IronBoom's Quest for a Really F'ing Fast Ironman

Consistency, Consistency, Consistency

2010-04-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

As I begin to approach the racing season, I thought I'd give a little update as to what's been going on. Training has been absolutely AMAZING. I feel awesome right now.

Since I've started with the coach, I have not had a single day off. Not one. There certainly have been easy recovery days, but no days off. And yet I never feel that taxed or tired. I feel fresh for just about every workout. And even when I don't, I'm still able to get through the training session at the correct targets. So the coach knows what he is doing. He has been awesome, giving lots of feedback, which in turn motivates me to train harder.

The training load has been hovering around 16-18 hours per week with lighter weeks in the 15 hour range. These hours are fewer than what I had been doing before, but there is so much more focus on swimming and running - I still barely bike - that the effort required to complete the week is greater. I am in better overall shape than I was before and it's only April. And despite the minimal riding, I completed a 3 hour rides at 230 watts this past week, the hardest steady ride I have had this year but right about where I'd be riding at this time of the year had I been training myself (my coach usually prescribes shorter rides with high intensity but on that day he told me just to ride and ride longer if I wanted - so I did). It felt great to the legs loose and see what I could do.

My first triathlon race of the season is coming up in mid/late May and from then on, I'll be doing a race just about every month. I'm excited but also curious to see where my fitness is.

Intensity and Frequency

2010-02-02T07:09:00.001-08:00

So I'm now into my fourth week of structured training with the coach. We've been gradually building up the hours so that this week will be 15 hours of total training time. I'd say that the time is spread out pretty evenly among swim, bike, and run. But for me, that means a sh!tload of swimming, quite a bit of running, and very little biking.

My coach's training philosophy for Ironman, in a nutshell, is to periodize by first focusing on intensity or "speed" (speed is relative because I am learning I don't have any), which he says is general training, and then move to specific long training as the Ironman approaches. That is very different from what I have done in the past, which was pretty much reverse: i.e., first focus on long, relatively low power, pace, heart rate efforts, followed by race pace and lactate threshold efforts as the Ironman approaches. My coach's intense efforts though, are much more intense than I have ever trained before, such as doing 5K pace and sprint efforts.

Each week has consisted of about 5-6 swims, 5 runs, and 3 bikes. So frequency with respect to swimming and running has been key. The main workouts have consisted of a fartlek run, a long run, two-three main swims, and two days of bike intervals.

The training stimulus so far has been great. I am already swimming faster than I have ever swam before. My running is solid right now. And while my biking legs are not quite there, my power is not bad for this time of the year.

The nice thing about focusing on these intense efforts is that it provides a very much needed incentive to lose weight, and quickly. I definitely feel the extra pounds on the farlek runs. And I am carrying A LOT of extra weight - I put on about 20 lbs from IMWA to the end of my trip in Australia. After having lost some weight over the past few weeks, I'm now at 165....

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

2010-01-18T20:01:00.000-08:00

Now that I have been back into structured training for a few weeks, it's about time that I updated the blog. A lot has happened since Ironman Western Australia and my last post.

As I was traveling Australia and New Zealand, it took two weeks for the swelling in my eye to go down. Nevertheless, I wanted to make sure that I got a run in in every place that I visited, so I still did a few short runs during those two weeks, but other than that, I virtually did nothing.

All the places I visited were amazing, but my favorite run was in Perth, a few days after IMWA. I was running on the path along the skyline and the Swan River, which flows into the Indian Ocean. As I was running, lost in my thoughts, staring at the city on the one side of me, and the water on the other side, two dolphins jumped out of the water and did a spin. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life - wild dolphins from the ocean swimming up to the skyline, jumping out of the water and spinning in the air was a once in lifetime sight. I can't think of any other city in the world where that happens. But running in every city/town in that part of the world was amazing - Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, Sydney, Melbourne, Great Barrier Reef, Gold Coast, etc. It was an unbelievable trip.

During my time off from training, I took a lot of time to think about what I have achieved and what I still want to achieve in this sport. Despite training my ass off and putting up great numbers in training, I have yet to reach my goal. The journey has been amazing thus far, even without the result, but I also want the result, so I can complete the journey. Not having achieved my goal yet has been frustrating to say the least. And I can't afford to train another year without making progress.

So after taking those two weeks to think things through - for hours on end - I decided to switch things up from what I had been doing. It has been no good performing well in training while coming up short in races. I decided that I needed some objectivity in both the way I trained and the way I executed my races. So after weeks of deliberating, I decided to hire a coach.

But I didn't want just any coach. I wanted - and needed - a coach that understand where I was coming from and where I wanted to go. My main criteria was that the coach (1) had the credentials; (2) was able to articulate not only their training philosophy, but how implementing that training philosophy on me would generate the results that I want; and (3) perhaps most importantly, believed in me (at least almost) as much as I believe in myself.

I spoke to several coaches for hours at a time, both via email and on the phone. I asked every question imaginable. And then I finally settled on one. This coach has been amazing so far. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

My training has definitely been different from what I am used to. I have done a lot of swimming and a lot running. But I have barely stepped on the bike. Both my running and swimming are the best they have ever been at this stage of the year. So things are off to a great start.

I'm not sure how often I will update the blog now that I have a coach. I used the blog in part as a way to keep me motivated, but now that I am accountable to my coach, I'm not sure that I need the blog for that purpose anymore.

I also, however, liked the blog because I wanted to share my training with others so that what I was doing, both right and wrong, could help educate others as what to do and what not to do to achieve their goals, whether it be to finish an Ironman, to go sub 13, sub 11, sub 10, or whatever. And I also liked receiving feedback from readers and getting a different perspective on what I was doing and what they were doing.

I love Ironman. I love training for it. And I love talking about it and discussing it. So I'll continue to blog, but I'm not sure how detailed I can get about specific workouts since the workouts are not mine. I'll run it by my coach...

Ironman Western Australia 2009

2009-12-06T14:28:00.000-08:00

As the Australian saying goes: "That sucked balls mate!" In short, I got my ass kicked, quite literally.

I'll heavy load the report to the swim, well because, there was no run, and the bike was a blur.

Let's get to it. The race started at 6:15 a.m., an hour earlier than IMFL. I had set the alarm for 3 so that I'd have time to eat breakfast, digest, get to transition, and then otherwise get going. In this instance, the jetlag worked in my favor as still being on West Coast time, or East Coast time, or some time other than Western Australian time, I was wide awake at 2:50. After making the usual prerace preparations, (e.g., going to transition, taking a dump, checking out the bike, putting the water bottles on the bike, pumping up the tires, taking another dump, listening to Foo Fighters on the loudspeakers (even in Australia, Foo Fighters is apparently a M-Dot standard), putting away my dry clothes bag, putting on my wetsuit, walking around, taking off my wetsuit so I could try to take another dump), I finally headed down to the beach for the start of the race with ten minutes to spare.

The nice thing about Western Australia is that, like a big city stand alone marathon, there is a self seeding process at the beginning of the swim. When you register for IMWA, they ask you what your expected swim time is, and then they give you a different colored swim cap depending on the group withing which your expected time falls. When I registered, I had written down 1:05 (if you have noticed yet, I'm an optimist!), which put me in the white cap group, the second fastest expected group. The blue caps were the fastest expected group.

In any event, the swim starts out in the water, rather than a beach run start like IMFL. So in the water I got, treading water for 5 minutes or so, taking the time to pray that there would no sharks.

The gun went off. And I immediately felt the best I had ever felt during an Ironman swim. The fact that the swim was already almost sorted out, made me think of all the Hawaii Ironmans that I have seen on TV: long drafting lines drawn out over 50-100 meters. It felt very cool. And I was feeling fast.

The route of the swim takes you out a little less than 1.2 miles or 1900 meters (I'm getting very good with these conversions!), ends the first half with a U-turn along the jetty, and then takes you back to shore. If nothing else, I had kept up my swimming since IMFL (save for the past week). So adding in the drafting effect, and knowing that I was swimming with a group of relatively fast swimmers, I felt like I was flying, for me at least, so much so that with the help of my drafting buddy, I caught up to some of the blue caps. However, ironically, it would be the swim and the drafting that ended my day.

Once we hit the turnaround, suddenly everyone seemed to hit the breaks, a huge bottleneck occurred, and instead of there being a few swimmers in front of me, I was now surrounded by hundreds of swimmers. The washing machine had started.

Up. Down. Up. Down. White water all over. Chaos ensues. And unfortunately for me, I got absolutely clobbered. I took someone's full-powered kick right into my goggles which in turn twisted right into my eyes. I had just taken a knockout punch.

I moved over to the right side where I could try to collect myself, but it was tough. I literally could not see a thing. Both eyes were swelling up. And my left eye in particular stung like b%tch.

After treading water for some time trying to figure out what was going on, I just started swimming again (sans goggles) opening my eyes ever 10 strokes or so to make sure I was headed in somewhat of the right direction. I looked for a kayak, so that I could swim to it and ask for some help, but couldn't find any. So I just kept swimming back to shore - 10 strokes with eyes closed, stopping to look up, and then swimming again - for what felt like an eternity. I finally made it back. 1:09:51. Not bad. I thought it was going to be more than 1:20 - 1:30.

As I got into T1, I was just trying to determine whether to stop and ask for some assistance or keep going. I didn't want the slow transition time, so I just went, hoping for the best. The best did not come.

Out on the bike, both eyes started to swell up more and more over time. But my left eye swelled up completely - I couldn't open it. The sweat running down my race just exacerbated the stinging in my left eye. So I was depending on the little I could see out of my right eye. It wasn't fun.

Making matters worse, I'm not a very good at bike handling. Taking my left hand off the bike - especially the TT bike - makes me nervous. Here in Australia, because you are riding on the left side of the road, and passing on the right, you catch water bottles at the aid stations with your left hand. Putting my inability to see out of my left eye and my terrible biking skills was not a good combination. I had to pretty much come to a complete stop at every aid station to fill up nutrition.

As I kept going, my eyes were just kept getting worse and worse. It was very difficult to see at all so that by the time I was halfway through the bike, everything, and I mean everything, was a blur. I could barely even see my bike computer. My goal was to get to the finish line in one piece.

I haven't downloaded it yet, but I think my average watts for the ride ended up being about 190+. The bike course would be very fun if in peak shape. Very fast. Lots of room to ride. No cars in sight. And I'd say despite the flat course, everyone for the most part rode clean.

Once I got into T2, again, I was debating whether to stop and get treatment or continue on. I continued on. But not for long.

I landing up walking pretty much the entire first lap. I attempted to run at the very beginning, but I could not see a thing, the sun was hurting my eyes, and I had to keep my head down to try to shield my them as much as possible from sweat and any light.

Despite walking, the crowd support was unbelievable - by far and way the best support out of any Ironman that I have done. Those Aussies are hardcore. Very much into triathlon. The marathon course, which is a three-loop course, is covered the entire way with Aussies screaming their heads off. It was awesome, even if I was walking.

Once I went past the first loop though, I saw the first aid station and stopped. I had them check me out and they said that I needed to stop the race and see the doctor. Again I was deliberating what to do. I finally told them to call for the van. And that was the end of my day. A long way to come for a DNF.

This morning I feel like crap. My left eye is completely shut. The cornea is apparently scratched up. And my right eye is still swollen, though I can open it somewhat.

Nonetheless, the pain from having DNF'd far outweighs any pain in my eyes. A 17 hour Ironman is better than a DNF. It really fucking feels awful, or as the Aussies say, "It sucks balls mate!"

Friday

2009-12-03T12:57:00.000-08:00

It took a frickin long time to get here - over 30+ hours - not including my travels to the east coast, but here I am in Busselton, Australia, ~ 24 hours before the race starts, after having finally slept in a bed and not on an airplane. It's been quite the adventure. Sunday: 8+ hours of travel to the east coast; Monday: 8+ hours back to the west coast; Tuesday + Wed + Thurs: (Lose a day due to the time change): 30+ hours from LA to Sydney to Perth to Busselton.

I'm all registered and now that I have given up trying to go back to sleep because of jetlag, I am finishing up packing my transition bags. This Ironman will be much different than the last 2-3 that I have done (which may be a good thing!) as I have not done much training since IMFL, have yet to ride over 190 watts since IMFL, and have not done a lick of training - nada - since last Sunday, the longest I have gone without doing anything, and certainly the longest I have not ridden a bike, in about 2+ years. I plan on doing a short run and a 1 hour bike this morning just to get moving again. But I have no idea where my fitness is, how to pace myself, or how I will feel during the race.

Right now, I have all the same pre-race jitters as I normally do, but I feel more similar to how I felt before my first Ironman - scared of the distance! - than I do to how I felt before the last two races in IMFL - focused on going sub 10. An Ironman is a long ways, something you start taking for granted when you get in relatively good shape. I'm just hoping now that I can finish without killing myself. So my goal for this race is simply to have fun, and enjoy racing in Australia -- but if I have another 8+ minute transition, I'll be pissed!

Busselton is just like any other Ironman venue that I have been to - a small town with not much going on, far away from any metropolitan area, in the middle of frickin' nowhere. I just happen to be in the middle of frickin' Western Australia, which is very crazy to think about. I saw a dead kangaroo on the side of the road as I was driving here, which made me feel like I was in Crocodile Dundee.

But I am no Crocodile Dundee. As I was flying here, I was studying the map of Australia. There is a place about 1000k north of here called Shark's Bay. 1000k may seem like a lot, but for a guy like me, 1000k is close enough to put shivers down my spine. In in any other type of situation, I get out of the water if there is a goldfish in it.

Monday

2009-12-01T21:20:00.000-08:00

Monday: Travel back to the west coast. Crazy day. Bad weather canceled flight from Connecticut. Took a taxi to New York and flew back from there.

Tuesday: Am about to get on a plane to Sydney for vacation in Australia and New Zealand. Stopping off in Perth and then Busselton for IMWA. I hadn't initially planned on doing this race and am grossly undertrained and still recovering from IMFL, but since I will be relatively close to the race, I've decided to do it. When else would I ever get to do an Ironman in Australia? This is going to really hurt but its going to be awesome. Apart from finishing, my goal is to have faster transitions. I arrive in Australia the day before the race. I can't wait!

Sunday

2009-11-29T21:53:00.000-08:00

4 mile run with my dad this morning. The guy is tough as nails and has run 50+ marathons.

Travel to Connecticut, connecting through Philly. The Philly airport has changed quite a bit from when I used to live there. I remember once seeing Allen Iverson at that airport back in the day. Hard to believe he has now retired. Time flies. Airports were super busy today. 7+ hours of flying time, which is just a taste of the crazy amount of traveling I will be doing over the next few days.

Wednesday - Saturday

2009-11-28T18:45:00.000-08:00

Wednesday: 4000 meter swim; 90 min bike

Thursday: Off

Friday: 3000 meter swim.

Saturday: 3000 meter swim; 7 mile run.

Monday - Tuesday

2009-11-24T23:28:00.000-08:00

Monday: 2k swim; 6 mile run.

Tuesday: 4k swim; 90 min bike.

Sunday

2009-11-22T20:12:00.001-08:00

6000 meter swim.

6 mile run.

Saturday

2009-11-21T20:29:00.000-08:00

S: 5000 meters

R: 6 miles.

Wednesday - Friday

2009-11-20T18:43:00.000-08:00

Wednesday: 2 hour bike.

Thursday: 70 min bike; 6 mile run.

Friday: 4000 meter swim.

Tuesday

2009-11-17T22:36:00.000-08:00

Bike. 1:30. Easy.

Run. 30 minutes.

Sunday + Monday

2009-11-16T19:47:00.000-08:00

Monday - 2000m swim.

Sunday - 2000m swim. 1 hour group ride and then tacked on about another hour later on in the day. While it was fun, I'm not a huge fan of group rides. Dropped off the back and rode my own easy pace.

Friday + Saturday

2009-11-14T21:04:00.000-08:00

Friday. Swim 2000 meters. Bike 2 hours. 187w.

Saturday. Off.

Wednesday and Thursday

2009-11-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

Wednesday: Bike 2 hours.

Thursday: Swim 2000m; bike 2 hours.

Thoughts on Resting and Training

2009-11-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

"Arhh! Take a month off! You need to switch off mentally and physically. Or you're going to dig yourself into a big black hole."

Pete, thanks for the comment. I agree that I need to take it down a notch after having just raced the Ironman to rest and recover both mentally and physically. I plan to do that by lowering my volume and intensity and listening to my body.

I have now completed two years of solid training in which I have gained the ability to identify how my body is feeling and how it will react to different training stimuli and rest. When I feel like I need to take a day, week, or month off, I'll take it. The worst thing that can happen to me is to get injured or, as you say, dig myself into a deep black hole. Injuries over the last couple of years have really screwed up my run training. I hope to avoid that this year.

Having said that, I don't think complete time away for a month is necessary or beneficial. In his book "Outliers," Malcolm Gladwell describes the results of an empirical study suggesting that wealthier children and Asian children tend to get better grades in school, achieve more success on exams and scholastic tests, and attain the intellectual ability to take more advanced classes, than their less financially well-off or completely "Americanized" peers, not because wealthier and Asian children have some intrinsic intellectual talent or advantage. In fact, at younger ages and in earlier grades, the children performed relatively quite closely on all exams and scholastic tests.

Rather, the study hypothesizes that wealthier and Asian children performed better on tests as they got older because they tended to study year-round without taking a summer vacation. The parents of the wealthier children tended to hire tutors to teach their children during the summer months; and the parents of Asian children tended to ingrain in their childrens' heads at an early age that studying year round was part of their culture and a path to future success.

On the other hand, the less financially well off children tended to get summer jobs to help provide support for the family and help put food on the table. And the "Americanized" children tended to spend their summer months hanging out at the beach or amusement parks.

What ended up happening though is that, while at earlier stages of their education all children performed similarly on tests, as the children got older and advanced to higher grades, the wealthier and Asian children started to pull away more and more each year and achieve much more success on tests and in school. The authors of the study, as Gladwell describes, hypothesized that the wealthier and Asian children started to do better because they had continued to study for an extra 3 months every year. While those extra three months may have had only a marginal impact in the first couple of years of educational development, after several summers, the wealthier and Asian children started to perform substantially better on test after test; all the summers of extra studying started to add up. Indeed, based on that study, many intellectuals and politicians have advocated for eliminating or shortening the summer vacation in public schools. (The teachers' unions however have a different point of view).

Whether in fact the wealthier and Asian students started to perform better on tests because of studying during the summer months or for some other reason, I think that lesson applies well to achieving success in most things in life, including Ironman. The point of the story, and my recollection of the exact details of the story might be a little off as I read the book awhile ago, is that consistently putting in the effort, hard work, and hours, day after day, week after week, month after month, pays off, whether the purpose is to succeed in school, jobs, relationships, or hobbies.

Having just completed the Ironman, there is obviously a delicate balance between doing too much too soon and recovering. However, the opportunity cost of doing nothing, I think, is great. The goal for me right now is to recover, but not fall too far off from my current fitness level, and not too far away from my current routine, which I think is also important in achieving success. I think I can achieve this by staying in my routine, but lessening the volume, almost as an inverse taper.

It is hard to believe that I did the Ironman last Saturday. I am not naive to think that I am even close to recovered, but I do feel surprisingly relatively very fresh. I actually feel very energized. So I'll continue to train easy, recover, and hopefully maintain close to my current fitness level so that when I do start up in earnest again, I will be starting from a much higher fitness level than I would be had I taken a month off completely.

The Quest for Sub 10 Continues

2009-11-10T21:54:00.000-08:00

Monday: Swim 2000 meters.

Tuesday: Swim 2000m; Bike 2 hrs; Run 4 miles.

Ironman Florida 2009

2009-11-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

10:14:27. Res ipsa loquitur. Obviously I am very disappointed, but I think my time reflects well the training I did in the lead up to the race - more on that below. So I am not as disappointed as I was last year, even though my overall fitness level may have been better this year. Most of all, I was very happy to finish, and finish (relatively) strong.

SWIM

S: 1:08:00. No surprise here. It's about what I expected given the level of swimming I did - 5 or 6 weeks of swim training before the race wasn't going to cut it, but I knew that going in so I wasn't that upset when I got out of the water.

T1: 00:08:07!!! Absolutely atrocious. Nothing remarkable happened in T1; I was just very slow. I have no idea how it took me over 8 minutes to get through it. Then again, I didn't know how slow I went until after the race, so it didn't affect my mental state at all while I was racing.

BIKE

B: It took me about 45 minutes for my legs to open up, but once they did, I felt fantastic. My bike training this year was consistent and solid for the most part, though with one fatal flaw, which landed up, I think, ruining my whole race.

The first couple of hours of the bike, particularly on the Florida course, have been tough for me the last couple of years. Being a slow swimmer puts me in a terrible position once I get on the bike, and particularly because of the packs in Florida, it takes a concerted amount of effort to get by everyone. Lots of surges.

Unlike last year though, once I made my surges, none of the packs kept up with me and I never got swept up (until 100 miles into the ride), so I had some open roads where I was picking off literally hundreds of people (and tens and tens of packs) within the first hour and until the fourth hour.

(As an aside, if you have a moral issue with people drafting, don't do Florida. I personally don't care that people draft unless the drafting starts to affect my race, which it didn't this year. But I'd say the large majority of participants that I saw - and I don't think I'd be exaggerating if I were to say that > 60-70% of the people that I passed and 100% of the people that passed me - seemed to think that they were riding in the pro peloton.

I am proud of my bike time (even though I thought I'd be faster) and am highly suspicious of the majority of times posted in the results. If you are going for a Kona slot, I'd think twice about doing Florida; if you are racing for your own reasons or just competing against yourself, then the Florida course is fun and well organized - the drafting shouldn't be a problem).

I averaged 260 watts (269 normalized) for the first 3 hours with an average heart rate of 148bpm. (As a point of reference, I averaged 258w with an average heart rate of 162bpm at FL70.3 last May - so my biking fitness for this year's Ironman was very good). However, the wheels, so to speak, started to come off at about 3:30 into the ride. My back completely seized up around that point and from then on until the end of the bike ride, I struggled to produce any power whatsoever and struggled to push off during the run.

I see what happened as completely preventable and as a direct result of my training. While I had a lot of biking miles under my legs, my longest ride during my build was only 4+ hours, which I was nervous about and which turned out to be not long enough. It was within that 3-4 hour time span that my back acted up. Had I biked 6 hours in the aero position several times in training, I don't think I would have encountered the same problem.

Broken down by hour, my stats were as follows (my speedometer went in and out throughout ride due to poor magnet placing on my disk so distance and mph is slightly off):

Hour 0 - 1

Hour 1- 2

Hour 2 - 3

Hour 3 - 4

Hour 4 - 4:50

As the stats show, I wasn't having too much fun from 3:30 until the end of the ride (and unfortunately until the end of the race). Adding insult to injury, a huge pack, which I had worked hard to pass around the 40 mile marker, caught and flew past me at about the 100 mile marker. It was disheartening to say the least and I knew then that my dream of sub 10 for this race was likely over. TOTAL BIKE TIME: 4:50:16. Not outstanding, but good enough.

T2: 00:4:36. Less atrocious (relatively speaking). My transitions are obviously terrible. That comes from not practicing them and only doing 1 race per year, something I need to correct going forward.

RUN

R: I knew it was going to be a long day on the run course. If I couldn't push down on my pedals during the end of the bike, I was scared about being able to run. And unfortunately, I couldn't. I saw my parents out of transition and that gave me some adrenaline. But my marathon consisted of running 7:30-8's for a few miles and then walking. It wasn't fun. I saw my brother (who ran ahead so he could see me several times during the run) at mile 6. At that point, I had been averaging about 8:20's. He said I looked great, which motivated me to keep going, but I think secretly he knew I was struggling as he asked me if I had been walking and told me that I could slow down to make sub 10.

Once I got to the 11 mile marker, I was done. I could barely move. My back was killing, but I also think it was result of a lack of running fitness. My longest brick run off of a long bike was about 10 miles and it was then that I really started to hurt. I walked until mile 12 at which point I started to run again so my parents wouldn't see me walking where they were waiting for me at the halfway mark. Miles 13-18 were pure agony. For those 5-6 miles, I traded off running 8's for one mile and then walking for the second mile. At one of the aid stations, a very nice lady asked me if I needed anything; I asked for some advil and she said ok carry on, I'll bring it to you. I kept walking and 5 minutes later she pulled up to me in a full sprint with the Advil. (The volunteers and spectators were awesome).

I saw my brother again at mile 18. He told me that I needed 7:30s to hit sub 10. That wasn't going to happen. But I also wanted to finish strong and try to get under 4 hours for the marathon. Also didn't happen, but I did give everything I had, particularly from mile 22 until the end. Total Marathon Time: 4:03:28.

TAKEAWAYS

Despite not going sub 10, there are a lot of positives to take away from this race. First, I really feel like I am on the verge of going fast, even much faster than sub 10. This was the first Ironman that I have done where I felt like I was really racing. The other Ironmans that I have done have all been about survival.

Second, taking away my transition times, my swim, bike, run total time was actually faster this year than last year, despite my slower marathon time. And I placed higher in my age group and overall. The swim was much rougher and the bike much windier than last year too. So I think this year's 10:14 this was better than last year's 10:12.

Third, I know what I need to do to get better. Swim and run. I am going to dedicate myself to swimming as I have done to biking. While I used to the think the swim didn't matter, I now think that the swim completely sets the tone for my entire race. If I can get out of the water faster, I think my bike time and overall time will be much faster. This coming year will all be about the swim and run, though the run will take me longer to build up.

Fourth, while I only ran a 4+ hour marathon, I convinced myself that I can actually run in an Ironman. My 4:20-4:30 marathons of old used to be a result of lots of walking with steady efforts at 9-10+ min/miles sprinkled in. Now my 4 hour marathons are a result 7:30-8 min/miles sprinkled in with lots of walking. While the total times are similar, the efforts and fitness level required to achieve the latter are much different. Once I get my running miles up (I only started running 30+ miles six weeks out from the race), which I haven't been able to do for the last two years because of various injuries, I think I will be ok.

Fifth, it has been 2 days since the race and a day of traveling, and I have zero soreness or stiffness. This tells me that I have a good base going forward and that my rate of recovery has improved tremendously, which will help me as I train for next year's goal of sub 10.

Finally, based on this race, there is no doubt that I need to race more throughout the year. My race execution is terrible. My pain threshold during a race is terrible. And my ability to get into that extra gear during a race is terrible. No more 1-2 race seasons. I need to learn to race and that requires racing, whether it be a 5k or a half ironman. Furthermore, for the amount of training that I do, putting all my eggs in one basket is just a bad strategy.

Ironman is a frickin' tough sport and I am still learning what it takes to be good. But that's what I love about it. Here's to next year's training and racing. Cheers.

Friday

2009-11-06T13:56:00.000-08:00

Training is done. Bike is in. Bags are in. Showtime!!!

B: 90 min w/ 3x3min max effort; 5 min recovery.

Going all black tomorrow.

And if it gets hot, I'll go Faris style with the manbra!

Bike

T1

T2

Thanks to everyone for the emails, texts, and phonecalls.

Thursday

2009-11-05T18:33:00.000-08:00

If you had seen the course today, you would have thought that the race was going on right then and there. Everybody was out there today. Let's get it on!

Ate a huge meal tonight. Am stuffed.

S: 40 min.

B: 90 min.

R: 3 miles.

Wednesday

2009-11-04T18:17:00.000-08:00

Slept too much yesterday. Had trouble sleeping last night.

The course is now littered with triathletes. I'd guess that over half the participants are here. Tomorrow will be crazy.

Nothing exciting going on today. Saw a movie and then swam 40 minutes this evening in the wetsuit. While I started my swim training much later than I should have, I'm hoping I've improved upon my time from last year - 1:08 - 1:09.

Tuesday

2009-11-03T19:13:00.000-08:00

Here was my day. Woke up at 11 after 12 hours of sleep. Ate some cereal and fruit. Went for a 2 hour bike on the course. Came back, ate lunch and then went back to sleep for a few hours. Woke up and went for a 5 mile run. Went to the pool, which was freezing cold, for a little swim. Ate dinner. And am now going to sleep.

Monday

2009-11-02T16:30:00.001-08:00

Travel to Florida. The sun was setting by 4:30-5. Don't like the time change.

Biked for an hour. Flatted a couple miles before I got back to the hotel. I was surprised to see so many athletes riding and running on the course already. I had thought that I'd be one of the first ones here. Some fit looking people out there. Pretty inspiring.

Went grocery shopping. Lots of fruits, veggies and cold cuts. But the grocery store is a very dangerous place right now! Was tempted by everything. Looking forward to pizza and beer on Saturday night.

Chilling now but not much to do around here. Anxiously waiting for the race to start.

Sunday

2009-11-01T20:17:00.002-08:00

Hard to believe that this is it. Last year's race seems like it was yesterday.

B: 1 hour. ~200 watts.

R: 6 miles easy. 2 runs left before the race.

Saturday

2009-10-31T22:29:00.000-07:00

Skipped the long ride. My power is good. I'm in the red zone and now need to convert on race day.

On Monday, I'll do intervals and then on Tuesday, I'll do a 2-3 hour easy ride on the course in Florida. The rest will be recovery.

S: 2000 meters.

B: 2 hours with 70 minutes @295 watts.

Friday

2009-10-30T23:11:00.000-07:00

Didn't have time to do long ride. Will do it tomorrow.

S: 2000 meters. Feeling very good in the water. Don't know if I am any faster but feel more comfortable.

B: 2:30+. 56 miles.

R: 9 mile brick run. New running shoes. Same model - Brooks Adrenaline - but new edition. Didn't notice a difference on the run, but if I do over the next couple of runs, then I'll wear my old ones for the race.

Thursday

2009-10-29T23:38:00.000-07:00

Getting a little nervous.

S: 2000 meters.

B: New pair of shoes (same model as old ones) today. 3:30 w/60 min overgear @ 280w. Power is coming back.

Tomorrow is a dress rehearsal. Final long ride/brick before the race.

Wednesday

2009-10-28T23:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks all for the comments. When the going gets tough, I'll think about the support that everyone has offered.

S: 2000 meters.

R: Last long run before the race. 15 miles. While I am obviously at my fittest state of the year right now, I think the biggest difference in my run right now is that I am just about at race weight, which makes a huge difference for me in speed and durability. I used to think I kept getting injured from increasing my mileage too quickly or from running 2x/day or from some biomechanical problem - which still may be a part of it. But now after having looked back at my log and matching up my weight, my new theory is that I tend to get injured whenever I am above 160 lbs, and I had been hovering around 160-165 for most of the year until the end of the summer. I won't let myself go that high next year and hopefully I'll be able to run more. I'm at 151-153 right now. I'll weigh myself again at the end of this week and just before the race.

Tuesday

2009-10-27T23:18:00.000-07:00

Feeling much better relative to the last couple of weeks. Overall, I feel good and am fit and strong; but I don't think I am as fit as last year. I certainly haven't had the monster workouts (power-, pace-, and volume-wise) that I had last year - though my overall volume has been higher this year. And I wish I had another 6 weeks of training---I honestly think that with another 6 weeks, I'd crush the race. On the other hand, I have been much more patient this year - perhaps too patient - and definitely do not think that I have peaked too soon, which I think I did do last year.

I am confident that a sub 10 hour Ironman is doable with my current fitness, but it won't be easy and will take perfect execution on race day. Two weeks of tapering/peaking - three-day block starting tomorrow - and then that will be it.

S: 1 hour swim lesson/stroke analysis with the former coach of the UCLA swim team. According to the guy, my stroke is not that bad; He made some minor adjustments and told me that,for the future, I just need to swim more and do more intensity sets.

B: 1 hour. 209w. Feeling powerful again.

Monday

2009-10-26T23:03:00.000-07:00

S: 4250 meters.

Sunday

2009-10-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

S: Overslept and then was running late. Pool closes early today so couldn't swim after main workout.

B: 4:25. 25 min w/u. Then steady at 250w.

R: 11 mile brick run. Very hilly route. Tough but fun.

Saturday

2009-10-24T21:38:00.001-07:00

Feeling much better.

S: 4000 meters. Best swim to date.

B: 4+ hours w/ 2 hours @ ~270w. Avg was ~250w.

R: 7 mile brick run. Mile 3 was tough but felt great after mile 4. I don't know what it is about mile 3 but I always find that one tough and walked it last year.

Friday

2009-10-23T22:58:00.000-07:00

Still coughing but starting to feel better. Am probably about 80-85%.

B: 56 miles w/ 60 min @ 250w.

R: 10 miles.

Thursday

2009-10-23T01:18:00.000-07:00

S: 2000 meters

B: 3 hours. 210w.

Wednesday

2009-10-21T22:41:00.001-07:00

Still have this cough which won't go away, but energy levels a little better today. Will resume normal training hopefully tomorrow.

S: 4000 meters.

B: 1 hour. Some power coming back. Based on my past training, it takes about 3 weeks to get my power up. I don't think I'll be able to get it to where I thought it'd be (i.e., my peak won't be as high as I thought) but I still think I should have decent power for the race. The taper should help some but it'll be close.

R: 6 miles with Gigs. First 3 miles were tough, but then legs opened up. Felt pretty light going uphill (the benefit I guess of being sick - have had no appetite the last week).

Tuesday

2009-10-20T20:05:00.001-07:00

Off. This sucks.

Monday

2009-10-19T22:29:00.001-07:00

1 hour bike.

Sunday

2009-10-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

Not well. No energy again today. Can't stop coughing.

S: 4000 meters.

B: 2+ hours. 40 miles.

Saturday

2009-10-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

Cough and postnasal drip persist but otherwise feel a lot better than the last few days. Seems like whatever I have is going around. So someone got me sick - f@cker. Just joking of course.

S: 4000 meter swim.

B: 56 miles.

R: 6 miles. Lungs absolutely burning.

Friday

2009-10-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

Sick. Don't feel as weak as the last couple of days. But symptoms still present. Running is especially tough. Lungs burn after just a few steps.

B: 56 miles. 2:41.

R: 20 minutes.

Thursday

2009-10-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

Still sick. A little better than yesterday.

B: 56 miles. 2:37.

R: 30 min.

Wednesday: 4 mile run; 2000 meter swim

2009-10-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

Sick. Rest.

Tuesday: 56 mile bike; 2000 meter swim.

2009-10-13T22:36:00.000-07:00

A little on the sick side. Feel ok when training and shitty otherwise. Arghh.

S: 2000 meters.

B: 2:38. 56 miles. 210w.

Monday: Bike 40 miles

2009-10-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

Bike 2+ hours. Easy. 40 miles

Sunday: 90 mile bike; 15 mile run; 4000 meter swim

2009-10-12T00:11:00.000-07:00

S: 4000 meters easy.

B: 4+ hours. 90 miles. 85rpm.

R: 15 mile brick run. Miles 12-15 were tough. Those were the miles that got me last year too.

Saturday

2009-10-10T22:44:00.000-07:00

S: 4000 meters

B: 4+ hours w 2x20 climbing intervals. No powermeter today. Intervals were done at @ 160-165bpm.

R: 10 miles.

Thanks for the comments. I'm not concerned about my fitness; it is almost there. I'm concerned about not digging myself into too big a hole before the race. Last year, I had my best workouts before the race. This year, if I don't feel great, I ride easy. I have the confidence already that I can get my power up. I'm more focused on recovery this year, in addition to getting my run miles up before the race, which hasn't been easy.

Friday: 32 mile bike; 4000 meter swim

2009-10-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

Was planning on a big day felt like I needed one more easy day.

S: 4000 meters. Tougher than I thought. Got bored.

B: 1:30. 215w.

Thursday

2009-10-09T00:09:00.000-07:00

Another easy day. Bike 1:30 hours.

Wednesday: Bike 43 miles; 5 mile run; 2000 meter swim

2009-10-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

S: 2000 meters easy.

B: 2 hours. 221 watts.

R: 5 miles easy.

Light day today. Tomorrow will be light as well.

Tuesday: 64 mile bike; 10 mile run; 2000 meter swim

2009-10-07T00:52:00.001-07:00

S: 2000 meters.

B: 3 hours w/60 min @~285w overgear. Rest of ride was easy.

R: 10 mile run.

Monday: 60 mile bike

2009-10-05T23:03:00.000-07:00

Bike 3:03. 60 miles. ~180w. No running or swimming.

Sunday: 63 mile bike; 17 mile run; 3000 meter swim

2009-10-04T23:46:00.000-07:00

S: 3000 meters. Easy. Left lat a little sore.

B: 3+ hours. 210 watts.

R: 17 miles. Felt pretty good actually.

Saturday: 60 mile bike; 2000 meter swim

2009-10-03T23:48:00.000-07:00

S: Swam in outdoor saltwater pool with Ari. Great swimming under the sun as opposed to under a roof. Swam ~2250 yds. Easy. Lost count on a few laps. Will count it as 2000 meters.

B: 3+ hours easy. 180-185ish. 60 miles.

R: had a 5 mile run planned but skipped it.

Friday: 56 mile bike; 2000 meter swim

2009-10-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

S: 2000 very easy.

B: 3 hrs. 56 miles. 161w.

Thursday: 77 mile bike; 11 mile run; 2000 meter swim.

2009-10-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

S: 2000 meters. Shoulders already a little sore - after only 5k so far for the week.

B: 3:30. No main workout. 235w.

R: 11 mile brick run.

Wednesday: 52 mile bike; 5 mile run; 3000 meter swim

2009-09-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

S: 3000 meters. 9 out of 10 times that I swim - and sadly that is about as much swimming that I have done all year - I, for some strange reason, get serious bloating and a terrible stomachache 20 minutes after I get out of the pool. And today was no different.

B: 2:32. Easy. ~200 watts.

R: 5 miles

Tuesday: 113 mile bike; 8 mile run

2009-09-30T00:17:00.000-07:00

Bike: 5+ hours in 2 rides. First ride was 3 hours. Steady. Second ride was 2 hours: 30 min w/u, 60 min @290w (65-75rpm), 30 min c/d. Avg for the day was 250w.

Run 8 miles.

Monday: Rest

2009-09-28T21:43:00.000-07:00

Day off.

Sunday: 40 mile bike; 13 mile run

2009-09-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

Bike: 2:03. Easy. 179w.

Run: Run got interrupted. 8 in the morning. 5 a few hours later.

Saturday: 103 mile bike; 5 mile run.

2009-09-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

Bike = pain. 4:35 w/2 hrs overgear, 2x20 min intervals. Overgear was @ 280w. Intervals were @ 300-320w. Rest of ride was easy and recovey between intervals.

Run 5 miles.

Friday: 89 mile bike; 2000 meter swim

2009-09-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

4:03 w/2 hours overgear. Overgear was @ ~260w. 241 avg for ride.

2000 meter swim.

Thursday: 46 mile bike; 9 mile run; 2000 meter swim

2009-09-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

S: 2000 meters.

B: 2:15. 200w. 46 miles.

R: 9 miles

W: abs

Wednesday: 56 mile bike; 9 mile run; ocean swim

2009-09-23T23:04:00.000-07:00

Started the day with a very early swim in the Pacific. I need to to jumpstart my swimming and the pool just doesn't sound that appealing, though starting tomorrow, I'll be swimming a lot. It was dark, cold, murky, and cloudy and there were tons of waves. A lot of fun despite my fear of sharks. Swam for about 30 min, not sure how far.

At night, 56 mile bike. 2:41. 201w.

Then 9 mile brick run.

Tuesday: 88 mile bike; 3 mile run

2009-09-22T23:35:00.000-07:00

Bike 4:02 w/2:30 overgear. Main workout of 2:30 was @ ~250w.

Followed with 3 mile brick run.

Monday: Rest

2009-09-21T23:44:00.000-07:00

Was very tired today. Opted for rest instead of training. Will start back up tomorrow.

Sunday: 80 mile bike

2009-09-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

3:30+ bike w/2:30 overgear. First hour was warm up at 210w. Then 2:30 overgear. Avg. 266w for the 2:30. After first hour, went through 56 in 2:23. Total ride was 3:32. avg. was ~250. Didnt have time for a cool down which I'm hoping won't screw up tomorrow's workout.

Saturday: 41 mile bike; 5 mile run.

2009-09-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

I have been studying my training log from last year. I was in damn good shape; makes me nervous about this year.

41 mile bike. ~185w. 2+ hours.

5 mile run.

Friday: 50 mile bike; 11 mile run

2009-09-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

Bike for 2:35 easy. Was about 175w.

Run 11 miles.

Thursday: 101 mile bike; 3 mile run; Travel

2009-09-18T00:06:00.000-07:00

That's it for the traveling until the Ironman. Started my ride at 7pm on the Computrainer. Played Madden football on my iPhone until my hands became too sweaty to play anymore. Made the time go by a little faster. Ride was 4:30+ for 101 miles. 242watts.

I rode 200 watts for the first hour and twenty mintues. And rode 260w avg. for the remaining 3:10.

Followed with a 3 mile brick run only because I find it more difficult to fall asleep right after biking hard than right after running. It's still going to be tough. That's the bad part about working out late.

Wednesday: 62 mile bike + Travel

2009-09-16T22:39:00.000-07:00

Bike 3 hours, first 2 hours easy, last hour overgear. Then travel to San Diego for the birth of my niece Alexa. Welcome to the World Alexa!

Tuesday: 56 mile bike

2009-09-15T22:40:00.000-07:00

Bike 56 miles. 2:28. 242w. Didn't feel that great today. Heart rate high for effort as well.

Monday: 41 mile bike; 8 mile run

2009-09-14T22:39:00.000-07:00

Bike 2+ hours easy. 190 watts. 41 miles.

Run 8 miles.

Sunday: 60 mile bike

2009-09-13T22:17:00.001-07:00

60 miles. 250 watts. Getting there. This was an easy recovery week. Feeling incredibly strong. Last week's ride with the guy below -- it was an awesome ride --gave me a lot of confidence, even though it was a training ride for him, he could have crushed me at any moment, and I struggled to keep up, particularly on the hills. The focus of the next few weeks will be building Ironman endurance and spending a lot of time in the pool.

Saturday: 91 mile bike; 4 mile run

2009-09-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

91 mile bike along PCH. ~240 watts. 56 miles in 2:30. A 240 watt ride these days is much different than a 240 watt ride was just a month ago. My strength is the best it has ever been.

4 mile run. Ran out of time unfortunately. Felt great.

Wednesday - Friday

2009-09-11T18:29:00.001-07:00

Wed - 40min swim; 60 mile bike; 10 mile run.

Thursday - 40 mile bike; 10 mile run

Friday - 61 mile bike; 1 hour swim

Monday + Tuesday

2009-09-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Monday. 2.5 hours in San Diego. Definitely not as fun as Sunday's ride. On Sunday, I rode up to an athlete, whom I won't mention by name out of respect for their privacy, but who is at the very top of the sport. I landed up riding 4 hours with this athlete. And this athlete answered every single one of my questions-and I didn't stop asking questions for all 4 hours of the ride- about training, racing, nutrition, the business side, gossip, etc. This athlete also waited for me when I needed to stop to refill bottles, to go to the bathroom, when I missed a couple turns, and when I was dropped, and even changed their original route to continue riding with me and waited with me when I got lost right before getting back my starting point. And when I say the very top of the sport, I mean the very top. A real class act and by far the highlight of my triathlon "career." I am still shocked that tje athlete allowed me to ride with them. It was unfuckinbelievable. The downside was that I wasn't feeling especially fresh given Saturdays ride and was only going planning on ridining am easy 2. My adrenaline got going though and I felt like I had an extra gear because of who I was riding with. Really wad an incredible day. Out of movie.

Tuesday: Rest.

Sunday: Bike 97 miles

2009-09-07T01:16:00.000-07:00

97 mile bike in San Diego. 250w.

Friday + Saturday

2009-09-05T23:11:00.000-07:00

Friday: 42 mile bike. 5 mile run. 30 min swim.

Saturday: 74 mile bike. 3 hours w 2x10 min @ 310-330w. 257avg. 70 miles in 3:03. Then 12 min cd.

Wednesday + Thursday

2009-09-03T23:09:00.001-07:00

Wednesday. 90 min bike. 60 min swim.

Thursday. 106 mile bike. 9 mile run. Bike was in two rides: first ride was 2:40 (30 min wu, 60 min overgear, 60 min Tempo, 10 min cd). 251w avg, 143bpm; second ride was 2 hours (30 min wu, 90 min steady). 250w avg. Then 9 mile brick run.

Tuesday: 42 mile bike; 10 mile run

2009-09-01T23:54:00.000-07:00

Back into routine.

S: Off.

B: 2 hours easy. 217w. 42 miles. No heart rate monitor.

R: 10 miles.

W: Off.

Monday: Bike 97 miles.

2009-09-01T01:13:00.000-07:00

2 rides, both easy. First ride was 2:05. 182 watts. Second ride was 2:40. 202 watts.

Sunday

2009-08-30T23:11:00.000-07:00

Travel and bike 1 hour.

Saturday

2009-08-29T20:39:00.001-07:00

Bike 2+ hours. 40+ miles. 185w. 110bpm. Got a flat tire. Changed it but then it was getting late. Cut ride short.

Run 10 miles.

Some ocean swimming.

Thursday + Friday

2009-08-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

Thursday: 2 hour bike, 40 miles, and some swimming.

Friday: 3 hour bike. 61 miles 193w. 115bpm. It's extremely humid here, making it tough to replace all the lost fluids. Good thing this is an easy bike week. Some ocean swimming.

Tuesday + Wednesday

2009-08-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

Tuesday: 90 min recovery bike. Legs wouldn't fire. Was bad about replacing glycogen stores from day before.

Wednesday: 56 miles. 2:40 recovery ride. 13 mile run. Strength.

Sunday + Monday

2009-08-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

In Mexico. Not much Internet access here.

Sunday: Travel + 90 min recovery bike.

Monday: 2:35 recovery ride; 10 mile run; strength.

Saturday: 56 mile bike; 5 mile run; 30 min swim

2009-08-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

S: 30 min easy.

B: No main workout. 2:35 steady.

R: 5 miles on the treadmill.

W: Abs. 5x25 pushups. 2x8 pullups. 2x15 dips. Abs.

Friday: Rest

2009-08-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

Moved today. Took up the entire day so unfortunately no training. Saw Inglorious Basterds tonight. Entertaining, good acting, but long.

Thursday: 64 mile bike; 9 mile run

2009-08-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

Ironman Preparation Day 4: Overgear Riding + Run Endurance

S: Off.

B: 3 hours w/3x10 min overgear, 10 min recovery. 64 miles.

R: 9 miles.

W: Abs

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I spent tonight studying my data from the same time last year. At this point in my training, I had already ridden several steady rides at Ironman pace. I haven't ridden any thus far this year. Having said that, I am much more powerful this year, no question about it. I recover day-to-day much quicker and I am able to push my power up like I have never done before, so things are looking good for the bike. I am confident that I will be close to my target once I peak.

I had a solid run tonight, not fast by any stretch of the imagination, but given the lack of run training the whole year, not bad. Based on my 9 mile run tonight, I am about 5-10 sec per mile slower than I was at this time last year. I expect my pace to increase quite bit though over the next 2-4 weeks as I get some more miles under my legs. Right now, I am completely relying on my cardiovascular strength gained from biking. As soon as my legs get used to running again, I am hopeful I will be faster than last year fairly quickly; I am stronger this year and in much better overall shape.

Wednesday: 70 mile bike; 30 min swim

2009-08-19T18:41:00.000-07:00

Ironman Training Day 3: Tempo Riding

S: 30 min easy.

B: 3:05 w/60 min @ Tempo. Workout was 1 hour warmup; 1 hour at +/- 250w; 1 hour at Tempo (280-310w, 60-75rpm). Total ride was 254w, 139bpm. 70 miles

R: Off.

W: Abs.

Tuesday: 41 mile bike

2009-08-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

Ironman Training: Day 2

Recovery

Took a redeye flight last night. Got zero sleep despite having 3 glasses of wine. Very tired today. Skipped swim.

S: Missed.

B: Recovery. 2 hours. 41 miles.

R: Off.

Monday: 31 mile bike; 8 mile run; 1500 meter swim

2009-08-18T02:42:00.000-07:00

Ironman Training Day 1 (Preparation)

Bike Recovery + Run Endurance

S: 30 min easy. 1500 meters.

B: 1:30 recovery. First hour capped at 125 bpm. Then 30 min capped at 135bpm. Good legs.

R: 8 miles. It has taken 10 weeks but I finally do not feel any pain, discomfort, or any other abnormal feelings in my hip, groin, buttocks, glutes area. It was a real pleasure to finally get a decent run in. I am optimistic that 12 weeks will be sufficient to get my run where it needs to be. Surisingly perhaps, because of all of the biking, my running cardiovascular system is not that far off from where it was last year; my heart rate is relatively low for any given pace. I obviously just don't have the muscular strength yet to run fast.

W: Off.

Sunday: 58 mile bike

2009-08-17T01:19:00.000-07:00

Tempo

S: Off.

B: 2:40 w/60 min @ Tempo. 58 miles.

R: Off.

W: Off.

Tomorrow starts 12 weeks of Ironman training leading up to the race. I won't enter Ironman specific intensity until late September, but starting this week, my schedule has me training harder than I have ever trained before. I'm looking forward to it.

Saturday: 56 mile bike; 2 mile run

2009-08-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

Overgear

S: Off.

B: 2:37 w overgear. 56 miles.

R: 2 miles.

W: Abs.

Friday: 71 mile bike

2009-08-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

Overgear

S: Off.

B: 3:25 w/ overgear work. 71 miles.

R: Off.

W: Abs.

Thursday: 41 mile bike; 2 mile run; 30 min swim

2009-08-14T00:26:00.000-07:00

S: 30 min swim.

B: 2 hours recovery. Tuesday was great but am still feeling the effects from that ride. Didn't feel right today, even for recovery.

R: 2 miles.

W: 2x8 pullups. 6x25 pushups.

Wednesday: 43 mile bike; 30 min swim.

2009-08-12T21:34:00.000-07:00

S: 30 min.

B: 2+ hours.

R: Off.

W: Off.

Tuesday: 90 mile bike; 4 mile run

2009-08-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

Tempo

S: Off.

B: 4:05 w/2 hours @ Tempo. At this time last year, I was doing many more steady rides at Ironman pace or slightly below. I think it's way too early to do these rides as I had my best rides before race day. I'm not going to make the same mistake this year. As I enter my Ironman build, I'll incorporate race pace rides soon, but I won't ride 5 hours specifically at race pace until late September/early October. For now, I am going to continue concentrating on Endurance, Tempo, and Sub-Lactate Threshold Interval rides.

I installed an 11-23 cassette to get an extra gear and make sure I don't cheat my power and cadence on the downhills during Tempo rides. My power at Tempo today was the best it has ever been. I'm happy with where my bike fitness is.

R: 4 miles.

W: abs.

Monday: 42 mile bike; 2 mile run

2009-08-10T22:03:00.000-07:00

Recovery

S: Off.

B: 2 hours recovery. 122bpm.

R: 2 miles.

W: Abs.