Where does the time go?....

Time flies when you're busy so it's been a while to get a blog post up....at least this time of season is a bit boring in terms of racing so we haven't missed much.

As the title suggests time has been flying by and we are only 2 months from the first triathlon of the year.  Guess it means that I better ramp up the training a bit, which so far this year has been a bit spotty.  Nothing real big so far and a few weeks of not a lot add up to feeling a bit underprepared for the start of March.  This has been a combination of the store being busy as well as "regular" work....all good, but busy! The good thing is that the major A race for the season isn't until late August at IM Louisville so I have some time to ease into things.

So what have we done so far for 2013:

January 2013
Bike: 27hrs 48mins    470miles
Run:  8hrs 15mins      68miles
Swim: Zippy, nothing, nowt
Total: 36hrs 03mins   538 miles

February 2013

Bike: 17hrs 01mins    299miles
Run:  12hrs 07mins      99miles
Swim: 1hr 45mins       3.26miles
Total: 30hrs 53mins   401 miles

You can see nothing spectacular on those numbers, I certainly felt that the bike was progressing well in January with some good power numbers.  February took a little step back with a week off the bike for vacation and a jaunt out to Denver for the North American Handmade Bike Show.  You will also see a complete lack of swimming which was derailed in January due to pesky moles on my back and then the travel in February (and I would rather be running or cycling!)

March is looking better so far so it is all gradually getting back on track and by IM in August I should be rocking :-)

I'm Done......

With IM Louisville in the books and not getting a slot for Kona, I am pretty much done for the rest of season. I have Turkey Day this weekend and then a few running races into the Fall, I might even jump into the Richmond Marathon but we will see how it goes. The last few days have been bad as I got a cold after the IM and it really knocked me out. On Sunday night I was falling asleep at 9:00PM and then I slept for 11 hours on Sunday night which is unheard of for me.

Training and racing for Ironman really does take a huge effort and with IM Lake Placid on the schedule in July next year I am already looking ahead to the 2010 season. I'll take a break from structured training for the next few weeks and over that period will take a good look at this season to see what I can change/work on for the winter base sessions and 2010 season. One thing is definitely to swim more and over the winter months I plan on becoming a fish.....if I can drop 5 mins on my Ironman swim that will go along way to moving up a few notches on the Age Group ladder. The rest of the training program can be looked at in more detail in future posts.

Ironman Louisville: Brief Recap.....

I will try and get a more detailed race report and photos up in the next few days, but for those of you that haven't heard how my race went, here we go, in brief.

Swim: 01:06:14 The swim felt long so I was pleased to come out with a PR Ironman Swim.

T1: 2:51

Bike: 05:17:53 (21.14MPH) The course was a beast with 5500ft of climbing and was a succession of large rollers. The time was longer than what I was aiming at but after seeing the course I was pleased with this for a PR Ironman Bike split.

T2: 2:14

Run: 03:27:35 (7:55/mile) I started out feeling really good and was cranking until about mile 11. My right hip started to hurt big time after that and slowed me down somewhat :-( Still a PR Ironman marathon and I know I have a much faster time in me.

Overall: 09:56:47 11th in Age Group/38th Amateur/64th Overall out of 2938! A new Ironman PR and under 10 hours!

Unfortunately the 6 slots for the Ironman World Championships were taken by the first six racers and did not roll at all........onto next year at Eagleman and Lake Placid for the Kona Quest!

Oh Fast-twitch Where Are You?....Lums Pond Sprint Triathlon

On Sunday as I entered into my two week taper for IM Louisville I decided to take a crack at the Lums Pond Sprint Triathlon. It was really just as a tune-up for the IM and to make sure that I didn't forget how to race! I had planned on the Morgantown half the week before but we had the unexpected trip back to England. Besides, I hadn't raced a sprint triathlon since early in 2006 and thought that a nice short race could easily be fitted into the taper schedule.

There isn't really much to report on a sprint race as it is pretty much a splash, thrash and dash. Once again I went with the speedsuit rather than the full wetsuit in preparation for IM and I have no idea how they found the water to be 76 degrees! They must have thrown some ice in and then measured....it was like bath water. I had a typical swim and came out a couple of minutes back of the leaders as per normal after the half mile swim (as I have said before I plan on making the swim a major focus this winter).

The bike turned out to be a little odd. It was 19.5miles and although I was happy with the 24.5MPH average that I put down, I just couldn't sustain anything above that. Yeah I know that I have been IM training, which focuses on long and sustained efforts but I thought I might be able to go above that average. Fortunately I felt as though I could have gone on at that average so that bodes well for IM. The bike did leave me behind the leaders at about 5mins though.

As everyone knows by the now, the run is my strongest element and I busted out the 2nd fastest of the day to gain a couple of minutes back on the leaders and end up in 5th overall and 1st in age group. 15mins 13secs for 3miles! (I think the course may have been a little shorter than that!). Overall my time was 1hr 18mins 22secs, just 9 secs from the overall podium!

I knew coming into the race that I wouldn't really be a contender for the overall but it is always good to win your age group and get a good overall placing. It also gave me a shot of confidence heading into IM. These are the nervous times, when you start questioning training, fitness, race plan and everything.......



With fellow ABRT'er Brian Whitesell on the podium!

The Essence of Ironman....From Frazz!

Yet another triathlon related Frazz cartoon from Jef Mallet......it defines the essence of Ironman training to a tee!



Fortunately the weather is heating up and it will provide ideal training conditions for Ironman Louisville....hot and humid! Just 9 weeks to go now :-)

The Build-Up Begins.....

The good weather is finally forecast for the weekend and it's time to start building up to the big races later in the season. I essentially have two (2) 'A' races this year, which are Eagleman 70.3 in June, and then Ironman Louisville at the end of August. It's time to get serious and get into full-on 70.3m/Ironman training mode...the base of winter and spring has been set and it's time to go long!

In that regard, this weekend is planned for the next step up to bigger/harder sessions. Saturday will be 4.5hr brick workout (4hrs bike and 30min run) and then Sunday is Carl Dolan. I am doubling up in the Cat 3/4 and Cat 4/5 races, so that should be a good workout, but then I plan on riding home to add another hour or so. This is the first weekend of the build and so gradually the bricks will work up to 6hrs (100miles/6miles) or so by the time that Ironman gets close.

The only trouble is trying to keep the speed for bike racing and 70.3m triathlons but then to have the endurance and durability for the Ironman as well. It's bit of a juggling act, but the key is Eagleman on June 14th, which then leaves a solid 12 weeks to IM Louisville. It will be fun......

2009 Race Schedule......

Having already signed up for the majority of the "A" race triathlons for this year, the 2009 race schedule is pretty much set. The only ones to be confirmed will be some of the smaller triathlons to be used as tune-ups prior to IM Louisville and then the additional bike race and running races that I will jump into as the season moves on.

Off to the side of this post is the 2009 season schedule. First off is the early season marathon which always provides a good test and an idea of where the running legs are. I have signed up for the B&A Marathon on March 1st, which is a bit earlier than I would have liked but it fits with other things going on.

Assuming that I can get signed up quick enough I plan on doing a number of road races before the first triathlon of the year at Devilman on May 3rd. Unfortunately they have changed the distances of this race from a 1/2 Ironman to a half "lite" which is somewhere between a normal 1/2 and an olympic distance. Nevertheless it will be a good test to start off the season and get a gauge as to what needs work prior to the first A race of the year at Eagleman 70.3M. As per usual this race is the big race of the year as it is again a Ironman and 70.3 World Championship qualifer...Kona or bust!

After Eagleman the 2nd half of the season starts with the main goal being IM Louisville at the end of August. I will do some more road races and tune-up triathlons before the IM but once again the goal is to go under 10hours and get a coveted World Championship slot (if I didn't get one at Eagleman!).

The rest of the season after IM Louisville isn't really set as it all depends on potential qualifying etc etc. I have tentatively scheduled some late season triathlons including the ChesapeakeMan Ironman race and also the JFK 50mile trail race. I have been looking to do this race for the past couple of years but have never managed to fit it in...perhaps this will be the year.

The Rest Week....

With this being the fourth week into January, this has been a scheduled "recovery" week for me. Generally I tend towards a four-week training schedule at this time of year when I have three weeks "hard" and then a recovery week. The schedule can change depending on influences of work and nature and then as the season gets going then the scheduling of races becomes the most important factor.

Recovery weeks always feel a bit odd, you have more time on your hands and you try to refrain from getting in a monster session. This week has been particularly odd since Monday was a holiday and Tuesday was a short day...normally I would have taken advantage and got in a long ride or run but instead it was more sleep and a recovery workout.

What a rest week does do though is get you amped for the next phase of training and look forward to the coming workouts. In addition to feeling ready to train, the first of the season's "training" races have been opened up and already people are getting excited about racing (Tradezone Races are here in early Feb).

So for me the second build phase starts on Saturday and what better way to start than to ride the first century of the year. I know already that it will be a tough ride as it will be on the Fixie (roads are still not suitable for the TT bike and the road bike is still on order....mid-Feb I hear!) and most of it will be on the club ride, which isn't necessarily Fixie friendly.

The centuries will be a much bigger part of my training this year as I prep for IM Louisville. Last year I rode about 6 centuries prior to ChesapeakeMan and I still think I need to do more to get stronger and lower the bike split. I will need to hit close to a 5 hour bike split (112miles), which means lowering the 2008 ChesapeakeMan split by about 20mins (although did include a puncture repair). I think it is certainly doable and that is the main focus as the season progresses....it may not help me in road races but it will for long-distance triathlons.