100 today and knew I needed to make 50 out so that it was 50 back. When I hit 49 miles I saw a small ice cream store where other cyclists had stopped. I quickly stepped inside and purchased a Gatorade, water and Milky Way (all they had) and was off. I reached 50 miles on the nose at about 2 hours 52 minutes. I kept saying if I don't stop and just try to press harder back I will be fine time wise.

That plan worked fine up until mile 65 when my left foot started to hurt again like before, but not as bad. As I hit mile 70 my other foot started to hurt as well – I am an equal opportunity pain kind of a guy. I was able to keep my speed around 20 mph so I knew I was okay. I tried all kinds of things on my bike to try an alleviate it but nothing seem to work. I figured I would take a short break in Morrow (mile 75) to get more Gatorade, Water and whatever they had.

When I made it to Morrow I stopped at a Marathon Station off the trail. My mind was focused on what I needed and needed quickly to still hit my time. In my haste I didn't see the wet floor sign down to my left. I walked three steps in with my cycling shoes on and slipped hard but catching myself in one of those scary yet funny ways. It was quite the scene and the cashier quickly said "Are you alright?" I replied "Yes!" This stop was a another Gatorade, water, a Snicker's bar and peanuts. I left the store and rode up to an old station and rest area they have in the town. I stopped quickly to massage my feet and add another pair of socks like I did before. I knew this would be the final stop.

The socks seem to help again but both feet still had a dull pain that didn't go away. I powered on ahead until around mile 82 when I hit a bump on the trail that jarred me so bad it hurt my left wrist. It was a sharp pain that I remember saying "that really hurt." when it happened. I of course opened and closed my hand to make sure I could move it and to make sure it wasn't broke or anything. I did already have some pain in my hands simply from holding the handlebars for such a long time.

The rest of the ride was pretty smooth and hard up until mile 90 when it sound like my bike was coming apart. I couldn't figure where the sound was coming from and decided to do a quick stop at mile 92 and check it out as it was concerning me now. Ends up it was just my front bottle holder coming loose, so no big deal.

I finished the ride in 5 hours 32 minutes covering 100.2 miles and was very happy with the time and effort. I remember saying at mile 95 "this is tough." I was thinking about my mindset and how best to be ready to run 26.2 miles after a ride like today. It is still hard to imagine but at least I know I can cover 100 miles cycling in a decent time now.

As I write this my left hand still has some numbness to it that may still be a lingering side effect of that mile 82 bump or all the other handlebar work. I will keep a close eye on it.

Cool Water. Great Day. Hard Workout.

I guess I should first bring all of my loyal followers up to speed with this past week's workouts before I explain today's brick workout. All of these workouts went and felt as expected.

Monday - Off - Much needed and felt great.
Tuesday - 1:15 Swim & 1:00 Run
Wednesday - Bike 1:30
Thursday - 1:15 Swim & 30 min. Run
Friday - 30 min. Bike. It was actually on Friday that I realized many of my previous weeks were similar to this week in terms of the week getting slightly easier day-to-day before the weekend workouts. Now I know why.

That brings us to today - Saturday. I now can not avoid cutting into family time as I am at the mercy of the YMCA's pool (lap) schedule. Working with my wife we decided that it be best to start my workout around 2:30 today, which is when the lap swimming starts. So I had a great big pancake and sausage breakfast thanks to Kristin and played with Braden up until it was time for me to go workout.

As mentioned before many times, the preparation that one must do is huge and extremely necessary to do well. I do not want to forget anything and possibly destroy a very good and long workout. Today was a brick that consisted of a 1:30 swim, 1:00 bike and 1:30 run for a total of 4 hours. So I actually started getting all of my stuff together around 1:30.

I arrive at the Y to see the outdoor pool open and what appeared to be no one in it - weird? I thought I'll do my swim workout outside today. After changing and drinking some water I had to ask the Guard outside if it was even open as there was only 4 people and no one in the pool. She said "Yes," I said "Awesome." I had the whole pool to myself on this beautiful day - 68 degrees (I think) and sunny.

BRICK
> Swim 1:30
For some reason I thought this workout today wouldn't be as bad as last Saturday's 3 hour run and 1 hour swim. I was wrong - a different hurt but just as bad. The swim was by far the best part about today's workout as I just logged lap after lap. I did one mile (66 laps), 3 minute break, 1 mile (66 laps), 3 minute break and then 1/2 mile (33 laps). That brought me up to about 1:30 and covered 2.5 miles so I was happy and didn't feel to bad. The water was cool (78 degrees I was told) but felt invigorating in the sun. I did duck into the shade (lane over) for part of the swim as I didn't have any sunscreen on and didn't want to burn. I did eat a PowerBar when I finished to start to put something back in me.

> Bike 1:00
I got onto the bike and just wasn't really into biking today. I headed from the Y to Five Mile and then followed it down to the river and back to Ayers and biked through the Coldstream area and back to the Y. It was actually a hilly course and the one hill that jumped on me was Ayers hill off Old Five Mile. It is not that long but is quite steep - steep enough to make me question "I am going to have to get off my bike and walk?" I was breathing quite hard at the top and didn't have to get off the bike which was great. I have run up that hill many times and never thought it would be THAT tough on the bike. I ate a Lemon-Lime GU before the run to shoot some calories into my body that wouldn't cause a cramp. This along with Gatorade and water of course. I have been disciplined to drink a lot of water and that has seemed to help on these longer workouts especially.

> Run 1:30
As I started the run I could now feel the sun wanting to zap my energy. My game plan was to just run at a comfortable pace and make sure I could finish and feel somewhat okay for tomorrow's bike ride. I was also going to alternate drinking Gatorade and water every 10 minutes and have another GU at the run hour mark. I ran down to McNick High School on Beechmont and then over to Watch Hill and back through the area behind Anderson High School. The first 33 minutes were fine but then the rest of the workout caught up with me as I started to tackle the hills in Watch Hill. My legs just started to hurt and my upper body was even hurting a bit. The one thing that hurt last Saturday that didn't bother me today were my feet. So I had that going for me, which was nice. It felt like a long workout and the fact that only 4 cars were left in the Y parking confirmed that feeling. I immediately walked some, stretched and drank more water I had in the car (now refreshing hot water). I was out for a total of 4:20 minutes with the transition times.

In hindsight it is funny to consider anything over 3 hours let alone 4 hours a workout.  Speaking of over 4 hours, tomorrow brings another big bike ride in that I will be doing 5.5 Hours. I am pretty sure I will do the Little Miami Scenic Bike Trail that includes the Newtown and Loveland trails. The goal will be be to go all the way to Yellow Springs and back. I am going to do the trail as it will be most like the race in that I can put my head down and just ride and not worry about cars.

I will leave you with this video about the Race Across America that covers 3,000 miles and over 90,000 feet of climbing, which is the equivalent of 3 Mt. Everests. Anytime I think I have it tough I think of one of the solo riders in this event. The winner has to average 21 hours of riding a day at an average speed of 20 mph. It's crazy!

Building on Bob’s Vision

I heard today from Dave Jennings that Winners Walk Tall Founder Bob Mauk lost his battle with cancer on May 13, 2008. I am sure that anyone close to Bob would say he lived a full life and certainly touched the lives of many. Whether it was through teaching Sunday School, coaching Little League baseball, participating in Big Brothers, or developing the program he created, Winners Walk Tall.

How the program started.

In 1992, while mentoring grade school children in an urban, Cincinnati school, Bob realized the void of character education in our school systems. He developed a simple program with a unique delivery system to teach these children the basic fundamentals of good behavior. It was then that Winners Walk Tall was born.

Bob wanted Winners Walk Tall to be big and to be nationwide — right now. I feel in some ways that it is probably better it is the size that it is or we may never have crossed paths. Bob created a program for kids that is truly changing lives for the better. Not only providing life skills and character development for the children but for all of us that volunteer our time. We all are searching for some meaningful way to make an impact in our community and hopefully on society as a whole. Winners Walk Tall is a great vehicle to do just that. And I feel vehicle is probably the wrong word because it can imply something without emotion. WWT has plenty of emotion — just ask a character coach. It is common to have group hugs at the end of each lesson that leaves the coaches and students wanting more.

The Winners Walk Tall program will spread nationwide in greater numbers. Today Winners Walk Tall reaches thousands of youth from Massachusetts to Missouri...and Florida to Canada. If not next year then maybe 5 years from now it will reach 100,000 kids or more and have a presence in all states.

And for anyone that feels that Bob has left us just doesn’t know or understand the program yet. This program is Bob and everything we do will carry on his great work. I am blessed and a better man to have known him. 

I will be thinking of Bob during my remaining workouts and during the event. I look forward to helping build on Bob’s vision for Winners Walk Tall.

The wind continues... (A pain in my foot)

Sunday was a 5 hour bike ride and it felt like a 6 hour ride with the wind. I was tired and sore from the day before and tried to just put that in the back of my mind. The plan/course was to bike from home and head out 125 past Georgetown, Ohio and come back with a small 10-mile loop up 133 towards Owensville.

I left the house at 2 pm and felt fine once I started cycling. I did take a turkey sandwich with me unlike my last long ride where I relied on PowerBars, GU, Peanuts, Snickers Bar, Gatorade and Water for nutrition. The first 10 miles were pretty smooth and I focused heavily on the road as there were a lot of potholes that I had to avoid on 125 through Amelia. Once my swerving was behind me it was pretty smooth the rest of the way and the roads were quite good. The weather was in the 60s with a bright sun poking through beautiful clouds and winds that were pretty brutal (I would soon realize).

The first 33.5 miles were with the wind although I didn't quite realize it at the time.  I was hitting speeds of 25-30 mph on flat spots which was amazing. I normally average 18 to maybe 21. It was pretty uneventful heading out to Georgetown which was kind of nice as I was able to absorb some of the serene countryside and enjoy the ride. Once I turned around beyond Georgetown the wind hit me a like the force of 3 jet engines 1 foot from my face. It was everything I could do to average 10 mph. I have read that wind training is equivalent to climbing hills and I believe it. I stopped at a UDF in Georgetown to fuel up on Gatorade, Water, Turkey Sandwich and a Snickers Bar (about mile 40 of the ride) knowing what was ahead.

The ride out of Georgetown goes down a steep hill to a creek bridge and then back up a steep hill. I found myself holding on to the bike very hard as the wind was pushing me around going down. I even slowed down quite a bit to make sure it didn't knock me over, which in turn killed my momentum going up the other side. I was being safe and I knew I wasn't setting any records today with the wind in my face.

Once I crested that hill the wind persisted the rest of the way with 20-30 mph gusts at times, which were fun. I continued to just crawl along and it kicked my butt hard. As I came into Bethel my left foot under the toe clip area was throbbing bad and got progressively worse with each pedal push. I thought about  stopping at East Fork Lake but pressed on in hopes of making it home.

Well, one mile after East Fork I couldn't pedal anymore and just pulled off the road around mile 63. My foot was just throbbing and I couldn't bare the pain. I was thinking I am going to have to call Kristin to come pick me up. I still had 17 miles to go and really wanted to make it home so I decided to massage my foot and take a short 5-10 minute break. I ate a PowerBar, drank a Gatorade and had some Water. It then dawned on me that I brought an extra pair of socks thinking it might rain along the way. I slipped the new thin socks on first and then my old socks back on thinking that extra padding might just help. I stood the bike up and clicked my shoes in place. I began to pedal and surprisingly it didn't hurt anymore. I was amazed and it was a great lesson to not be afraid to stop and try things to help alleviate any pains.

The wind was still strong but seemed a bit less now that the foot pain was gone. I just stayed focused and covered the last 17 miles to finish the 5 hour ride (80 miles total). As I pulled into my neighborhood I kept saying "Wow, that absolutely kicked my butt." I was very satisfied to have completed this weekend's workouts as they were the hardest yet.

As typical, my 4-year old son Braden, who has no comprehension of time or distance, wanted to play and race when I got home. So, he had me running laps around our family room in a race. He won as he is really fast. At least that is what he says and I fully agree.

I think I will go lay down now.

"Are you okay?"

Today was the first day my wife Kristin ask me if I was okay due to training.

Here's the scene. I was laying on the hallway floor outside our upstairs bathroom around 12:30 pm.  We all went upstairs to change into our outside clothes as Kristin was going to do some lawn work while Braden and I wash my car. I stopped in the hall bathroom to brush my teeth and Braden decided to do his as well. I finished mine and he was still going strong so I looked for the nearest flat (semi-comfortable) surface and that was the hallway floor — this, of course, was so that I could lay down for 1 or maybe 2 minutes. Kristin saw me laying there and asked "Are you okay?" I answered with a quick "Just taking a break while Braden finishes brushing his teeth. I'm fine." I take advantage of these short breaks a lot lately.

Let's go back to 7:00 am so you can fully understand why I laid down. My alarm goes off and after hitting the snooze I get out of bed around 7:20. This was a bit tough as I went to bed around 1:00 am as Braden was up late last night and I had a pretty good hill workout on the bike yesterday. By getting up now I knew that I would most likely get back when both Kristin and Braden would be getting up which was great.

I made it out of the house just before 8 am and headed down to Lunken Airport to run for 3 hours or what I thought would be a 20 miler. I really debated where and when to run and finally came to a conclusion late last night that Lunken was the answer as I could swing by my car after every loop for water, Gatorade, Gu or whatever I needed. Each loop is exactly five miles and I figured it would be like running a really long mile on the track (4 laps). (Trying to make this incredibly long distance seem like a walk in the park.)

LOOP 1 - 5 Miles - 39:31
It's 8:15 am by the control tower parking lot. With the start of my watch I am off running. I almost always run based on what my body tells me. In my head I am thinking I should be around 8:40 to 8:45 per mile pace to make it the whole way and stay consistent for the 3 hours. The weather is absolutely perfect - sunny and 60 degrees.  I go by the first mile and it say 7:35. I immediately say "Ease up, it's a long way." So I go by the next mile and it's a 7:53. I say "That's good, but should probably be slower still." I am now up on the levee part of the trail that overlooks the airport and the wind is in my face. I figure I will just let my body tell me what I should be running and whatever it is fine. I run the next three miles to finish the loop and hit about 8 minutes dead on for each mile. I felt fine, so I figured that is what it should be the rest of the way. I stop for a minute to drink some water and Gatorade.

LOOP 2 - 5 Miles - 40:03
I ran the loop in reverse as I figured it would be more like the 2 loop marathon for the Ironman. It was incredible as this loop I just clicked off 8:00 minute mile after 8:00 minute mile. I felt good up until mile 9 to 10 as the wind was really strong in my face but I held pace. It was on this loop that I realized that my faster pace would mean I would be running more than 4 loops - so I started to say "It will only be a mile or two more." Trying to downplay it. I stop for a Gatorade, water and an Orange Gu and take off after a 2 minute stop.

LOOP 3 - 5 Miles - 39:35
This loop was in the same direction as the first and matched the intensity almost exactly. My first mile or mile 10 to 11 was a 7:36 so I slowed down the second mile to an 8:06. I then picked right back up with 8:00 minute miles the next 3 to finish the loop. It was on this lap that my legs started to hurt a bit so I tried to run in the grass in places to take some pressure off. Seemed to help a little but I probably did it more for mental reasons. I had a lot going through my head and kept reminding myself of pain management. This was a term I heard from a top triathlete on doing the Ironman in Hawaii. He said "You know it is going to hurt and you just need to manage the pain." I knew this run was going to hurt today and if I could keep my mental state focused and relaxed then things were going to be fine. I stop for a Gatorade, water, a Lemon-Lime Gu and some Jelly Beans. I decide the Jelly Beans are not for me and drink quite a bit of water before leaving. The stop takes 4 minutes.

LOOP 4 - 5 Miles - 40:05
I head back past the control tower and up a small, small incline and the pain in my legs intensifies. Once I crest the hill (if you can even call it that) I am on flat ground and I settle back into my rhythm/pace. This lap was the hardest to hold but I managed to stay right on pace and hit 8s. Mentally I was fine — I think it was just my legs saying "Do you remember those hill climbs yesterday? We do." It was a great day for a run and I was certainly hot, but it stayed just cool enough to keep me from drenching my shirt. I had to come down a small, small hill after mile 18 and that was just as tough as running up the other one. I was able to settle back into pace and then hit the wall of wind for mile 19-20. I turned a corner right at mile 19 and it was as if a jet engine was turned on 10 feet in front of me. I kept saying "There is no way wind is going to take me off pace" and I looked down and tried to get as aerodynamic as possible and pushed ahead. I knew I was doing okay as I passed many of the other runners and even riders that were heading my way on the path. I held pace and was very satisfied and relieved to make it to the car again. I drank some water and Gatorade and headed off after 3 minutes to finish.

1.5 Miles - 13:40 - 21.5 Miles Total
I ran 1.5 miles up on the top path and that actually took me to 3 hours and 2 minutes total time. The pace is slower for this 1.5 but mentally I was done after 20 and figured this was icing on the cake. It was hard and my legs were throbbing and ready to be done. The .5 mile walk down was good but along the way I kept saying "That was one tough run." I have not run like that since my varsity cross-country days at Bowling Green State University.

Now, can you blame me for wanting to lay down for a minute of two.

Also, I knew what was still to come. I had a 1 hour swim in the afternoon and then I have a 5+ hour bike ride on Sunday. The swim was hard and I managed to cover 1.25 miles. I am beat and my legs are very tired and sore. It will be interesting to see how they respond on the ride tomorrow. I now need to go figure out where I will ride for 90+ miles, what food/nutrition to take with me, what to where based on the weather and get my bike ready. This Ironman thing would be so much easier if there wasn't all of this preparation work piled on to the time your actually swimming, biking or running. Oh well, just taking it all in stride.

And yes, "I'm okay, very sore, but okay. Thanks for asking."

6 Hard Weeks Ahead

My normal routine is to check my training calendar the night before so I know what I am doing next day. When I do this I rarely see much beyond that next day as I try to just take the training a day at a time. I decided to review the remaining 6 weeks as I need to start planning my pre-race bike maintenance, brick workout preparation, and work/life demands because I have some very time-consuming workouts on the horizon.

Below is a sampling of the next 6 weekends as far as workouts given in hours. Weeks 1-3 are going to be just plain hard and then it starts to taper off for the race.

Week 1 (this weekend)
Saturday - 1:00 Swim & 3:00 Run
Sunday - 5:00 Bike

Week 2 (next weekend)
Saturday - Brick 1:30 Swim, 1:00 Bike, 1:30 Run
Sunday - 5:30 Bike

Week 3
Saturday - 1:30 Swim & 3:00 Run
Sunday - 6:00 Bike

Week 4  (an easy weekend?)
Saturday - 1:30 Swim, 3:00 Bike, 1:30 Run
Sunday 1:00 Bike

Week 5
Saturday - Brick 1:15 Swim, 2:00 Bike, 1:30 Run
Sunday 1:00 Bike

Week 6 (Race Weekend)
Saturday - Brick 45 Min. Bike, 15 Min. Run (tune up)
Sunday - RACE!

How Far?

I had a busy day cleaning out the garage, trimming the yard and playing with Braden. So after he went to bed (9:45 pm) I headed out the door for a 1.5 hour run through the streets of Anderson Township and Mount Washington. It was a beautiful day that turned into a great night for a long run as it was about 62 degrees and pretty calm.

I did decide to strap on my old Sony Walkman and listen to some tunes to help pass the time. The run was a bit hard as I think I am still feeling sluggish in the legs from the race last week. On runs like tonight it is easy to let your mind wander and think about stuff. One thing that kept coming into my mind is that it is hard to believe that the Ironman will take place next month.

It was about this time last year that I actually started running again after 4 years of doing nothing. Those first runs were tough as I remember going down to Lunken Airport after work and running 1-2 miles on the trail and it hurt. Back then my reason for running was to qualify for the Boston Marathon as my friends Jed, Jim and Gary were going to try and qualify in 2008 and it seemed like a great goal. Somewhere along the way (after a month of running) my mind switched over and said if you are committing to that goal why not just commit to doing a full Ironman Triathlon (something I have always wanted to do). I figured I would be in great running shape and just add the swimming and biking on top. Sounds easy enough - right?

Well, I did a mile time trial on the Lunken trail in June of last year to have a benchmark - a time for me to see how far I've come in a year's time. That mile was a 7:32. And I thought I was going to die after it and took the following day off to recover. Fast forward to this year and last week's race in particular and I have managed to not only improve on that time (7:17) but hold it for 13.1 miles and bike 25 miles beforehand - and swim 2.4 miles the day before. My friends keep saying I am ready for the Ironman but inside you know how long it could take and can only guess at how much it will hurt.

It was about this time (I think around 7 miles) that Matchbox Twenty's song "How Far We've Come" came on and it just hit the spot. I think I ran a 6:50 mile from 7 to 8. In some regards the race can't get here soon enough to see how far I've come.

An Easy Week

This week was an easy training week on the calendar and it could not have come at a better time as I needed a bit of a break. And work picked up which filled any possible free time so the timing was really good in that regard.

The one training highlight of the week happened today when I swam 27:48 for a mile, which I think is my fastest. It was a hard swim but I felt almost automatic as I clicked off the laps.

Next week picks right back up with a very hard week and I am eager to get going. But I know from my college running days that when you have easy or rest days you take them.

And if I am unable to post before Sunday - Happy Mother's Day! to all mothers. For the role of a mother is like doing an Ironman everyday.

Pig as Planned.

This past weekend produced the result I was hoping for in preparation for the Ironman. Here's a recap on the weekend. First, here were my goals going into the weekend:

PLAN:
Saturday (Noon)- 2.4 mile Swim - Trying to swim my best time so far - under 1:13.
Sunday (3 am) - 30-40 Mile Bike Ride early (before the birds wake up and to ride to the race).
Sunday (6 am) - 13.1 Miles at about 8 minute pace which would be about a 3:30 marathon.

RESULT:
Saturday (Noon)- 2.4 mile Swim - Swam 1:11:59.
Sunday (3 am) - 25 Mile ride on very hilly course.
Sunday (6 am) - 13.1 Miles at 7:17 minute pace which was a 1:36 Half Marathon.

Saturday was a very hard swim as I pushed and wanted to really get my body tired going into Sunday to simulate running and biking on tired arms/legs. I swam 2 sets of 1.2 miles like the race with 1 minute rest in between and hit 1:11:59 for the total. It was hard!

Sunday - I changed my plans a bit as I decided to drive downtown first to not put the burden of connecting before the race to drop off my bike to a friend. I woke at 3 am and then by the time I dressed and drove downtown it was 4 am. I parked on Eggelston and then headed up into Mt. Adams and then biked all over Eden Park, Hyde Park, Linwood  and circled back hitting many of the big hills on purpose. I even criss-crossed  Mt. Adams for about 15 minutes at the end of my ride as I had some time to kill and wanted to trash my legs before the race.

I then changed at around 6 am and jogged about 1.4 miles to the Flying Pig starting line. I timed it perfect for the start only to find out there was a fire on the course and they decided to postpone the start by 15 minutes. Luckily it wasn't too cold and we started at 6:45 am. I started slow the first mile (8:10) and then just ran on how I felt the rest of the way. This meant hitting some sub 7 minute miles and pushing the hills from 5-8 at around 7:25 or so.

That's me in the white shirt & hat after cresting the eden park hills. Thanks for the photo and shout out Glen.

I managed to drop another sub 7 from mile 9 to 10 and then slowed the next mile to 7:17. Many runners pasted me going down the big hill on Gilbert as my legs wouldn't go any faster as they hurt from the cycling. I did manage to run a 6:58 mile down the hill but other runners were faster. The last mile hurt my legs while my arms hurt for much of the run. I think my arms were just zapped from the swim the previous day.

Overall very happy with the day and the results. Took Monday off completely to recover. Here are some photos from the day. I did bike out after my race to bike my friends Jed and Jim into the finish on their marathon effort. My friend Gary ran an additional 6 miles to help bring them in as well.

This is Jed and I standing outside the massage tent post race. Jed set a PR by running 3:55 for the marathon. That is almost 8 minutes faster then his previous best. Great Job Jed!

Jim proudly holds up his medal as he ran right with Jed to PR in 3:55 as well for his marathon. He ran almost 17 minutes faster then his previous best. Great Job Jim!