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.