Sunday: Day Off

Took the day off. Swam some in the ocean but just relaxed most of the day, snorkeling, chilling out on the beach, seeing a movie, and eating all day long.

Saturday: 3 mile run; 20 minute swim

20 minute swim in ocean and lagoon.

3 mile run. Shins are f$cked. Leaning toward having the surgery.

Friday: 4 mile run

4 mile run. 9 min/mi. Slow and painful.

Thursday: 30 minute swim

30 minute swim in the ocean this morning. More swimming throughout the day.

Wednesday: 30 minute swim; Weights

Swam for 30 minutes this morning in the ocean/lagoon. Chilled on the beach all day. Then lifted weights for the upper body (back, chest, shoulders, tris, and bis) this afternoon for the first time in a long time

Tuesday: 21 mile bike; 30 min swim; abs

30 minute swim in the ocean.

61 minute ride. 21 miles. 212w.

Sunday: Travel to Hawaii

I may try to get something in later today as I have the benefit of the time difference. I probably won't though.

Saturday: 45 mile bike + Travel

45 mile bike. 2:03. 240w. 80rpm. Now off to LA.

Friday: 23 mile bike

I definitely don't have the endurance that I did, but strangely, I feel very powerful. I'm pretty sure I went into the Iromans torched without enough rest. Prior to the races, it would take me 2 hours to feel warmed up. Now I feel warmed up after 10 minutes. 23 mile bike. 1:02. 251w. 79rpm

Thursday: Day Off

Took the day off. Had a busy day and was feeling a bit tired.

Wednesday: 22 mile bike

Overslept. 1:01. 22 mile bike. 240w. 144bpm. 81rpm.

Tuesday: 43 mile bike; abs

Really out of shape. 2:02. 43 mile bike. 221w. 141bpm. 83rpm

Monday: 42 mile bike; strength

Day 1. Overweight and out-of-shape. Bike 42 miles. 2:01. 214w. 135bpm. 81rpm. My focus right now is to get back into a training routine and lose all the weight I have put on over the last 4-6 weeks since IMFL.

I swam 1:05 the first Ironman I ever did. And despite swimming more since then, I have not come close to that time again. Back then, I was much more muscular and was lifting regularly as part of my training. I am not going to lift now as I don't have the time and prefer be leaner than muscular at this stage. However, I am going to incorporate some basic upper body exercises to get some strength back, which hopefully will make me more powerful on the swim.

Strength: 4x15 pushups. 3x3 pullups. abs

Sunday: Rest

I'm getting the urge to start training again, so tomorrow I'm going to get going, getting on the bike for the first time since IMAZ. My shins and feet are bothering me so I may not run for the week, depending on how I feel.

Saturday: 10 mile run; 1 mile swim

Thursday: Doctor's Visit

I haven't done much since the half marathon. I have tried to run a little bit, but I think the half seriously pushed me over as far as recovery is concerned. I felt much more stiff and sore after the half than I did after either Ironman.

I went to the doctor today for a second visit to check out my shins. I went last week as well and he suspected that I might have chronic compartment syndrome, which he thinks is causing the pain and preventing me from really running. I went back today to do a formal test.

The test was a little painful. The doctor first numbs up each leg by giving local anesthetics. Ouch! Seriously painful. He then inserts a needle in each of the four compartments (the deep posterior, the superficial posterior, the anterior, and the lateral) of each leg to test the their pressures at rest. Still seriously painful even with the anesthetic. Blood was pouring down everywhere.

After bandaging up the leg, the doctor then had me run on a treadmill until I started to feel the pain in my shins. Now that I was running and my heart was pumping, blood was soaking through the bandages so it looked like I had some serious injuries going on. It was pretty nasty, yet somewhat cool. Having the doctor continually increase the pace and the incline with bandages around my leg, I started to feel like I was Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.

I never really felt the pain that I normally do when I can't run, but after 20 minutes--if the pain doesn't happen within the first 20 minutes or so, it doesn't happen--I got off the treadmill and the doctor tested the pressure again by inserting needles in each compartment. Still painful and blood all over the place.

The pressure in the anterior compartments tested abnormally high, which unfortunately means I probably have exertional anterior compartment syndrome. The pressue is probably even higher when I feel the pain I usually do that reduces me to a walk.

The only treatment really is to have surgery or not to train as much. I was very impressed with how much the doctor knew about compartment syndrome and sports and sports injuries. So it seems like I probably have it.

Having said that, I would prefer not to have surgery, so I'm going to take some time to think about my options and get a second opinion. Apparently after the surgery, I won't be able to run for 6 weeks, won't be able to swim for 3-4 weeks, and won't be able to bike for 2-3 weeks, which I would need to factor into my training program. So I may start training consistently again a little sooner than I really feel like.

Saturday: 13.1 mile run

Jumped into a half marathon this morning without really having run since IMAZ. I could still feel some fatigue from the Ironmans and my quads hurt a little throughout the race. But otherwise, it felt great to get going. I finished somewhere around 1:35-1:36 (the results are not up yet and i forgot to turn my Garmin off at the finish). Below are my splits.



I ran a half marathon on this same course exactly 14 months ago--September 2007. My time for that race was 1:53:41. I'm quite happy with the improvement. My splits for that race are below.

Friday: 1 mile swim

~30 minutes. 1 mile swim.

Thursday: 1 mile swim

a.m. 1 mile swim w/ breaks in between sets of 20 lengths. ~30 minutes of swimming time.

Wednesday: 1 mile swim

1 miles swim. 30 minutes. Felt about as slow and sluggish as I could possibly feel. But first training day toward a 59 minute swim is in the bank.

Goals for 2009

I did pretty much nothing this past week. It felt good to relax and not have to schedule in training time. However, I am now ready to get back to work. I am probably more focused then ever. I think not going sub 10 may have been a blessing in disguise as I probably wouldn't be motivated to keep going.

After having a week to reflect on the past two races and my training leading up to them I have set up a preliminary program for the upcoming year. I'll talk about the specifics of the schedule in a different post. But here are my goals for Ironman Florida 2009:

Swim: 59 minutes

Bike: 270 watts

Run: 3:15-3:20

It may seem that these goals are a bit ambitious; they are. (At IMFL 2008, I swam 1:08; biked 234w; and ran 3:51). But I am confident I can get there. I've learned a lot from my training and racing last year.

First, I think I can get a lot better simply by learning how to execute at race pace and on race day. One of the problems I had last year is that I couldn't really turn it on at will. I either felt great or I didn't. And if I didn't, then I couldn't race to my potential. I need to fix this. I plan to do this by (1) racing more frequently--I never raced before IMFL--and training more frequently at race pace and at Tempo. I plan to do several halfs and Olympic-distance races starting in April/May.

Second, I need to swim much more than I did last year. I only started swimming in June. That is much too late. This year, I will swim much more frequently and throughout the year.

Third, I need to increase my run volume. Last year, I didn't run that much, not because I didn't have the desire to, but because my shins bothered my for pretty much the entire year. 30 miles a week was a good week for me. I need to fix that. And to do so, I need to get my shins fixed. I plan to see a doctor hopefully this week.

Fourth, I need to improve my diet and body composition. I was pretty good leading up to IMFL. This year, I plan to eat healthy throughout the year. I don't mind cheating every now and then and will only get really strict again in the couple months leading to the race. But I hope to remain lean throughout the year so my body is used to producing big watts at a lower weight. I also hope eating healthier throughout the year will prevent me from getting sick or tired as often.

I will start training again probably some time this or next week. I don't plan on doing any crazy sessions now and don't mind missing workouts at this time. Everything will be very easy. But I am eager to keep moving forward toward a great race in 2009.

Update

I plan on taking at least this week off to recover and refresh mentally and physically. I don't plan on doing any structured training until December. I'm trying to eat and sleep as much as possible; it hasn't been too difficult because of Thanksgiving.

I ran about 3 miles yesterday and may do a 15k race this weekend. Otherwise, it has been nice just to relax. I'll list my goals soon some time before I pick up my training again.

Ironman Arizona Race Report

In the words of Austin Powers, "that really hurt!" I wanted to feel some pain, and I did. I gave it my all this time and so although my time was slower than IMFL, I felt much more satisfied crossing the finish line.

On the swim, I swam as hard as I could. I still didn't go any faster than IMFL. So my swim obviously is not that good and I plan to work on it a lot for next year. (I'll write about my goals in a different post).

Total Swim: 1:09:57

On the bike, I started out by averaging 248w for the first 1 hour and 20 minutes. I felt good, but not great. I then realized that there was a huge headwind going out and huge tailwind coming back. I was spinning out my gears back into town. So my strategy then became to push hard into the wind, and let up a little coming back. I averaged 253w for the first 2 hours 20 minutes. Once I got to the 70 mile marker, however, I started to feel the cumulative fatigue. I knew then that just finishing the race was going to be difficult. From that point on until the end of the race, I was just battling to get to the finish line. I kept questioning why I was still doing the race. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that my oldest brother flew out to watch me. My average power for the entire ride was 232w.

Total Bike: 5:03:46

Once I got onto the run, my plan was to start out running 8:20-8:30s and then pick it up after mile 4. I stuck to that plan, but was nevertheless really tired. I suddenly got a second wind at mile 7. At that point, I though I could maybe have a decent run. But then I completely crashed at mile 12. From then on, I was in a lot of pain and couldn't turn over my legs. I saw my brother at mile 20 and he told me that if I run 10min/mi, then I could still go under 11 for the race; I couldn't. I landed up walking pretty much all of miles 12-26. My splits are below:



Total Run: 4:38:53

I definitely gave it my all this time. I may have overestimated my fitness and underestimated the recovery time I needed, but I was ecstatic to cross the finish line, especially considering how much I was hurting throughout the day. Overall, the day was much more rewarding and fulfilling than IMFL.

Total Time: 11:03:46

Here is a video of the race that my brother put together.

Saturday: IMAZ Check in and 19 mile bike; ~15 min swim

Should be a good one tomorrow. Bid # is 346.

a.m. ~15 min swim.

lunch. 1:10min ride with 3x3min hard (~300w). 19 miles.

Thoughts Going Into IMAZ

I'm headed to Tempe later today. I have to work this morning.

I will admit that I do not feel like I am in that good of shape and not even close to where I was 3-5 weeks ago heading into IMFL. I'm also about 3 lbs heavier. If I didn't taper enough last time, I may have tapered too much this time. I don't really feel like I am firing on all cylinders.

Having said that, I have zero expectations for this race. I have no idea as to how my body will hold up or where my fitness is. I did 10:12 at IMFL, but it was almost an "easy" 10:12. I left too much out on the course and really wasn't prepared to, and really didn't, suffer--I didn't have the energy to suffer.

Going into this race, I don't care about my time, which is somewhat of a nice feeling. I'd be more satisfied than IMFL if I finish knowing that I gave it my all. I have a strategy for this race, but unlike last time, I'm prepared to hurt and even to blow up. That's my goal for this race.

Friday: 5 mile run; abs

a.m. 5 mile run. 8:08min/mi.

Thursday: 21 mile bike; 1 mile swim

1 mile swim w/~5 minutes hard. ~30 minutes

21 mile bike. 60 minutes w/3x3 min hard. 220w.

Wednesday: 20 mike bike; abs

20 miles. 62 min. 175w.

Tuesday: 1 mile swim

a.m. 1 mile swim. ~30 minutes.

Monday: 20 mile bike; abs

1 hour recovery. 20 miles. 185 watts.

Sunday: 63 mile bike; 2 mile run; abs

3 hour bike. 63 miles. 211 watts.

2 mile brick run. 8:12min/min. frickin' shins.

Saturday: 1 mile swim

30 minutes. 1 mile swim.

Friday: 30 mile bike; abs

1:32. 30 miles. 184w. Starting to feel better but also feel like I am in the worst shape I have been in in a long time.

Thursday: 20 mile bike; 6 mile run

Still under the weather. It's been tough to hold on. 6.58 mile run. 8:39min/mi. 1 hour recovery ride. 20 miles.

Wednesday: Day Off

Have had a cold all week (again). Probably needed more down time.

Tuesday: 45 mile bike; abs

2:01 hour ride. 256w. 141bpm.

Monday: 23 mile bike

1:04 min. 23 miles. 227w. 125bpm.

Sunday: 60 mile bike; 3 mile run; 1 mile swim; abs

a.m. 3 mile run. 8:25min/mi.

p.m. 1 mile swim. Then 60 mile bike. 282w; 149bpm. 79rpm. Felt amazing. One week too late, after having had two beers last night, and McDonald's for lunch (which btw, now that I haven't had it in a while, doesn't taste that good anymore). Go figure.

Saturday: 4 mile run

a.m. 4 mile run. 8:07min/mi. 143bpm.

Friday: 21 mile bike; 14 mile run; abs

a.m. First run since IMFL. 7 miles. 8:35min/mi.


p.m. 21 mile bike: 60 min. 7 mile run. 7:25min/mi

Thursday: 35 mile bike

35 mile bike: 1:40; 221w.

Wednesday: 56 mile bike; abs

FL: 2:37:48; 219w; ###bpm; 80rpm; 21.3mph.

Ironman Florida Race Report

I had been planning to set some time aside to sit down and write out a very detailed race report. However, I now prefer to keep it short(er). To be honest, I actually don't remember much of the race. And as I am sitting here now--two days after the race--I have absolutely zero soreness and zero stiffness (I did not have any soreness or stiffness yesterday either).

The fact that I don't remember much of the race and that my body is not sore tells me that my body was prepared to race; my mind wasn't. I do not believe I raced to my potential. I know I had a better race in me at the same fitness level. So rather than dwelling on what could have been, I am now ready to pick up my training again and move forward. I am going to start training again tomorrow.

I woke up on race morning an hour early after only about 3 hours of sleep. I was very excited to get going. However, I was not nervous at all. I found that to be a bit odd considering how much I had invested in this one day. On the one hand, I think it was good that I was relaxed; on the other hand, and in retrospect, I think I
was much too relaxed. I should have been much more pumped up. Instead, I felt like I was just going through the motions.

After I woke up, I first ate breakfast. Two bagels, both with cottage cheese, a Cliff Bar, a Cliff Builders bar, and a banana. I then ate another bagel. I also drank lots of water, Gatorade, and a Red Bull. I then took a shower.

One hour later though, I was still completely full. I ate way too much. I had never eaten that much before a big workout. And now, right before the race, my stomach was completely bloated and I was having trouble walking. I was literally praying that I would have to go to the bathroom before the race to empty out my stomach. Eating too much was the first mistake I made. I shouldn't have changed things up that morning. I finally did make it to the bathroom, but I couldn't get rid of my bloated stomach. And I never really did throughout the day.

After going down to transition to check my bike and transition bags, I went back upstairs to the hotel room to change into my wetsuit. I made it out to the beach about 15 minutes before the the start. Even down by the beach, I was much too relaxed. Here was race day, the biggest day of the year for me, the day that I had put everything into, and I yet I was struggling to pump myself up. I was either too confident, or I was treating it much too much like another training day. I am not sure which one, but either way, I wish I had been a little less relaxed and a little more pumped.

15 minutes later, the gun finally went off. I started out the 2 lap swim not feeling that comfortable. I just didn't feel like had much energy. Furthermore, I was getting punched and kicked quite a bit. That is to be expected. But for some reason, I just let it get to me. Rather than settling into a groove, I was just getting frustrated. I kept trying to get it together, but never could. I only have myself to blame for that. It is frickin' Ironman. What did I expect?

I finally finished the first lap and looked at my watch. It said almost 35 minutes. I was really upset with that, and was actually a little bit shocked. I knew I was taking it easy, but I didn't realize I was taking it THAT easy. So I was determined to swim harder during the second lap, which I did. Now that I have seen the swimming race splits, I am pleased to know that I am one of the few participants that negative split the swim, even if only by a few seconds. Just about everyone else swam a few minutes slower during the loop. So that tells me I just did not execute properly and probably did not expend enough energy during the fist lap. TOTAL SWIM: 1:08:57.

I made it through transition ok and then got on the bike. However, within the first few moments of the ride, I noticed that my Powermeter wasn't working. I had no watts, HR, time, mph, or cadence readings. Nothing worked. Having trained to race on data, whether HR or power, I stopped again. It took me several minutes (probably about 3-5) to get the computer working, though I never did get it working entirely. I had no mph reading for the entire race. Furthermore, I was not sure if it was working properly (which I'll come back to).

Once I got going again, I started out by pushing 260 watts (272np) at a HR of 152bpm for the first 56 minutes. My legs felt very heavy and I still felt like I had no energy. But I was determined to sit on 260 thinking that based on my training, my legs would eventually come around.

56 minutes into my ride, I suddenly got swept up by the Tour de Florida (i.e., by at least 50 cyclists all at once). (As an aside, while some have very strong opinions about it, I have never had a problem with drafters before as it tends not to impact my race. I race for myself. If others want to draft so be it; that is their choice. And they will know their result is a result of drafting).

Nevertheless, and back to my report, I became convinced that my Powermeter was wrong and that when I pulled over to fix it, I did not fix it properly. I thought to myself, and without having MPH as a reference, there is no way that I could get passed like that had I been averaging 260w. So I became determined to ride even harder. I made several surges trying to get past the group of riders that passed me, but as soon as I did, everyone just sat on my wheel. This went on for quite a bit. I became completely demoralized, not because I cared that anyone else was drafting, but because I couldn't get away and so thought I had no power in my legs on that day. And the truth is, I really didn't. Furthermore, making these surges, I think, further ruined my day. I was used to riding steady, and yet on race day I was making stupid surges, using up the little energy that I had had. I then lost it mentally and became content with sitting on an easy pace, around 200-210w. I am definitely disappointed in myself for doing that.

I don't remember much about hours 2-4 except for going easy and waiting for my legs to warm up. They finally did, but only at the 4 hour mark. By then it was too late to have a really strong ride. I picked up the power a little but not too much, thinking I might as well go for the best run I could. From the 4 hour mark on, I averaged 241 watts. My powermeter recorded 4:57 minutes of the ride. It says I averaged 233watts, less watts than my ride from last year. My np was outrageously high due to the surges I was making so that my VI was 1.40. My average HR was 139bpm. I trained to ride close to 156-160bpm. TOTAL BIKE: 5:02:01.


By the end of the ride, I was convinced that having ridden at such a low HR, I was poised to have an incredible run. It didn't turn out that way. As soon as I got off the bike, my legs felt the worst they had felt in any of the brick runs I had done throughout the year. I was bloated and I needed to go to the bathroom.

Nevertheless, I kept it going until I hit the end of mile 3. By then, my shins did not feel great, and I became concerned that they were going to flare up. They ultimately did not, but I used them as an excuse anyway to go to the bathroom and walk it out until mile 5. Again, I was weak mentally.

I then started running again. But I really did not feel good. I kept going until I hit mile 15 and mile 16. I was seriously lacking energy by this point. And so I stopped to walk, trying to get in calories through drinking Coke and Gatorade and eating Gummy Bears. The problem, however, was that I was still very bloated. So taking in more calories was only making things worse. I started to run again at mile 17 and ran through 18, but again lacked energy. I stopped to walk again at mile 19 to get in more calories. At that point, I knew sub 10 was not possible, yet I was determined to finish strong. And it was really the only part of the day that I was mentally strong. Miles 20-26 was my fastest run segment. TOTAL RUN: 3:51:02. Below are the splits again.


At the end of the day, I am pleased with the effort leading up to the race. I however don't think my race execution was that great. I was mentally weak throughout the day. And so that is something I need to work. Perhaps entering more races, perhaps some 70.3s would help.

Furthermore, and quite frankly, I just didn't have it that day. Perhaps I was not as fit as I thought I was, which certainly is a possibility. Some have commented that I screwed up my taper. That is also certainly a possibility and something I am thinking about. On the other hand, I also think that given that I did not taper much, the fact that I took three very easy days right before the race might have also cost me. I had never done that before in training. And I know from my past training that taking easy days--especially when doing nothing--tends to make my body shut down. So either I need more taper or if I am not going to taper, then I need to continue training more up until the race. I will work on those things this year to nail it for the next race.

I appreciate all of words of encouragement and support that I have received. It means a lot to me. I will continue to blog. I am convinced that I can get much better and that I can have a much better race. It took Macca 6 times to win Kona an yet his fitness was probably the same every year (he was even leading the race the first year). Same with Mark Allen and many others. I need to learn how to execute properly, figure out how to tap into my fitness on race day (which includes tapering correctly and being better mentally prepared for the race), and improve upon my fitness.

I am not sure which race I will do next. I am signed up for IMFL again next year. But as I said above, I will begin training again tomorrow and go from there.

Thanks for the support.

Saturday: IRONMAN FLORIDA

It's f$cking race day! I'm up an hour early--3 a.m. Couldn't really sleep. Also with the time difference (PCB being 1 hour behind EST), I screwed up the alarm on my blackberry and so set the alarm 1 hour too early. I was sorta up anyway, just dosing. I'm completely wired, and yet surprisingly not that nervous. I'm sure the nerves will kick in once I get down to transition. I've already eaten 2 bagels with cottage cheese, one chocolate chip Cliff Bar, one banana, and one Cliff Builders bar (Chocolate Mint). I'm already full, but will try (and now have extra time)to get some more calories in. F$ck yeah!!!!!!!! Here we go!!!!!!!!!

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Well, today just wasn't my day. I picked the wrong day to have a bad one. I just didn't have it today. I never felt like I ever had any energy and as a result was constantly playing catchup. I'll post a full race report in the next couple of days once I have had time to digest the race. I learned a lot by doing it and know I didn't leave my all out there. I know my fitness far surpasses my race result. And I feel like I just did a 5k, not an Ironman. So now I am more motivated than ever. My powermeter didn't work to start the ride, which I will elaborate on in the report, but I'll post what data I have once I get my bike back. Below are my runs splits.

Friday: Ironman Florida Gear Check In

Wow! I am psyched! I can't wait to get this started!

Today was pretty hectic. The two days before the race always seem to be. But today in particular because is you have to check in your bag and all your gear by 3pm. It seems like it should be enough time but somehow the day slips by.

I woke up pretty early and just chilled. Then I went for a 2 x 5 minute swim in the Gulf. I made it it out 2 minutes, felt good, then became afraid I was going to get attacked by a shark, and so then swam back in. I then did that again. It felt a little different than swimming in the pool and it was a little cold at first, but it was a lot of fun. Tomorrow should be great.

I then went to pick up my bike from Inside Out Sports. I had them check out my bike one last time and put on my race wheels. Took the bike for a test ride to make some minor adjustments on my position, tighten the bolts, and get a feel for the race wheels--1080 and sub9. Wow. The wheels are fast. But scary. I was getting blown all over the place and it crossed my mind to go with the 808 front. But I think I'll be less scared with without cars and more room on the road. So 1080 it is. They are fast!

I was also a little cold on the bike when I first started out. I wore a thermal shirt over my trisuit and was still a little cold. But then I warmed up after about 45 minutes or so. I've decided I am not going to use armwarmers for the race tomorrow unless it is much colder when I wake up in the morning. I'll probably be cold when I first start the bike, but will warm up later. I would rather it stay cold throughout the day though.

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Came back from my ride and my brother surprised me and was waiting in the room. I didn't know he was coming. So it was awesome to see him! My mom also surprised me by coming yesterday. I only thought my dad was coming. So now I have my cheering squad and need to deliver.
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Packed my transition bags and dropped them off as well as my bike. I saw the Thunderbears bike. It looked money. I then saw Tom Evans and told him I was going to take him down. I don't think he realized that I was joking and he gave me a dirty double take. It was cool seeing him though. I wish him well and hopes he kicks ass.

Thursday: Travel to and Register for IMFL; 30 mile bike; 5 mile run; abs

I'm off to the airport, wearing my skins recovery tights and compression socks underneath my jeans. I got 3 hours of sleep last night, and yet am still completely wired. Lying in bed throughout the night, I was going through the race in head visualizing the key moments: the start; T1; 2 hours into the bike; 80 miles into the bike; 100 miles into the bike; T2; the first three miles of the run; the 6 mile turnaround; the 9 mile marker; the halfway point; 15 miles; 18 miles; 20 miles, 24 miles, and then the last mile. I got a little nervous, but was mostly frickin' pumped and excited. I can't wait!

I weighed in, for my final weigh in, at 149lbs this morning; not the 148 I was hoping for, but still over 15 pounds lighter than I was back in May. When I dropped below that a few weeks ago, I got sick, so I think 149 is good.

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Went for a 1:45 bike ride just to chill, coast, get my position squared away (as it got a little messed during the trip to FL) and get used to riding outside. Today was my second ride outside since last year' race, the other ride being back sometime in July or August I think. I had my training wheels on but was still scared about getting blown around. I kept my heart rate around the 100s. My left knee did not feel great, but it is probably (and hopefully) just nerves.

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I'm finally registered. Thank you to all of those who have wished me luck and have expressed interest in my journey. I'll think about all those good wishes when times get tough on Saturday. For those that want to track my race, my race number is 356. Below is a picture of what I'll be wearing on the run.



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Ran 5 miles tonight. Final run until the race. I wanted to wait for night to do my run to avoid the sun and avoid everyone else on the course so I wouldn't be tempted to go too hard. It didn't really work. Ran the first 2.5 miles of the course and then back. I was picturing myself in the race. Felt great. But ran harder than I wanted to. 5 miles. 7:37min/mi.

Wednesday: 1 mile swim; abs

Slight change of plans. I had to stay at work today later than expected. I am now flying out first thing tomorrow morning and should be in PCB by 11.

I had planned on not working out today as a travel day. I kept to that to rest up but got in a swim as I now won't be able to swim tomorrow. 1 mile easy and slow. I now have one last night in the tent.

After many viewings, this video still motivates me.

Tuesday: 50 mile bike; 5 mile run; abs

Started with a 5 mile run. 8:58min/mi. Felt very good.

I then wanted to do a long ride but it's not worth staying up late at this stage of the game so unfortunately I didn't have time to do it. I switched to a 50 mile recovery ride while I watched some of the Celtics and then the Lakers games. 2:30. 193w.

I buzzed my hair during lunch. I'm f$ckin pumped! And I saw the Thunderbear is racing. Awesome! I blasted this song about 10 straight times while on the bike.



Tomorrow night in Florida will be my first night out of the tent in the last 3 months. I have been at 12,000 feet for the last two months.

Monday: 24 mile bike; 1 mile swim; abs

1 mile swim. Starting to feel better/smoother in the water.

Then tonight the hot chick unexpectedly stopped over with a huge bowl of homecooked pasta, which will be great as I begin to carboload. The bowl is massive so I should definitely have enough carbs in me come race day. Then hopped on the bike for a 1 hour 20 minute recovery ride. 24 miles. 170w.

Tomorrow I am probably going to have one final big day before the race. I have been going back and forth about this. Traditional training programs that I have looked at all tend to be very easy the week of the race.

However, I have looked over my training log and I tend not to ride as well on Saturdays if my week is too easy--I feel sluggish and my legs shut down. My best rides have come after having ridden long four days before.

And so judging by my past training, and having a good sense of how my body reacts to certain workouts, I will very likely do a long but easy/moderate ride tomorrow, the purpose of which is to keep the engine running and also deplete all my glycogen stores. I will have plenty of time to recover by Saturday and in theory (and based on my training--in practice as well) my body will super-compensate by increasing its fuel reserves in anticipation of another long ride. I read about this super-compensation effect in one of Chris Carmichael's books, and I believe it works for me.

Sunday: 60 mile bike; 14 mile run; 1 mile swim; abs

a.m. Ran 14 miles with the hot chick this morning. 8:30 min/mi. Then came home and went back to sleep. I'm trying to get more rest now that the race is within a week.

p.m. 1 mile swim. Then a couple hours later I got on the bike for a recovery ride. 60 miles. 3:01:42. 185w.

The hardest part of my training right now is fighting the constant urge to test my fitness. I am worried that if I don't train at race pace, then I will lose it. I just have to trust that I have done the training.

Saturday: 120 mile bike; 2 mile swim; abs

2 mile swim in the morning. Then came home and took a nap. Then onto the bike. 5:30 with a HR cap of 138bpm. 120 miles. 230w. 135bpm. I felt like I was ready to explode for most of the ride. It took a lot of discipline to stay below the cap. By the end of the ride, however, I definitely wanted to get off. 3-4 hours is fine. 5+ hours is still a long time no matter the effort/pace. My ass was hurting.

Friday: 65 mile ride; abs

Yesterday I was nervous. Today I was completely f%cking pumped.

My bike is on its way to Florida. I dropped it off this afternoon. Tonight I rode on my road bike for the first time in months. It is so comfortable. I love it. On the other hand, I can feel that it stresses slightly different muscles than my racing bike.

My legs are definitely starting to come around. I just need to rest enough to get that one extra gear, hold on, and not shut down. 3 hour ride. 65 miles. 232w. 135bpm. 80rpm.

Thursday: 46 mile bike; 1 mile swim

I am starting to get really nervous. This is probably the most nervous I have ever been for anything in my life. I have a lot of doubts and "should haves" starting to creep in. I wish I had had a few more bigger weeks. I wish I had done a few more bigger workouts. I wish I had done some longer runs. And I wish I had swum more.

Sub 10 seems ridiculously fast to me right now. Have I really done enough? I feel like I need to have the perfect race--something which never happens in an Ironman--to get there.

On the other hand, while some nerves are appropriate, I'll try to get most of them out my system before the race by focusing on what I can control. I have prepared the best that I possibly could. I've put all my energy into this. And I've rarely missed a day of training unless I was sick or too wrecked to train. I just need to trust that I have in fact done enough. My focus now will be on completing my last few training sessions, getting all my equipment, transition bags, and special needs in order, eating right, sleeping, and making it to the starting line without getting injured or sick.

I ship my bike tomorrow (tonight is my last ride on the racing bike until next Thursday) and leave for Florida next Wednesday. I have most of my gear ready to go as well, which I'll finish packing this weekend.

On the list to take with me:

SWIM
-Sweats for the early morning prior to the race--I hate this part of the day--it's always cold
-Trisuit
-Wetsuit
-2 pairs of Goggles

BIKE
-Aerohelmet - Giro Advantage 2
-Bike shoes - I bought new ones which I need to break in
-Wheels - I made an impulsive buying decision by purchasing the Zipp sub 9 and 1080 two days ago. I put enough time into this, I might as well feel comfortable that I am racing on the best equipment possible. I will be using the Zipp tangente tires.
-Sunglasses for the bike
-Number belt
-Spare tire
-Pump
-Crackpipe
-Allen Wrench

RUN
-Running shoes - Also new ones which I need to break in
-Compression shorts and compression sleeveless top for the run
-Several pairs of new socks
-Sunglasses for the run
-Extra race number belt in case other one falls off during the bike
-Hat for the run
-Advil and salt tablets

MISC
-Vaseline and Bodyglide
-Advil
-Salt Tablets
-Tums
-2 Polar heart rate monitor
-Polar watch
-Garmin watch and Garmin heart rate monitor
-Electrical tape
-Extra magnets
-Scissors
-Extra Allen wrench
-Flashlight
-Water bottles

THINGS TO GET IN FLORIDA
When I get to Florida, I'll need to buy my nutrition and some other parts for the bike
-Red Bull
-Gatorade
-Water
-CO2 cartridges
-Cliff Bars - Probably won't use them for the bike, but will eat a couple before the race
-Snickers Bar
-Gummy Bears

TRAINING GEAR FOR WED-FRI
-Biking shorts
-Biking jerseys
-Biking gloves
-Running shorts
-Running shirts
-Swimsuits
-Socks
-Casual clothes
-Skins recovery tights
-Compression socks

p.m. 1 mile swim.

Followed by 46 mile bike. 2:15. 213w. 122bpm. 78rpm.

Wednesday: 22 mile bike; 4 mile run; abs

It's hard to believe, but the race is quickly approaching. I only have two more days on my racing bike before I ship it to Florida. I plan to ride relatively hard on Friday and Saturday, but it will be on my road bike. The next time I ride my racing bike after tomorrow will be next Thursday, two days before the race. Scary.

4.11 mile run. 7:51min/mi.

22 mile recovery ride. 1:08. 172w. 114bpm.

Tuesday: 65 mile bike; abs

65 mile bike. First time I have worn a heart rate monitor in a few weeks. First 50 minutes was warmup. Then 2 hours at 272w. Total ride. 65 miles. 265w. 145bpm. 75rpm.

Monday: 20 mile bike

1 hour recovery ride.

Sunday: 65 mile bike; 1 mile swim; abs

a.m. 1 mile swim.

p.m. 3 hour ride. 65 miles. 248watts. Just getting my biking legs back.

Overall, my run and my bike feel the best they have ever felt. Every workout feels relatively easy. I am not getting tired or sore. I just need to hold on for two weeks.

My swim, however, is pretty bad. I don't feel comfortable in the water and anything longer than 1 mile swims incredibly long. I'm not sure if it is because I haven't swam as much over the last couple of weeks or because I have lost too much upper body muscle. I don't think I am going to get any faster in the next couple of weeks, but I hope to at least feel as smooth as I felt back in August.

Saturday: 21 mile run; 1 mile swim; abs

Thursday I ran 26 miles. And two days later--today--I ran 21 miles. That is either really stupid or, if nothing else, will be really good for my confidence (and help me shed the last couple pounds) come race day. Speaking of which, my confidence in my run is at an all time high. I've been trying to get this type of mileage all year; now that my shin is holding up, I am just going for it. I'm really lovin' the running.

Prior to Thursday, I was entirely unsure as to whether I could run a marathon at any pace. I am now confident that I will be able to run the marathon--though whether I can do it at 3:30 pace is a different story.

I don't know how I suddenly got all of this run endurance, but these two days have barely taxed me. I have little fatigue and not much soreness. I feel like I haven't done much at all.

On the other hand, I can't risk getting injured at this stage, so I probably won't run longer than these two days until the race. I need to get focused back on the bike and get my bike legs going again.

Biking and getting in the pool will be the focus of training and taper starting tomorrow until the race, though I don't plan on tapering too much, except for the run. My run volume will drop quite a bit. I may do one more semi-long run some time next week; but otherwise most of my runs will just be brick runs.

a.m. 7 mile run. 8:15min/mi.

p.m. 1 mile swim. 14 mile run with the hot chick. 8:35min/mi.

Friday: 1 mile swim

Went to sleep early. 10 hours of sleep for the night, the most I have slept in a very long time.

Thursday: 20 mile bike; 26 mile run; abs

a.m. 21 mile run. 8:14min/mi. 9 miles with the hot chick. 8:43. I'm glad my shins held up. Fun run.

I then continued on for another 12 miles. I reset my watch when I continued on. Here are the splits for miles 10-21. 7:49min/mi.


My cardiovascular system has far surpassed my muscular endurance. I am definitely lacking long runs and wish I had done more of them. While my breathing was minimal, this run wasn't as comfortable as I had hoped. My legs started to hurt at the 12 mile marker and I wanted to stop from then on until the end. On the other hand, I didn't actually feel tired at all. So I continued going because I need to get used to the pain I'll be feeling during the race and need the confidence that I can run the distance.

Once I finished the run, however, I was very surprised that throughout the day, I felt little fatigue and had little soreness. In fact, I felt like I hadn't worked out at all, which pleased me.

p.m. 20 mile recovery ride. 200w. followed by a 5 mile brick run. 7:24 min/mi

Wednesday: 30 mile bike: 1 mile swim; abs

Pretty darn tired today--and hungry too. Much more tired than the last two days. My volume might be too low right now, but I am trying to balance resting up without shutting down. I seem to be shutting down more than resting up.

a.m. 1 mile swim. First time in the water in a while. Not that good.

p.m. Sh!tty recovery ride. Could never get into a groove.

I'm supposed to run with the hot chick early tomorrow morning. I may try to extend the run afterwards into a long run for some confidence depending on how my shins hold up--hopefully they will--last time I ran with her I had to stop after 10 minutes, which wasn't good.

Tuesday: 30 mile bike; 4 mile run; abs

a.m. 4 mile run. 7:37min/mi.

p.m. 30 mile recovery ride. 210w.

Monday: 40 mile bike

40 mile recovery ride. Legs felt much better than I expected throughout the day. Not much fatigue from yesterday's ride.

Sunday: 120 mile bike; 1 mile run; abs

Shoulder was a little tender this morning--not sure why--so out of an abundance of caution, I skipped the swim today.

Hopped on the bike for a race simulation ride. I got inspired by watching Kona yesterday. 120 miles. 5:06. 283w. No heart rate monitor. This was not a fun ride. It wasn't too painful but took a lot of concentration. There was never a point where I could just relax.

I averaged 291w for the first 56 miles. I started to hurt at that point and tail off a little. I chugged some Red Bull and then felt better starting from about 80 miles to 112. I averaged 284w (287w normalized) for 112 and then finished off the ride to get to 120 miles. I chugged another Red Bull along the way and drank Gatorade every 10 minutes with water in between. I drank too much water I think as I had to go to the bathroom 3 times.


I tried to brick it so I could see how my legs held up. Unfortunately, my shins hurt so I only got a mile in and had to stop. 8:03min/mi. My legs otherwise felt ok, but a little wobbly. I didn't feel as fresh as after having biked 250 or 260 watts but I didn't get far enough to really know how they would respond 3-5 miles in. Nevertheless, it may have been too hard to run solidly afterwards. I'll have to try that kind of power again soon to figure it out.

Saturday

Here we go!!!!! I don't know how I am going to train today. I am so excited. All I want to do is watch the race! Can't wait until it starts.

a.m. Run to the pool. 5 miles. 39:38. 7:49min/mi.


Swim 2 miles. ~60 minutes. My swim is weak right now. I need to swim more in the next couple of weeks.

Run home. 5.03 miles. 36:13. 7:12min/mi. Got a little too excited.



p.m. I'm going to have wait and ride tonight. I have to watch. This is the best sport ever!!!

Friday: 30 mile bike; abs

KONA!!!! Can't wait. It's f$cking awesome!. One of my favorite sporting events. The field is stacked this year. I think about 8 guys on any given day could win it. Last year, I (unintentionally) landed up taking the day off and spent 10+ hours staring at the computer screen. I can't afford to do that tomorrow so I will try and get most of my workout done early, though I probably won't be able to finish it all by the time the race starts.

Thursday: 42 mile bike; 10 mile run

42 mile bike. 2:02. 210w. Recovery effort.

Followed by a 10 mile brick run. 1:15:06. 7:26min/mi

Wednesday: 60 mile bike

Felt tired all day with a headache until I got on the bike. No heart rate monitor. I'm really starting to enjoy not riding with the heart rate monitor. It doesn't mentally impact how I ride.

60 mile bike. 1 hour warm up at 227w. 80rpm. Followed by what I felt was Tempo, yet without having the HR monitor. 1:37:18 at 292w (294w normalized). 73rpm. Hardest I have ridden all year (in my life actually) and it didn't feel that bad. Total ride. 60 miles. 2:37:18. 267w. 76rpm.

Tuesday: 56 mile bike

No heart rate monitor. 224w. 79rpm.

Monday: 70 mile bike; 1 mile run; abs

I needed this workout. No heart rate monitor. Covered up the powermeter. And just rode, somewhat out of anger. 3:05. 70 miles. 250w. I rode the last 65 minutes at 265w.

Bricked it. Aerobically felt great as did my legs. Unfortunately, my shins are still f%cked up. 10 minutes. 7:47min/mi.

Sunday: Day Off

Still no energy. I really went over the edge. I think I dropped too much weight too quickly and too early and then caught some bug, which is obviously not out of my system yet. I literally have to stop and rest after walking 10 feet; and forget about trying to walk up stairs or the escalator.

I saw pictures from the running race I did last weekend and I couldn't recognize myself. I look like half the person I used to be at the same time last year. And it doesn't look good. Last week, the hot chick joked--at least I thought she was joking at the time since I have always been pretty strong--that I don't have much muscle. Now that I have seen pictures of myself, I realize that she wasn't joking at all. My legs are big, and then there isn't much else.

Obviously, after having put so much time and energy into this, I am very down and upset with what is going on with me--being sick and my shins being messed up when I should be starting to peak. However, there is not much I can do about it so I am not going to waste any more energy worrying about it. I'm going to try very hard to get going again tomorrow--irrespective of how slow and short it is--and then give it everything I have for three weeks. No more whining. No more crying. No more excuses. Just training.

Saturday: 21 mile bike; 1 mile swim; abs

Lateral Compartment Syndrome.

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00204 describes it as this:

Chronic Compartment Syndrome

Chronic compartment syndrome is characterized by pain and swelling caused by exercise. It can be a significant problem for an athlete. It gets better when you rest. It usually occurs in the leg. It is occasionally accompanied by numbness or difficulty in moving the foot. Symptoms dissipate quickly when activity stops. Compartment pressures may remain elevated for some time afterwards.

Symptoms

A combination of signs and symptoms characterize compartment syndrome.

* The pain may be intensely out of proportion to the injury, especially if no bone is broken.
* There may also be a tingling or burning sensation (paresthesias) in the muscle.
* The muscle may feel tight or full.
* If the area becomes numb or paralysis sets in, cell death has begun and efforts to lower the pressure in the compartment may not be successful in restoring function.


After spending hours researching possible injuries, I am fairly confident this is what I have and--after going through my training logs for the last few years--probably have had for many, many years. I had always assumed it was the wrong shoes or orthotics, or shin splints, or too much biking, or overuse. But now it's gotten to a point where I can barely run without any pain regardless of rest, shoe or anything else.

If you have been following my progress over the course of this year, I have not been able to get my miles above 30 per week, and still have pain on pretty much every run, and still need to take a week off from running every couple of weeks. What happens to me is that after 1-2 miles, I feel like there is no blood going down to my lower legs--to the anterior tibial muscles. My shins down to my toes then become completely numb and painful and I have no choice but to stop running. It's completely debilitating. The pain lasts another 10-15 minutes after I have stopped running and I cannot flex my ankle or foot. And then it goes away until I run again.

Of course, I will have to go to an orthopedic surgeon to get a proper diagnosis, and unfortunately, the only treatment seems to be surgery. But now that I have researched it and know what compartment syndrome is, I believe I am a textbook case--and it only seems to have gotten worse over the last couple of years. Here is an article on it in Runner's World:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-290-291-2859-0,00.html

There is nothing I can do about it at this stage so I am not going to worry about it. As my brother mentioned to me and Charles mentioned in a comment, I think it is a good idea to try and maintain my running fitness by running in the pool. I'll also use the elliptical machine, and then try to get out and run as much as I can leading up to the race, which won't be much. I also may try to do both Ironman Florida and Ironman Arizona as someone else commented.

Right now, I am trying to get my energy back. While I am feeling better, whatever bug I had this past week is still zapping my energy and I am still not feeling 100%--not even close to it. I struggled through a 1 mile swim this morning and then slept all day. But my mental state is much better than it was yesterday.

p.m. 21 mile bike. 1 hour. 225w. 145bpm. At 200 watts, my heart rate was 140bpm--it's normally ~115bpm. At 230w, my heart rate was close to 160bpm, the highest it has been all year at any power--it's normally ~135bpm. I'll get through this though. Better to have this happen now than the week of the race.

Friday: 20 mile bike; 1 mile swim; abs

So I need a place to vent and that is part of the reason why I have the blog. I tried to run this morning with the hot chick. Half a mile in, my shin started to act up again. I had to stop after a mile (which btw didn't really impress). I haven't run since Sunday. F%ck!

I just don't know what the problem is. I am barely running--30 miles a week--and my shins are completely messed up. I actually don't think its the shins themselves but the tibial anterior muscles. The muscles feel like they completely tighten up and then I feel like there is no blood flowing down my leg, which in turn causes numbness from my shins to my toes. When it is really bad, I have no control over my ankle and foot and it just points down.

I've been training all year and now that I am in the redzone, I am really--I mean really--struggling to get inside the endzone. If it's not one thing, then it's another. First sickness, and now my shins are screwed up again. Looking back at my training log, I can typcially get two weeks of 30 miles in, and then my shins start acting up that third week. Not exactly what will get me to a 3:30 marathon.

I am trying hard not to let it affect my mental state; but I'd be lying if I said that it didn't. I must admit I am definitely feeling down. My motivation is wavering from very high to wanting to say f$ck it. I've put so much time, effort, and energy into one day--Nov 1. Pretty much all I have thought about, dreamt about, and done over the course of the last year has been to maximize my chances of achieving my goal at Ironman Florida. It has been a lot of sacrifice. I literally think about it everytime I eat, sleep, train, and have any desire to do anything else that would compromise my ability to train. The only time I am not constantly thinking about it is when I am at work--and even there I try to be as efficient as possible so I don't waste any time, which will give me more time to train.

Unfortunately, I am sadly starting to realize that I am not going to get there. There is zero chance I can run a 3:30 marathon--4 hours if I am lucky. (I am not even sure I will be able to run at all if my shins don't hold up during the race). I just don't have the fitness yet and I am not--and don't forsee myself--being able to complete the workouts needed to reach my goals. I doubt I'll be able to run at all this week and probably not until later next week. I haven't run long in months. My highest week total is a little south of 50 miles and that was 3 months ago. A 13 mile run at about 9:20 pace last week was a struggle. While I can run faster this year, I don't think I have the run endurance that I had last year. My swimming and biking are also not where I thought they would--and think they should--be at this point.

I don't want to do the race just to finish it. One option I am thinking about is skipping Ironman Florida and doing Ironman Arizona instead, which is three weeks later. I signed up for Ironman Arizona as a back up in case anything went wrong leading up to Ironman Florida. And the last couple of weeks, things have gone horribly wrong.

Okay, enough of that. Now back to training....

p.m. 1 mile swim. ~30 minutes. 20 mile bike. 220w.

Thursday: 20 mile bike; abs

I am really struggling. I am finally starting to feel a little better this morning--no more fever, cough is getting better--but I have zero energy. I tried to run but had to stop half a mile into it. It's very frustrating.

p.m. Finally feeling better. Motivation is up again. Can't wait to get back into some long training sessions. 1 hour. 20 miles. 188w.

Wednesday: 20 mile bike

a.m. 20 mile bike. 1:03. 167w

p.m. Don't feel well. Can't train.

Tuesday: Day Off

Sick.

Monday: Day Off

Too sick to train.

Sunday: 20 mile bike; 5 mile run; 1 mile swim; abs

Sick. Not well. My confidence is way down. This week I was sick but the past few weeks have not been what I had hoped. I may have to adjust my expectations.

Woke up around 4:30 with my throat throbbing and stomach killing. Took some meds, started a round of antibiotics, and then got on the bike for an hour in preparation for the 5 mile running race with the hot chick. 240w. Did not feel well at all and wanted to go back to sleep but stayed on. I wanted to simulate running after biking--I also tend to run faster after biking. After I got off though, I felt better

Got to the race, was actually feeling pretty good as my adrenaline was pumping and meds had kicked in, but surprisingly I was also very nervous--it was my first race of the year and also the first test of my fitness outside of training.

Gun went off. The fact that I was in a race got the better of me. Except for the guys way up front, I started out with most of the "lead" pack, of course running much faster than I could actually run. Hit the first mile, looked at my watch and it said 5:55. Holy shit! I think I was 2d or 3d in my Division. Fastest I have run a mile in my life.

And also pretty stupid. From that moment on I completely crashed and then it was just matter of survival. The results are not up, but I think I finished somewhere around the upper 33 minutes.

Came home and slept for most of the rest of the day. Then went swimming for 1 mile--it would be more accurate to say that I was floating from one side of the pool to the other rather than actually swimming.

Have been too tired to get back on the bike or go for a recovery run.

I don't know if I am doing more harm than good by not completely resting. I feel like I am losing fitness by the day and am certainly not gaining any fitness. I need to get well, but I really only have 3 more weeks of training and have yet to really hit any of my goals for my Ironman build. Three weeks of Ironman build is not what I had in mind. Like I said, I might have to adjust my expectations.

Week Total: 277 mile bike. 30 mile run. 6 mile swim.

Saturday: 112 mile bike; 4 mile run; 4 mile swim; abs

Started with a 4.46 mile run. 8:34min/mi. Really did not feel well. Then went to the pool. The swim started out tough, but then I settled in. Did 4 miles in about 2 hours.

Then biked for 112 miles. I knew it was going to hurt; and it did. I didn't wear a heart rate monitor as I knew it would be out of whack. I just went what felt like a very easy effort, but it wasn't easy at all. I was really suffering pretty much from the beginning. 5:20:19; 216w. ###bpm. 20.98mph. Was too tired to brick it.

I don't know if today's workout was the wisest of moves. I may have been better off taking the day off and resting, but it's hard to see low volumes so close to the race, so I just toughed it out.

Friday: 6 mile run

a.m. 6.47 mile run. 9:16min/mi. I have been very low on energy this week and started to get a cough last night, which is a little worse this morning.

p.m. Sick. I am going to try and do my normal Saturday workout tomorrow, but will have to stop to the extent I still do not feel well.

Thursday: 20 mile bike

Rough week. Haven't had much energy since Monday. 20 miles. 202w.

Wednesday: 62 mile bike; 13 mile run; abs

a.m. 2 hour recovery ride. 2:01. 41 miles. 205w. 123bpm. 80rpm.

p.m. 1 hour ride. 21 miles. 219w. 129bpm. Followed by long run, take two. 2:01:18. 13 miles. 9:19min/mi.

The Ironman is going to hurt. I was running slow, running 9 minutes, walking 1 minute, and still didn't feel that great by the end--it was only 13 miles. I am seriously lacking long run training and probably don't have enough time to get it down.

I now have my Skins recovery long tights on. They feel awesome.

Tuesday: 2 mile run; 1 mile swim

a.m. 1 mile swim ~30 min.

p.m. Was going to try to run long, the key component missing from my training regimen so far. 2 miles out, my shin starting to act up. Nothing major and could be mental, but I didn't want to risk it. I walked it in. By the time I got back home, I didn't have it mentally to get on the bike. F$ck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday: 65 mile bike; abs

3 hour easy ride. Felt great today. Had to hold myself back so as not ruin my Tempo rides later in the week. Took in zero calories during ride; only water. Total ride. 65 miles. 3:00:19. 229w. 130bpm. 79rpm.

Sunday: 56 mile bike; 3 mile run; 1 mile swim; abs

Absolutely exhausted today, though no muscle soreness, which is good. The Tempo rides and faster running pace over the course of the week took a lot out of me. Didn't have much energy today.

a.m. 1 mile swim. It was early. I was struggling. ~30 minutes. 56 mile recovery bike ride. 2:44:19. 199w. 119bpm. 80rpm.

p.m. 3 mile run. 9:11 min/mi. Very tired.

Week summary. 401 mile bike. 38 mile run. 7 mile swim. Volume not quite there. But I had some great workouts. I've maxed out the tent at 12,000ft.

Saturday: 100 mile bike; 15 mile run; 3 mile swim; abs

a.m. Run to the gym. 4.29 miles. 35:27. 8:15min/mi. Swim 3 miles. Just trying to get it done. Didn't feel that great. Run home. 4.47 miles. 36:09. 8:05 min/mi. Both runs felt easy.

p.m. Bike 100 miles. My plan was to ride easy, but very long. I rode easy, but not as I long as I had hoped. I didn't have it mentally today. I started to hurt 60 miles in and never felt better. I got off at 100 miles. Weak. Total ride. 100 miles. 4:33:04. 238w. 138bpm. 80 rpm. 22.1mph.


Followed the bike with a 6.41 mile brick run. Best run of my life. 7:12min/mi. Felt awesome! I love to swim, bike and run. But there is no better feeling then coming off the bike and running fast (for me anyway).

Friday: 20 mile bike; 4 mile run; abs

a.m. 4 mile run on treadmill. 9:15min/mi.

p.m. 20 mile bike. 194w. 117bpm

Thursday: 100 mile bike; 6 mile run; 1 mile swim

TEMPO SESSION 2
4:30 w/60min Tempo

Best workout of my life. Finished it at 1 in the morning.

a.m. 1 mile swim. Easy. ~30 minutes.

p.m. 4:30. Rode for 3 hours. Then did Tempo for 1 hour at 278w; 153bpm; 73rpm. Ouch! It hurt, but not as bad as Tuesday. Then 30 minute recovery. Total ride. 4:29:24. 100 miles. 248w. 139bpm.



Followed the bike with a 6 mile brick run. Best run of my life. 46:33. 6.06 miles. 7:40min/mi. 151bpm. No calories or water during run.


For recovery, I ran out of milk. I had blueberries and cottage cheese and some water instead, though I wasn't particularly hungry.

Wednesday: 35 mile bike; 6 mile run

a.m. Run with hot chick. Garmin didn't work, but I'll map it later. It was about 6.5 miles in about 53 minutes, all very steep uphill. It was tough.

p.m. 35 mile bike. 243w. 131bpm. Heart rate low, but legs felt good.

Tuesday: 90 mile bike; 3 mile run; 2 mile swim; abs

TEMPO SESSION 1
4 hours w/1 hour Tempo

a.m. 2 mile swim. Probably the best swim I have ever had.

lunch. 3 mile run. 9:19min/mi.

p.m. 4 hour ride with 1 hour at Tempo. These rides really frickin' hurt. I don't like them at all. There is no lactic buildup as the rides are still aerobic, well within zone 2. And so the watts are not much higher; but the cadence is so low that your muscles gradually start to fatigue.

I averaged 277w for 60 minutes. Total ride. 90 miles. 4:02:28. 258w. 148bpm.

I tried to brick it, but 0.5 miles in, my shin started to bother me. It didn't hurt, but I was afraid that if I had kept running then I would have hurt it. It may have been mental as I have little confidence that it will hold up; but it's not worth the risk. Big day tomorrow!

Monday: Day Off

I didn't sleep very well last night. The altitude is starting to get pretty high and I could notice a difference. I was tossing and turning. I also felt like my stomach was eating itself, which obviously isn't very good. I weighed in this morning at 152.8lbs. I've lost over 10 lbs. since May.

I generally don't like taking any days off--and especially Mondays--unless I really need it. I was just too tired to train today. It wasn't worth struggling through only to ruin the rest of the week. Went to bed early.

Sunday: 65 mile bike; 6 mile run; 1 mile swim; abs

Today was a rough one. Never could get into a groove. Got another flat, which took ruined me mentally. I just didn't have it. Furthermore, zero chance that I can run a 3:30 marathon with my current level of fitness. (I am actually nervous about running a marathon at any pace). Doubts are definitely starting to creep in.

1 mile swim. ~30 minutes.

65 mile bike. 232w. 135bpm

6 mile brick run. 8:03min/mi

Week summary.

This week was ok--I had some good workouts--but not what I had in mind. Hopefully I will look back and it will be a blessing in disguise. I have 5 weeks to get my endurance up and then taper. I think (and hope) that I am finally able to start putting in some run miles without hurting my shins, but I will have to run much slower than I did this week. I get too excited during brick runs and struggle to hold myself back, which isn't good for Ironman training and would be suicide during the race. I am now up to 11,000 feet in the tent.

Week total. 363 mile bike. 30 mile run. 6 mile swim.

Saturday: 88 mile bike; 9 mile run; 2 mile swim; abs

I wanted a bigger day as I am now trying to simulate the race as much as possible, at least the distance, but nevertheless a lot of positives came out of today.

I slept in this morning, having turned off all my alarms last night. I felt like I needed the rest, as I was pretty tired by week's end. So I got off to a late start.

I started with a 2 mile swim. I felt very smooth and fluid. The guy in the lane next to me asked if I swam competitively growing up, to which I was shocked and so sort of chuckled and thought, "Dude, I don't even know how to do flip turns" but I said "No, but I appreciate that and thanked him for the confidence booster." That did make me feel pretty good and hopefully my swim is starting to come along.

I then went to get lunch, digested for 2 hours, and went to go run on the treadmill. This was by far and away the highlight of my day. I was 50 minutes into my run, when the hot chick from about a month ago, got on the treadmill next to me, not to run, but simply to talk. I hadn't seen her since then. Of course, I had no problems cutting my workout short of the 80 minutes I had planned. 50:22. 5.60 miles. 9:00min/mi.

We chatted for a little bit. She told me that she is doing a 5 mile running race in a couple of weeks and that I should do it as well. I casually told her I'd check it out. Meanwhile, as soon as I got home, the first thing I did was sign up for it! So that will be my first race of the season. And I can't wait! The problem though is that she is going to crush me. She is definitely a much faster runner than I am. But what the hell. Hopefully I won't embarrass myself too much.

Then I got straight onto the bike. The plan was to go for 5-6 hours. I felt awesome from the get go. Nothing like a hot chick to motivate you. I was having one of my better rides. 70 miles in though, a thunderstorm hit. I was a little concerned, but didn't want another crappy day so I just kept going, which I normally don't do.

Then 88 miles in, my powermeter shut down. The battery ran out as I forgot to charge it after my last ride. I could have stayed on, but by then I became mentally weak as I didn't really want to continue my ride--which was going to be one of my better ones--if I couldn't record it. Weak! But perhaps the powermeter going off was a sign as the thunderstorm then really hit. So on the one hand I was glad I got off, but on the other hand, I was I little upset because I wanted and think I need at least 112 at this stage in the game.

Total ride. 3:50:12. 88 miles. 262w. 150bpm. 80rpm. 22.9mph. After the first 26 miles, I averaged 270w for 62 miles. I decided to skip the tempo work. This week has been bad so I will start it up next week.

I followed the ride with a 4.12 mile run. 32:40. 7:55min/mi. I gotta admit: despite what might appear to be a great run for me because of the pace, I wasn't feeling that great. And it made me nervous about having to run a marathon.

I had a side stitch as soon as I started and it never went away. The problem I think was that I ate a Cliff Bar at 3:00 into the ride, thinking I would have 2 hours to digest it. That obviously didn't happen and so it was just sitting in my gut. Furthermore, I stupidly didn't bring any calories on the run, and I could feel myself losing energy after 20 minutes. I also felt like I needed some salt as my hamstring was getting tight, though it never did fully cramp up.

In short, it was frickin' tough. This sport is tough. But that's why I love it. And that's what keeps me training.

Friday: 20 mile bike; 1 mile run

Huge stomachache. Can't ride. 1 mile swim. ~30 minute. Then wanted to ride 100. Can't lean down on the bars. 20 miles was all I could take. 185w. This week is turning out to be pretty bad, and not what I had in mind. Going for an early night.

Thursday: 20 mile bike; 10 mile run

I had to work late and so only started my workout at 11:30pm. I wasn't about to miss a day of training less than 8 weeks out. I hadn't really run in almost 10 days and Friday is another Tempo day, so I wanted at least a short recovery ride in before that. I actually really enjoy the late workouts. The goal was to get in a mid-long run and a recovery bike.

Night runs on Thursday-Saturday are great because everyone is out at the bars drunk. I love to run by them. I was wearing my compression socks pulled high up and short shorts, looking like a complete idiot. Money!

Loaded up the Garmin. Turned on the iShuffle. First song to come on was Rocky, Gonna Fly Now. Awesome! I got totally pumped up right off the bat so I decided to run by the bars. Always extra motivation.

I started with what felt like 7 minute miles. I had visions of winning the Ironman! Passed by some drunk chicks. Yelled hello to them. Passed by some homeless people. Waved to them. Was getting some very weird looks. I was feeling awesome, if not like Chris McCormack, then like Rocky. I must have played that song at least 10 times throughout the run.

Got to the first mile split. Was expecting at least 7:30s if not lower.

Looked at the Garmin. 9 minute miles. Shit! Realizing that I was going too slow to be wearing short shorts and compression socks and pumping my fist wildly in the air, I soon put my head down, stopped waving to everyone and switched my route. I had to do little detour so I didn't run by the bars again.

I then ran toward the wilderness park, which can actually be a little scary at night. But then as I was getting there, I finally settled in without too much more effort (I wasn't wearing a HR monitor though) and then completely got in a zone. I gradually picked up the pace for the remainder of the run. This was the best run I have had in a long time. Total run. 10.26 miles. 1:22:14. 8:00min/mi.


As soon as I got home, I turned on the tent. It takes at least 30 minutes to load up. (I am now at 10,200 feet). So I covered up the clock by the bike and got on for what I initially thought was going to be 30 minutes. Once on though, I felt pretty good and seriously wanted to stay on for 100 miles. That would have been stupid and ruined the weekend's training as well as work tomorrow. So I let myself go for the hour and then got off. 20 miles. 185w. Landed up being a very fun workout.

Wednesday: 3 mile run; 1 mile swim

I've put on 3 lbs since my last weigh in 10 days ago! Not good! It should have been the other way around. I think it has to do with the fact that my volume was so low last week yet I didn't really curb my intake. My diet though has still been pretty healthy--predominantly fruits, vegetables, chicken, fish, milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, and cliff bars--so I think it should come back down by the end of the week. I am not that worried about it.

Today has been very busy at work. Tomorrow will be too. But while I can afford to train late tomorrow night; I can't tonight as I have to get up very early. It works out well though because my legs are pretty beat up. I could use an early night and the rest.

a.m. 3 mile run. 9:20 min/mi. First time running in awhile. Slow.

p.m. 1 mile swim. ~30 minutes. First time swimming in awhile. Also slow!

Tuesday: 83 mile bike; abs

F%ck yeah!!!! I love this commercial. Can't wait to see the new ones.



I rode 4 hours tonight. I don't know what happened but I went to download the data and my powermeter didn't record the ride. I may have to delete some data. When looking at the meter at the end of ride, I averaged 210w. I am not sure about HR. 83 miles. I didn't feel all that great.

Monday: 87 mile bike; 1 mile run; abs

Tempo - Session 1
4 hours w/60 min Tempo

Today was my first Tempo session. I was very excited throughout the day, looking forward to the ride. At the same time, I was pretty nervous. I have worked all year for this bloc. And these sessions hurt. They are definitely not fun. They are painful, especially indoors. And so I don't particularly like them.

But I know they work. For the entire year, I have biked in zone 1 and low zone 2. But I have basically biked depending on how I was feeling that day. The Tempo bloc is much more structured. And so even if I don't feel that great on any given day, I still have to do the sessions. Furthermore, I thought today especially was going to hurt, as it was the first session.

And it did. The first 20 minutes of the Tempo ride was a shock to the system. My legs were screaming at me, "What they f$ck are you doing?" But eventually I settled in and then felt pretty good.

I rode for easy for 2 hours. Then I did 1 hour of Tempo at 275watts. And then I rode 1 hour easy. Total ride: 4 hours. 87 miles. 236w. 140bpm.

My heart rate was high today, probably because I was rested and also probably because I lost some fitness last week. But I am sort of glad it was. I am doing the Tempo sessions based on heart rate. And pushing more than 275 watts right out of the gate would have been very painful.

I followed the ride with a 1.5 mile brick run to see how the legs were feeling. They felt good. 8:40min/mi. But I am sad to report that my shins did not feel great. I didn't run long enough to really test them out, and so it may have been and hopefully was, just mental.

Sunday: Rest Day

I am feeling a little better, but took the day off anyway. I obviously did very little training this week, but I needed the rest and the break--both mentally and physically--before I start my build toward the race. I took the day to get everything in order and organized to minimize as much as possible anything that would otherwise distract me from training over the next 8 weeks.

Tomorrow I start a 4 week Tempo bloc. Tempo for me is done at 154-158bpm, which turns out to be upper aerobic zone, or upper zone 2 and done at 70-75rpm. I first learned about these tempo rides by reading up on Chris Carmichael's training techniques. Tempo, as I will use it, is less intense than what I have read others define Tempo as. But I will still be riding at higher heart rate intensities and higher power outputs than I have been all year. These heart rates will be similar to my Ironman pace. The goal is to build up to about 2 and half hours at Tempo pace over the next 3 weeks. Everything else will be very easy.

Runs wills continue to be easy. I unfortunately, don't have the run fitness that I thought I would have at this point. I still need to increase by endurance base before I can run faster without getting injured. Time is now short. But I think I will be better off running higher volume than at higher intensities. I will try and get as fit as I can.

as for the swim, I will bring the volume up. I don't do any sets or intensity and don't plan on it. I just swim straight through without stopping. The goal for me is to get to the bike feeling fresh. But I don't think I am at 1:05 swimming fitness yet.

The time is now.

Saturday: 20 mile bike; 1 mile swim; abs

Having trashed myself last week and not recovered well, I've decided to take this weekend very easy, the easiest I think I have gone during a weekend all year, to get ready for my main Ironman specific training. Initially, this was going to be a big volume week, but my body has shut down after destroying myself last week and then doing virtually nothing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

My body is telling me something and I don't want to risk what I have worked towards all year only to ruin it at the crucial moment. My energy levels have been down and my muscles ache more than they have in a long time. My achilles, for whatever reason, started to hurt yesterday, even though the last time I ran was on Tuesday. My body is retaining everything I eat and drink probably expecting the next monster workout (and yet I still feel dehydrated); I haven't taken a deuce since Wednesday.

Mentally though, I feel very good. My motivation is very high, and its been an inner struggle all day to stop myself from riding or swimming longer (or running at all). But it's just not worth it. I want to be fresh both mentally and physically on Monday.

I actually think this little break is good for me; starting Monday, it will be very tough until the race.

1 miles swim. ~30 minutes.

20 mile bike. 190w. 117bpm

Friday: 20 mile bike; abs

I hate recovery weeks and am still trying to perfect them. My body has completely shut down. My quads look twice as big as they usually do because they are so tight. My left achilles started to hurt today sitting at my desk despite barely any training this week. And despite only eating salad, chicken, fruit, and cereal over the last two days, I feel like I've put on 20lbs and feel completely bloated. In short, I feel awful. I've been here before so I only know its only a matter of a few days until I feel back to normal (and hopefully stronger), but it's not a fun place to be.

20 mile recovery ride. 1:03. 186w. 115bpm.

Thursday: 40 mile bike

Today made yesterday seem like a great day as far as bike maintenance goes. I was still trying to fix my tire today and managed to snap my spoke. Wheel is done. It's a crappy wheel, but it's been a tough couple of days. I've wasted a lot of time trying to get the bike working.

I've also been swamped at work. So it has worked out well that this is a recovery week. I can't afford the waste in time starting next week.

40 miles. 198w.

Wednesday: 18 mile bike; abs

Fricking shredded tire! I have spent 1.5 hours trying to change it and now have ripped the tube. Bike maintenance is not my forte.

Notice how in the video they fast forward the hard part (getting the tire back on) to make it look much easier than it really is.

Tuesday: 3 mile run

Back to work. And what a contrast in days. As a result, I have been torn all day whether to ride tonight. Isaac Newton (i.e., momentum) wants me to ride for 3-4 hours. My legs, which felt great this morning, but have now stiffened up since sitting behind a desk all day, want me to do an easy recovery ride, 1-2 hours. And my eyes want to close and go to sleep early. I hate taking days off the bike. But today is as good as any not to ride. Tomorrow is going to hurt.

I ran three easy miles this morning. 9:15 min/mi.

Monday: 105 mile bike; 9 mile run; abs

In the morning, I ran 9 miles at 8:55min/mi. 80 minutes. Started at 6.5mph on the treadmill increasing it by 0.1mph every ten minutes and running 9 and walking 1 minute.

Then onto the bike. I came back down to earth today. I rode easy, but it was not an easy ride. I struggled mentally. In many ways, it almost feels easier to ride harder because it is more fun watching your watts which motivates you, at least me, to keep going. Today, I was just trying to get it done at an easy pace, so it wasn't very interesting. I was tempted to get off many times, especially at the 3 and 4 hour marks, but forced myself to stay on. I had the U.S Open on which kept my attention for most of the ride. My heart rate was a little depressed throughout and my power was dropping at the end. I was pretty tired. But most of all, my groin and butt are completely chaffed and it hurts.

Total ride. 5 hours. 105 miles. 217w. 122bpm. 21.1 mph. I drank 3 32oz bottles of Gatorade and 2 liters of water. I ate two Cliff bars.