I originally started this blog to chronicle my journey to becoming an Ironman in 2010 and continued it after signing up for IMAZ 2012. Now that those are done, I plan on using this forum to share any new endeavors that may come along.
With all of the mountain biking, that I've been doing lately, I found this video to be rather amusing:
Now that fall is upon us, daylight is getting shorter, the temperature is getting colder, and my desire to get up early to ride is starting to erode. I bought those 1200 lumen lights, that I mentioned in previous posts, with the anticipation of having to ride in the dark, but for some reason, grabbing an extra few Z's has been winning the battle of "Do I ride or do I sleep?" On the days that I am getting up to ride, it's typically just as the sun is rising, which only gives me about an hour until I need to get home. As a result, my 18 mile rides have now been shaved down to 12, 11, or even 10. My swimming yardage was the lowest it's been since January 2012 too. In fact, I was between the lanes just twice this month. I did, however, visit our endless pool a total of 7 times. The good news is that I am still using Eric's diet plan (from May 2012), as the framework of how I eat, and still only weigh about 158 lbs (155 lbs was my IMAZ 2012 race weight). I am, however, not as stringent as I was a year ago. My one cheat day used to start after breakfast on Saturday. Now, it starts Friday evening when I get home from the swim studio and enjoy pizza with the family. Furthermore, that one cheat day has turned into two for the past several months as I continue to not monitor my intake on Sunday as well. OCTOBER 2010 TOTALS (IMAZ 2010 TRAINING YEAR): SWIM = 25794 yards BIKE = 584.01 miles RUN = 104.9 miles OCTOBER 2011 TOTALS: SWIM = 4000 yards BIKE = 97.72 miles RUN = 97.98 miles
OCTOBER 2012 TOTALS (IMAZ 2012 TRAINING YEAR): SWIM = 48579 yards BIKE = 518.06 miles RUN = 74.18 miles OCTOBER 2013 TOTALS: SWIM = 4900 yards ENDLESS POOL = 230 minutes BIKE = 191.71 miles (All MTB) RUN = 0 miles
So, after thinking about the invitation to be the swimmer on a relay, and posting my previous entry, I decided to do it. Both the cyclist, and the runner, were previous Kona participants, and 70.3 Worlds participants, so how could I say no? This was a very fast relay indeed!! I made the decision to try and get in race shape by utilizing the Michael Phelps endless pool, at the studio, only. No pool time, and no open water time.....the closest lake is closed because of the government shutdown. As a result, I logged 200 minutes in about 8 days. Yesterday, after completing 40 of those 200 minutes, I texted the cyclist to make sure we were still a go. Unfortunately, I was informed that the runner changed their mind and was going to do the entire 70.3. That decision rippled down to the cyclist, who became 95% unmotivated to compete, to me. The cyclist did say that if I could find a runner that could help us win, he might be game. Ultimately, I could tell that the passion was lacking and I didn't really want to go out and find another runner. Soooo, there will be no competing for a relay medal this Sunday. Instead, I will be down there supporting the ONE Multisport community as well as our Sole Swim Solutions athletes.
Soooo, last night I was asked to be the swimmer of a 1/2 IM relay. Normally, I'd jump all over the opportunity, but in the last 147 days, I've been in the pool exactly 21 times for a total of 56,850 yards. I've also only had one OWS that totalled .81 miles and two sessions in the Michael Phelps endless that totaled 70 minutes. This may sound like a lot to some, but when you consider that I have done between 44,000, and 48,000, in just one month, 56,850 in almost 5, pales in comparison. There is no doubt that I can do the 1.2 mile swim, and there is no doubt that I could do well. My concern is that I'm not in "race shape" and may disappoint the other two that tapped me to swim for them. IF I decide to take them up, I will need as much time in training with Mr. Phelps as possible as race day is only 13 days away. I did this very same race last year, but did the swim AND bike. I was in IMAZ shape and about 5lbs lighter. I did the swim in 28:26 (Garmin) or officially in 29:22. I did, however, go off course (2012 SOMA 1/2 IM Relay Race Report )To me, disappointing a teammate would be doing the swim in 30:00+. Stay tuned.
