A Whole Lotta B.S.

Running is Therapy

2012-02-12T21:20:00.000-06:00

On Friday morning about 9:05 AM, my grandfather took his last breath on this earth. While his passing was expected, losing a loved one is never easy. What's even harder is watching those you love in pain. It broke my heart to see my dad and my granny crying and mourning the loss of their father and their husband. Hearing my granny asking if it was real when we went to the viewing at the funeral home was one of the toughest moments of this weekend. My heart broke for her as she realized again that her life was changed forever. The man she loved for nearly 62 years was gone forever. No words can help. You feel powerless. You just hope that she can find peace and comfort in knowing he's better off now. You hope that she can get used to her new normal. You hope she finds a new happy over the coming weeks and months. The funeral is set for Tuesday when we celebrate his life and mourn his passing.

Today I set out for a bone-chilling 14 miles. It was an opportunity for me to clear my head. Mend some wounds. It was a time for me to be thankful for my life. Thankful for being able to breathe in that crisp, cold air. Thankful for a healthy body that allows me to run. Thankful for my time to myself when everything makes sense. I love running. I love the peace it gives me. I love how it makes me search deep inside and examine my innermost thoughts and feelings. Today was one of those days when I came out of my run with a renewed sense of peace and calm. It helped me grieve in my own way. I grieved by sweating out my tears. Pounding out the pain on the pavement below me. Running is therapy in it's finest form.

Time to Swim

2012-02-05T19:35:00.002-06:00

I've waited long enough. After nearly 3 months of no swimming, I've decided to add swimming back into my rotation next week. I'm going to use this coming week as schedule prep so I can try to fit in my swims and not give up any of my current workouts. I'm leaning towards swimming two times a week using my old Team-in-Training Olympic distance training plan with anticipation of doing the Route 66 Olympic triathlon at El Reno, OK, in June. It'll be a great segway from the OKC Memorial Marathon into the summer triathlon/cycling season. As much as I haven't missed swimming, I know I need to get back in the water. It'll be great cross-training and get me ready to cut back on running after the spring marathon.

On the running front, everything is going really well. I feel incredibly strong at the moment and am excited about what may happen in April. I'm trying to be cautious though because I know the next 6-8 weeks are the time when the injuries will try to creep in. Currently my longest run has been 13 miles this training season so I have a lot of miles left to go. I'm hopeful I'll continue to stay healthy so I can really show what I can do at the marathon distance. Please keep sending positive thoughts my way. Time to finish watching the Super Bowl and get the gym bag packed for pilates and strength training tomorrow. Run happy friends.

January 2012 Charity of the Month : Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

2012-01-30T20:35:00.000-06:00

One of my goals for 2012 is to be more charitable. Each month I'll pick a different entity to donate money to in an effort to help organizations, events, or causes that have personal relevance.

The organization I chose for January 2012 is a no-brainer. My Granddad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2005 and has slowly been losing the battle to the disease. Our family has watched as his mental state has slowly deteriorated over the past few years to a point where his mental state and ability to function became dangerous to himself and my Granny. I made a gift to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in an effort to help fund research to find a cure for this horrible disease. It is such an ugly disease that steals the memories and identities of too many people. I chose to donate to OMRF because I wanted my money to go directly to research. For the basis of most of my charitable donations this year, I'll use the CharityNavigator.org website to filter through potential recipients. When I did a search for Alzheimer's research, the OMRF received one of the top ratings in the US and ultimately received my money due to location and rating on the site. After working through the OMRF website, I realized that they have made several promising advances in their research. In an effort to be brief, here is an excerpt from their site:

OMRF is at the center of this struggle, and its scientists are battling Alzheimer’s on multiple fronts. Led by Dr. Jordan Tang, a team of OMRF researchers identified and cloned the enzyme believed to cause the disease, then created an inhibitor to halt the enzyme’s action. Today, an experimental drug based on those discoveries is progressing through human clinical trials. If those trials prove successful, the new drug, known as CTS-2116, could offer the first effective treatment for Alzheimer’s.

OMRF researchers also have achieved promising results from a pre-clinical study of a potential Alzheimer’s vaccine. And they have uncovered a molecular mechanism that provides important clues why certain people are at higher risk for developing the disease.

Results like these are what make my gift meaningful to me. I want to fund research to help other families who have loved ones that may be at risk for Alzheimer's. I want to fund research to help fight the disease in my own family if the genetic predisposition to developing this disease has been passed on to others. I never want to have to go through this again with someone else in my family. Hopefully a cure will be found soon.

If you have any interest in donating to the OMRF, here is a link to their website and a link to their rating on CharityNavigator.org's site:

Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

CharityNavigator Rating

2012 - A Year for More Reading

2012-01-28T12:16:00.001-06:00

Another one of my personal goals for 2012 is to read more. In the past few years, I've read a book here and there, but I've never really considered myself an avid reader. I've decided to focus more of my free time on reading rather than surfing the internet or watching TV. As a natural result of Ironman training, my TV viewing has decreased dramatically the last couple of years. I've paired down the number of shows I DVR and find myself not just mindlessly channel surfing very often. Instead I've accumulated a number of books I want to read and even pulled out a list of "must-read" books compiled by my favorite college professor at Oklahoma State. I've hung onto the list all these years because I knew one day I'd want to go back and make an effort to read them. Currently my goal is to read at least 15 books this year. I decided on 15 because it will force me to read more than 1 a month which seemed a little too easy. I've already finished my book for January which was "Catching Fire" the 2nd installment of the Hunger Games trilogy. Although the Hunger Games books are not hard reads, they are enjoyable and are a good place for me to start as I get back into the habit of reading. I already have the next few books lined up and eventually will probably get a Kindle or Nook to allow for more convenient access to a variety of books.

On the training front, all systems are a go at the moment. I just finished up my long run for the week with the local running club. I ran a little over 13 miles along the Oklahoma River near downtown OKC. It was a cold, crisp morning with light winds which is nearly perfect for marathon training. I've been having a little bit of tightness in my right calf so I'll get out The Stick and the foam roller to help loosen it up before Tuesday when I hit the streets again. The running feels strong though. I'm pretty happy with where I am currently.

Operation 2012 is in full effect

2012-01-23T19:23:00.000-06:00

I know I owe you a post from last week. I only posted once, so shame on me for missing one of my goals already. I'll try to make up for it and post three updates this week.

One of the reasons I was MIA from the blog this week was because I started hammering out (literally and figuratively) one of my big goals for 2012. One of my main goals was to declutter my apartment and make it a more inviting place. I had a couple of vacation days I had to burn before my anniversary date (February 1st) so I took off Friday and today to work on my project. I ordered all new bedroom furniture, a buffet, and a desk from Target a couple of weeks ago. I wanted something affordable and Target was running a 15% off promotion on all furniture so I ended up with a nice batch of furniture for under $1000. I bought two six-drawer dressers, one five drawer dresser, a nightstand, and a headboard for my bedroom. It replaced the current furniture I had in my room and gave me a lot more storage space for my ever-growing collection of triathlon and running gear. The buffet gave me an area to store my glassware (pilsners, wine glasses, goblets) and wine bottles and make my breakfast nook area more organized. It also forced me to organize all my bike accessories, nutrition, and miscellaneous endurance sports items. The desk just gave me an area to organize my computer accessories and give me a place to work when I have to log in from home. Overall I really like the new space. The construction/cleaning/organizing process took every bit of 2.5 days. Finally today I was able to put the finishing touches on everything and can now sit down to write this blog from my new desk.

After 2.5 days of extreme apartment makeover, I finally had a chance to get out and enjoy having the day off. The weather was beautiful today in OKC so I shook out the legs with a nice 5 mile run at Lake Hefner. Running in shorts and a t-shirt makes me thankful for the current weather, but also makes me wary of the summer months ahead. Last summer was brutal for training. I hope this summer isn't a repeat. I may officially pack up and move to Colorado if we have another blistering summer. Other than that, I just cleaned up a bit around the house, went grocery shopping, and enjoyed some downtime. It's back to work tomorrow for what will undoubtedly be a very busy week. I'll update again later this week as I pick my charity for Jan 2012.

2012 : A Year for Organizaiton

2012-01-15T21:03:00.001-06:00

In most areas of my life I'm fairly organized. One area where I haven't been is my apartment. I live in a small 1-bedroom apartment with very minimal storage space. Anyone who is an endurance athlete knows that the sport is gear intensive. Over the past 3 years I have definitely outgrown my apartment in it's current state. I use the living room as bike storage. I use the bedroom for shoe storage. I use the breakfast nook for nutrition storage. I use every square inch of my apartment for storage of some sort....and it still isn't enough. One of my areas for improvement in 2012 is my organization at home. I'm determined to declutter my apartment and make it more presentable. Hiding my endurance sports lifestyle is not an option. I'm proud of my hobbies/lifestyle and hope to showcase them in a more tasteful way. To get the ball rolling, I've already purchased a few pieces of furniture which I'll start to assemble this week. I'm going to gut my bedroom and get rid of excessive clothing, gear bags, shoes, and hats. I'm going to organize my nutrition in a way that's more presentable and accessible. I'm going to dedicate a spot for my two bikes where they can serve as both a reminder to get off my butt and a conversation starter when company visits. I also want to make the living room a functional area for work, study, relaxing, and exercise. After I'm finished I'm going to have a place that functions well for my lifestyle. It won't be the nicest place you'll ever visit, but you'll never doubt what I consider a priority in life. I'm excited to have a "new" home.

2012 : Year for Charity

2012-01-11T21:43:00.000-06:00

Another one of my goals for 2012 is to be more charitable. I donate to various causes throughout the year, but this year I'm going to make a concerted effort to increase my giving through regular charitable donations. Each month I will select an organization of personal relevance and donate money to that cause. I've decided not to limit myself exclusively to non-profit organizations, but rather organizations or causes that have personal significance. This will allow me to openly explore areas of my life where I'd like to give without limitations. I also will leave the amount open, but I'll set a minimum of $25 each month. Some months I'll give more based on my current financial situation. I think this will also allow me to share with you some of my favorite organizations and causes that are dear to my heart. I hope you'll follow along throughout the year to see which organizations I pick.

2012 : Improvement in Marathon Time

2012-01-08T17:47:00.000-06:00

One of my main endurance sports goals for 2012 is to improve my marathon time. Currently my personal best is a 4:02 at Chicago in 2010. I didn't run a stand-alone marathon in 2011 so my personal best is outdated. I feel like I have a sub-3:40 in me, but only time will tell if I can actually stay healthy during the training process. For me the big limiter is my health. I love to run. Getting out the door to run is rarely an issue. I always run into problems with my health. My weak spot seems to be my Achilles tendons. I've had problems with both my left and right Achilles tendons over the past 3 years. The good part of an Achilles injury is that I know how to deal with it and I know I can elliptical myself to a marathon finish. I'm never going to reach my ultimate goal of the Boston Marathon on an elliptical though. It has to start with me being disciplined and listening to my body. I've become a smarter runner over the years, but I still do things I know are wrong. I toe the line between injury and pushing to myself to become better very closely. I've yet to find the balance where I don't cross the line into injury during a marathon training schedule. I'm trying very, very hard to make my 2012 OKC Memorial training program the best one yet. I feel really strong as a runner right now. My long runs have been fairly effortless and I seem to be gaining strength/speed thanks to my new workout additions : pilates, yoga, and core. It's only a matter of time before I put it all together and have a good marathon. My goal is to make that happen this year. My original goal is to just break the 4:00 mark. My big goal is to break the 3:40 mark. Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen. April 29th, 2012 will be here before we know it.

2012 - A Year for Improvement

2012-01-05T20:22:00.000-06:00

One of my goals for 2012 is to blog at least 2 times a week. I'm trying to make good on that commitment starting now. I spent last weekend spending time with two very dear friends in Austin, TX, by celebrating a monumental 2011 and ringing in a new chapter. One of our many discussions centered around 12 in 2012 - our commitment to make positive changes in our life and those around us. I really, really struggled to come up with 12 specific goals which is odd. I wrote down 6 things and then left the other 6 open-ended. An opportunity for me to examine my life and pinpoint areas where I need to be better and grow. A couple of my goals are fitness-oriented, a couple are charity-driven, a few are personal development related, and the others are more personal matters which probably don't belong on this site. Over the next few weeks I'll detail a few of my goals and try to track my progress throughout the year. One of the main themes for 2012 is improvement. I knocked off a lot of "firsts" the last few years and now it's time to continue to strive to better myself and challenge my mind, body, and soul. I hope to come out of 2012 a much-improved man. I hope you all have goals and aspirations for yourself in 2012 as well. It all starts with taking that first step. Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen.

I'm still here, I promise

2011-12-20T21:04:00.001-06:00

I just looked at my blog and realized it's been nearly 2.5 weeks since I've posted. Shame on me! I have had a bit of a writer's block the last couple of months. I lost interest in writing every day and really struggled with what to share on this blog. For the past few years this blog has been dedicated to my journey to become an endurance athlete. It was used as a way for me to keep track of my training, get people involved in the process, and provide another story for other endurance athletes to relate to when they first took the leap into this sport. I've had a lot of "firsts" while I've been writing this blog. It started out before I ran my half marathon and has evolved along with me as I now can lay claim to an Ironman finish.

My writer's block comes from the fact that I've always used this blog as a way to lay out my challenges and update people on my progress. Now that I've been through the process for about 3 years now, I feel like the content may become a little monotonous. The blog may become boring to some, but I do plan on keeping it updated with my training and goals. I hope that someone out there will find it interesting and useful too. The main purpose is to provide a journal for my thoughts and training. This sport has really changed me for the better and I think I owe it to myself to write it down in a place where I can go back and read it at some point in the future. I hope some of you will stick around and keep reading. I hope to continue to connect with our other athletes in the blogosphere. Mostly I hope to really be able to show how much of a positive impact endurance sports can have on a life. I feel blessed to have found something I love to do and can continue to grow into as I age. I wish the same for all of those around me. Often times I feel like we get stagnant as we get older. Age becomes an excuse to get out of shape. Watching the Ironman World Championships on NBC a couple of weeks ago was a perfect painting of how I want to be when I get older. I want to be that guy running into barricades at the end of an Ironman because I had the heart and desire to get out there and do it again. I want to inspire people young and old to get out and challenge themselves. If I can do that one time, this blog will be a success. One time makes years and years of writing worth it. Until next time, Run Happy friends. I'll be back soon.

Big 12 Champions and Week One of Marathon Training

2011-12-04T16:13:00.001-06:00

After many years of watching very mediocre football, sometimes even awful football, Cowboy fans were treated to an incredible performance last night in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Oklahoma State proved it was the best team in the Big 12 and won it's first outright conference championship in the history of the program. It was such a great day in Stillwater. My little brother was along for the ride as we witnessed history in Boone Pickens Stadium after a 44-10 whipping of the OU Sooners. Now it's time to wait for the BCS rankings in a few hours to see if we did enough to convince voters that we deserve a shot at LSU. I'm holding out some
hope, but it looks like OSU will come up just a bit short.

This week also marked week one of marathon training. I really debated about not going for my "long" run today because I've felt a little under the weather and last night's game caused me to be up way past my bed time. I made myself get out the door though and I'm really glad I did. I had a steady and solid long run where I focused on pacing and effort. I'm trying to stay very disciplined with my training this year where I don't knock off some long run at too fast of a clip and lead myself into an injury. My training plan will be a 3-day run schedule coupled with cross-training and strength-training. I've basically taken the Hal Higdon Marathon Novice 3 program and the FIRST training program and meshed them together to make sure I'm getting in enough focused runs each week. I wish my body could handle more running days each week, but my body just isn't made for it. I have to work with what I have and that limits the total mileage I can put in each week.

Currently my line of thinking is that I'm going to shoot for an 8:15min/mile average pace for my marathon. This would put me in the 3:36 time slot and would be a huge PR for me at this distance. I came up with that pace goal by looking at my past performances at the half marathon and 10K distance. The past few times I've trained for a marathon I never really focused in on a goal this early in the process. I think by having the mental mindset of a concrete goal will make training more detailed and tailored for better results. My tempo runs will be done at 7:45 pace and my long runs will be done at 8:45ish depending on what the FIRST training schedule calls for that weekend. I'm really excited to try to execute this plan and put it to work. It's marathon time. I can't wait!!

The journey begins....marathon #4, err #5 I guess.

2011-11-28T20:54:00.001-06:00

I never know whether to say I've run 3 or 4 marathons when someone asks my running history. I've run 3 stand-alone marathons and one marathon during the Ironman. Does the Ironman marathon count in my marathon tally? Well, regardless of the number, I am officially embarking on my journey to my next marathon. This week is the first week of training for my upcoming Austin half marathon and OKC Memorial marathon plan. I am 12 weeks out from Austin and 22 weeks from OKC. It's a little early to be officially starting my training for the OKC race, but the slower build-up of the half training plan will help ease my legs back into training mileage. Plus, I'm really in need of some structure at the moment so having a schedule will definitely help the type-A personality wanting to come out and play. I haven't actually registered for either race, but I plan on registering for the Austin race in the next couple of weeks.

I have no real goals for Austin except to have some fun and use it as a good measuring stick for the OKC full. I don't plan on a PR there but we'll see how things develop the next couple of months. The great news about both races are that my friends from Austin are going to run both of them. It's awesome to see my friends adopting the running lifestyle and when I go visit we have another thing in common. Although we didn't run much this past weekend, we sure talked about it a lot. We are officially on board for a great 2012 though. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Run happy friends.

Ironman - It's hard to not dream

2011-11-20T20:12:00.001-06:00

Today I've spent most of the day watching footage of Ironman Arizona online. It's cold and cloudy in OKC today and I didn't really have much planned so it seemed like a perfect day to curl up on the couch, watch some Ironman racing, and keep track of a friend who's there completing his first Ironman. Watching the races makes it really hard not to dream. The World Triathlon Corporation does a nice job of strategically placing ads for the Ironman World Championship lottery and links to races that haven't sold out. It's easy to get lost in the memories of race day and want to sign up again. I clicked on the lottery application several times and then closed the window. I clicked the link for Ironman St. George and read through the website. I even went to Ironman's main website to see which races were still open for registration. Each time I closed the webpage and made myself quit looking.

I'm really, really trying to save some money in 2012 and stay focused on the marathon. It's not going to kill me to wait out another year before I do another Ironman, but the urge to sign up is so strong sometimes. Quite frankly, sitting out a year will most likely make me even more motivated for 2013. I think I will bargain with myself and opt to maybe do two 70.3 races next year. Redman 70.3 is a definite since my employer pays for the entry fee and I may throw in an earlier Ironman 70.3 race like Kansas or Buffalo Springs since they are relatively easy trips for me. Another option is to do a later season 70.3 such as Austin. We shall see how the season unfolds. We all know I've never been one to stay healthy throughout the entire season so injuries will definitely be my limiting factor. I'm hoping all this yoga, pilates, core, and strength-training work this offseason will help in alleviating some of those problems. Keeping this weight off will also go a long way in keeping my joints/tendons/ligaments happy. If the holiday gathering yesterday was any indication of my ability to avoid overeating at Thanksgiving and Christmas then we are in for some big trouble. Apparently I decided to make up for 7 weeks of good eating by eating everything in sight. It's obvious why I can't keep cheat foods in my house. Out of sight, out of mind. Back to work tomorrow. I'll try to be good for 3 days before Thanksgiving II occurs on Thursday. The good news is that I'm Austin-bound for a few days after that with full intentions of being active and healthy. It's hard to go to Austin and not want to run and play in the fall/winter. It's going to be beautiful weather!

I want to wish everyone a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. I hope you eat well, stay active, and spend time with those important to you. As evidenced by another horrible plane crash that affected my Oklahoma State family, we are never guaranteed another day. Embrace life and make the most of it. We will remember : Kurt Budke, Miranda Serna, Olin Branstetter, and Paula Branstetter.

Ironman Louisville Highlight Video

2011-11-17T20:55:00.001-06:00

I was surfing around Facebook today and noticed that someone had posted a highlight video of Ironman Louisville 2011. Apparently Ironman just posted it to their site within the past couple of days. As I watched the video it brought back so many emotions: pride, joy, desire, eagerness, restlessness, envy. The pursuit of the Ironman tested me on so many levels. I miss it. I envy those who are about to do Ironman Arizona. I'm proud of what I accomplished. I still get tears of joy when I think about those last few steps. I'm eager to do another one. I'm also getting restless.

I'm getting to a point in my "offseason" where I'm ready for more structure. I'm ready to have a schedule. Something to help me improve. The last 7 weeks or so I've been flying by the seat of my pants and just doing whatever I feel like. It's mostly consisted of shorter workouts and not much swimming or biking. I've been running at least 3 times a week. I've been doing some strength-training. I've tried to swim when I could force myself into the pool. I've been oddly absent from the bike though. I don't really have a reason. It's just kinda happened that way. My goal is now to get back on a schedule post-Thanksgiving. I'll pick up my half-marathon training plan for the Livestrong Austin Half Marathon in February and really start focusing on getting back into a regular triathlon offseason schedule. I'll still do yoga. I'll still do pilates. I'll still strength-train as well. I also will make sure I'm adding back in swimming and biking as I strive to come out of this offseason faster and stronger in all three disciplines.

One area that's been highly successful for me is weight loss/management. I'm now at a weight that I haven't seen since junior high. I stepped on the scales on Monday and weighed in at 173 pounds. I've lost 20 pounds over the course of the year, most of it coming the last 7 weeks as I've really buckled down on my nutrition. I've been eating lots of fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and low-fat dairy. I've limited alcohol intake and have virtually cut out all forms of junk food and mindless snacking. It's been a huge boost to my motivation and focus. I can see the results and know that when I start training again that running, biking, and swimming with 20 less pounds is going to make a huge difference. The next month and a half will be a challenge with all of the holiday celebrations, but I'll do my best to come out on the other end in a good spot. Boston qualifying isn't going to happen if I can't continue to lean up and stay on the right track. I'm focused and ready. 2012 is really going to be a great year.

Here is the Ironman Louisville 2011 Highlight Video. Enjoy:

Oklahoma State is 10-0 ; Early Season Race Schedule

2011-11-12T16:20:00.001-06:00

For the first time in school history, Oklahoma State is 10-0 in college football. It's a great time to be a Cowboy fan! As a proud alum, it's hard for me not to boast a little about my alma mater. We are inching closer and closer to a very special season. Two more games left. Only two more games. The tension and anticipation are mounting in Orange Country USA. Go Pokes!

This week I also have nailed down my first few races of the 2012 season. I've decided to run the Livestrong Half Marathon in Austin, Texas, on Feb 19, 2012, and the OKC Memorial Full Marathon on April 29, 2012. I've wanted to run the Austin race for a couple of years and it finally is going to work well in my schedule. I have a free place to stay in Austin so it will be an easy, relatively inexpensive trip. I am finally going to run my hometown marathon this year as well. I'm excited to train and race in OKC next year. Lately I've been doing some runs on the last few miles of the course to help visualize myself shattering my old marathon time in the first steps towards my goal of qualifying for Boston. I think my familiarity with the course and local weather conditions will really help me formulate a strong race strategy. My coach really set me up for success this past year running the half marathon in OKC and I expect to fully utilize his knowledge in 2012.

The back half of 2012 is coming into better focus. I think I've decided to do the Redman 70.3 triathlon in OKC next September as a way to effectively utilize the summer months when running becomes less enjoyable. It will also help me continue to improve upon my triathlon base and set me up to tackle another Ironman in 2013. After Redman 70.3, I may run another marathon if I stay healthy and there are several options that would be relatively easy trips: Route 66 in Tulsa, White Rock in Dallas, Prairie Fire in Wichita, and Kansas City marathon. I'll also throw my name in the hat for the NYC Marathon again and try my luck. The rest of the year I plan to fill in with some local races I normally do like Run for Lucky 5K, Redbud 10K, Route 66 Triathlon, and a couple of cycling tours. It should be a good way for me to stay active and not break the bank after two pretty expensive years in 2010 and 2011. This sport can get expensive in a hurry if you don't watch out. It's time to take advantage of the free race entries provided by my employer.

It's time for me to get back to watching some college football and trying to sift through some old training plans to get some workout ideas for the next couple of weeks. I'll officially start my training for the Austin half marathon the week after Thanksgiving. I'm excited to get back into a running training program. It's been way too long. Run happy friends!

Goals

2011-11-06T22:03:00.001-06:00

During this offseason, I've really had a chance to evaluate my current state of mind as it pertains to endurance sports. I've been able to do a little soul searching with the extra time on my hands and really start thinking about the future. I feel like at this point in my endurance sports career I'm at a crossroads. I've conquered most distances in running and triathlon outside of ultra-endurance events. I do have a desire to do ultra events in the future, but I feel like I need to get a few more years under my belt before I even think about attempting one. That brings me to a point now where I need to decide what my goal is over the next few years. Do I just want to stay active and participate in marathons and triathlons or do I really want to get to work and push myself to reach new heights? Do my goals become just a desire to complete certain races or do I really shoot for the moon and try to push my body?

I know as endurance athletes we live a life that's hard to keep balanced all the time. Training takes priority over certain areas of our life and it's a sacrifice to stay healthy, active, and ready to race throughout the year. It's no secret that to get better you have to put in the time and work. This is where I decide I'm willing to put in that time and work. I love this sport. I love the way it challenges me and pushes me to expect better in all areas of my life. The confidence I've gained the past three years was something I struggled to gain the 26 years prior. Before endurance sports, I was constantly fighting an inner battle with myself. I lacked confidence in many areas of my life. I knew I was smart. I knew I worked hard. I just didn't know how to harness my full potential. I was scared to make mistakes and scared to fail. I rarely went out on a limb and threw myself out there to hurt, to fail, to really feel something. This lack of confidence kept me from realizing my full potential. I look back now and see many crossroads in my life where I took the safe route; missed opportunities to really do something special. This time I'm not playing it safe. I'm going all in. I want to qualify for Boston. I know I'll fall down and have to pick myself back up. I know it won't be easy. I know I'll put in the work though. I know I'll make it happen.

To some, this may seem easy. Some people qualify in their first marathon. I didn't have the luxury of a strong running background. I grew up overweight and didn't run until I finally woke up in Feb 2009. My current personal best at the marathon is a 4:02 in Chicago last year. To qualify for Boston I need to run a 3:10 to even have the chance to register. To actually get into Boston in 2012 I would have had to run a 3:08:46. You can see I have a lot of work ahead. I don't expect this to happen overnight. I actually think it will take me a couple of years. Realistically I can expect to run about a 3:40 marathon based on my latest half marathon results in 2011. The road to Boston starts now. Yes, I'll still be doing triathlons. Yes, I still plan on doing more Ironman races. For now, my goal for 2012 is to get faster and start chipping away at that marathon time though. I'm working on my race schedule for next year as we speak. I have my early season races pretty much nailed down. It's the back half of the year that has me still looking. More details to come soon.

Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen. - Boston or Bust

The Ironman Triathlon : What They Don't Tell You

2011-10-27T20:42:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I submitted an article to the Oklahoma Sports and Fitness magazine about my Ironman journey. The purpose of the article was to capture the ups and downs of the entire process while adding in a sense of humor. The article was published in the latest issue of the magazine so I thought I'd share it with you guys. Here is the direct link:

http://www.oksportsandfitness-digital.com/publication/?m=12413&l=1

It's on page 12. I'll also post the body of the article here in case the link doesn't work. I hope you enjoy!

Ironman – What They Don’t Tell You

Before I began my Ironman journey, I always thought of theIronman distance as the ultimate test: the perfect test of mind, body, heart, and soul. It was the one race that I ultimately dreamedof doing when I got my start in endurance sports. It was the race that would let me know I hadofficially made it in endurance sports. On August 28, 2011, I officially made it. On that sunny day in Louisville, Kentucky,I crossed the finish line of Ironman Louisville with a time of 12 hours, 45minutes, and 53 seconds. It was anexperience I’ll never forget. It wasalso an experience that taught me a lot about triathlon and myself. Let me explain:

I’m a relative newbie to the triathlon world. I’m not even two years old in triathlonyears. Before now, I wasn’t aware of allof its intricacies and odd behavior. Trainingfor sprint and Olympic distance triathlons only scratched the surface. Runners are often labeled as crazy by thegeneral population. Triathletes are awhole different breed. Leading up to myregistration for Ironman Louisville I did a lot of research and asked a lot ofquestions. I wanted to know what theexperience was really going to be like. I wanted the dirty details. Iwanted the nitty gritty of what it would ultimately take for me to become anIronman. No sugarcoating. No romanticism. Just lay it out in front of me.

I received a lot of great feedback from my coach, on messageboards, from fellow triathletes, even from Ironman broadcasts themselves. I was a sponge. I soaked in all of the knowledge I possiblycould so I’d be prepared for the gauntlet ahead of me. I prepared for the long hours. I prepared for the physical and mentalstress. I prepared for the exhaustion. I even prepared for the costs. However, there are just some things you can’tprepare for because you never thought you should. It’s now my goal to help you prepare forwhat’s ahead as you embark on your own journey.

You will become obsessed. Everything you do, say, or think will be related to your Ironman or yourtraining. Suddenly nothing elseexists. You are the only person on thisEarth and everything must revolve around your schedule. Someone’s getting married? Tough! They should have scheduled around your race. Someone’s moving? Tough! Hire a mover. Someone needs toreschedule a meeting? Yeah right, tryagain. The family wants to celebratebirthdays? That’s dumb. Haven’t theyalready had 39 of those? You get mypoint. You are the only person who couldpossibly be this busy and no one else understands it but you and those who arealso training for an Ironman.

Performing bodily functions on yourself, while moving, andin front of other people suddenly becomes acceptable and almost expected. No longer is it necessary to stop to use thebathroom. Why waste those preciousseconds when you could just as easily go on yourself? You are wearing moisture-wicking material afterall. Flatulation also becomes a form ofpropulsion in the Ironman race. Don’thold it in and rob yourself of that burst of speed you get for a splitnanosecond. Let it go. Enjoy the free speed.

Rashes, sores, sunburns, and other forms of bodily ailmentsbecome badges of honor. No longer doyou care that you have the brand of your tri jersey permanently sunburned toyour back. You show off road rash likeit’s the most coveted piece of technology that everyone else wants. You laugh at someone who talks about beingsore from doing yard work. How couldthey possibly be sorer than you? Youjust biked 6 hours and followed it up with a 2 hour run. They must be weak. You would even go as far as showing off yoursaddle sore to your coworkers but you think there might be an HR violationwrapped up in that one. Instead youdecide to describe it in graphic detail so everyone knows how hardcore youreally are now. You will also decidethat sandpaper to the groin area is the ultimate test of toughness. Who needs body glide when your body providesthe perfect lubricant of salty sweat? Good luck with that one. Itburns.

You will cry. Youwill cry a lot. You will hit the submitbutton on your entry form and you will cry. You will watch the Ironman World Championships on NBC and you willcry. You will dream of yourself crossingthe finish line and you will cry. As theevent gets closer, you become even more emotional. You will become grouchy. You will snap at people for the most randomthings. You will start crying and noteven know why you are crying. You thinkI’m kidding, but it’s true. Suddenly youare a hormonal teenager all over again. No one understands you. No onecan comfort you. All you want to do istalk about yourself, have someone listen, and then have them go away so you canfocus on yourself some more. Yourfriends will cringe when your phone number pops up on caller ID. They know you don’t want to hear how they aredoing. You just want to talk about howfar you have to ride your bike this weekend and how no one understands how youfeel. Don’t be surprised if you don’ttalk to a few of your friends during your training. Don’t worry though, you’ll realize you were aself-absorbed freak and apologize with meals, alcohol, and an abundant amountof favors after it’s over.

In all honesty, there is really nothing that can prepare youfor the Ironman journey. You’ll learnthings about yourself that you never knew. You’ll dig deep to find that inner strength that only your parents andGod knew existed. You’ll surpriseyourself week after week as you adapt to your new lifestyle. But most importantly you will come out on theother side a different person. You willnever look at a situation and second guess your ability to perform. Suddenly anything is possible. The day after I finished Ironman Louisville Iknew I wasn’t finished. I knew it wasonly the beginning. It was the chapterin my life that opened the door to endless possibilities. Now I don’t think about “if”, I think about“when”. My motto has always been thesame: “Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen.” Now that dream just got a lot bigger.

Here are a few pics from the day that I bought online. I haven't shared these yet on here. I really still get goosebumps and smile when I think about that day.

I hope you all are doing well. Run happy friends.

OSU vs Texas Road Trip

2011-10-18T21:09:00.001-05:00

I guess I'm doing weekly updates for the time being. I hope you guys stick around during my downtime.   It's actually been a really busy and really productive start to the offseason. I have fallen into a schedule that has kept me really busy, really active, and really productive. It's led to less blogging than I would like, but it's been a fun month and a half since Louisville.

This past weekend I made a road trip to Austin, TX, to see two of my really good friends and watch the Oklahoma State vs Texas football game.   I used to live in Austin back in 2004-5 so it's great to go back and visit. I absolutely love it down there. Every time I visit I can see myself eventually moving back at some point. I really love OKC too so it's not something I plan on doing anytime soon. I'll always keep it in the back of my mind if I ever get the desire to make a change. When I lived there I wasn't very active so I didn't fully take advantage of the area. Now it would be a perfect fit for my lifestyle. The weather is generally pretty favorable for triathletes as well.   The summers can be nasty hot, but the other three seasons provide a great environment for year-round training.   While I was in town, I made sure to get in a run on the trails around Town Lake.   We went Friday morning and it was quite amazing to see the number of people out running, walking, and biking on a Friday. I'm still not anywhere near top running form, but I'm healthy and running is really fun right now. I generally just go for a 3-4 mile run and have slowly started to get my legs back after the long layoff from running.   I have to remind myself that I really haven't run much since June due to injury. Besides the marathon portion of the Ironman, I probably didn't run more than 30 miles combined for about 3 months.   It's nice to get back to a semi-normal routine of running 3 times a week and start prepping for my 2012 goals.

The rest of the trip was pretty much centered around football and hanging out with my friends. It was a pretty relaxing and fun weekend. Now that I have a place to crash in Austin, I definitely see myself making the trip more frequently. I also plan to lug my bike down there at some point to ride some of the awesome routes in the area.   I saw more bikes than I could count out on loop 360 on my way out of town on Sunday morning. Pretty cool to see everyone getting out and being active.

The rest of the last week or so was spent prepping for my trip and dealing with some car issues.   I had an untimely run-in with an extremely rough railroad crossing that put my car in the shop last Wednesday. I've been driving a rental since and hopefully will get my car back on Thursday. It seems like car issues always happen at the most inconvenient times.   Being single and a one-car household makes it even more challenging.   Luckily insurance is going to pick up most of the tab on this one and I can go about business as usual next week. I think I need to get something bigger to drive though. Apparently I like to run over things.

It's almost time to retire the bike to the trainer during the week. I really think the trainer work I did last winter made a huge difference in my cycling progress this year. I'm actually kinda looking forward to being forced to grind it out and get better. It's so much easier to put yourself in pain when you are locked into a trainer and can put your head down and get to work. I plan on coming out of this offseason with even more improvement on the bike. If my motivation level stays anywhere near it's current state throughout the winter, I'll make some significant strides. Now it's just time to get a structure and get to work.

I hope all of you have a great week ahead. I'm enjoying the cool temps and crisp morning. We are hitting prime running months. Until next time, run happy!

Inexplicably Absent

2011-10-10T20:45:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure why I haven't been blogging. I've been inexplicably absent lately.   I really don't intend to retire from this blog. I guess I'm just taking a little hiatus. Like all things, sometimes you just need a break. I took almost 4 weeks off from exercise after Ironman Louisville. I now am back into my 3rd full week of the offseason and am extremely motivated. I hope I can sustain this momentum through the next few months. It will really do me wonders when I start tackling next year's goals. Not only am I biking, swimming, and running now, I've also decided to pick up a few new disciplines this offseason. I've started taking yoga and pilates one time a week at my work gym and have been able to get in some quality weight-training. I know all three additions to my schedule will make me a better all-around athlete and produce results in my training. It's been refreshing to keep the body guessing along the way.

I also think the weeks away from the blog will help spur along my creativity. I actually sent off an article to Oklahoma Sports and Fitness magazine about a week ago and it was very well received by the editor. I'll share it on my blog in the coming weeks. It will be a way for me to get back into the game on here.   I also plan to share my 2012 goals and tentatively planned races over the coming weeks. I've started to piece together my schedule and am excited to try and set some new PRs.

Another great thing about this offseason so far is my dedication to better nutrition and leaning up. I've always known that losing some more weight would be the key to helping reduce injury on the run and make me faster by default. I've really focused on eating more fruits and vegetables, eating only lean meats, and cutting back the fat intake.   Now that I'm not training as much I've stopped craving bad food which has been nice. I've been able to avoid the offseason binge so far, but the upcoming holiday season will be a big test. If I can come out of the offseason a little leaner, it will go a long way to better results in 2012.

Finally, I want to say congrats to everyone who finished races this weekend.   Following friends at the Ironman World Championships and the Chicago Marathon really made me miss training. I'm really enjoying the free time of the offseason, but I also can't wait to get back into marathon training. I've really missed the long runs and the pure joy I get from running. Sure I've grown to like the bike and the swim isn't nearly as intolerable as it once was, but I love running. I'm ready to get back to pounding the pavement and enjoying the freedom of running.

Brooks PureProject Release

2011-10-01T16:21:00.001-05:00

As a Brooks Fanatic, I've eagerly been awaiting the launch of the PureProject line of shoes for quite some time now. I first heard about the new line of shoes on the Brooks Running website and it seemed like a perfect opportunity for me to experience the more lightweight approach to running. I've been a big fan of Brooks shoes since I started running back in 2009. My love affair continues to blossom as they introduce new lines of shoes and apparel that make my runs more enjoyable.

Luckily my local running haunt, Red Coyote Running and Fitness, was one of the select retailers to carry the PureProject shoes on their October 1st limited-launch date. In true runner fashion, they also decided to have a little pancake breakfast along with the opening day of the PureProject. I actually haven't ran since Ironman Louisville so today seemed like a great day to test out the Achilles and run in some new shoes. I think I earned a new pair after this year's training. I also wanted to treat my feet to some new kicks as I start my offseason training plan. No surprise, but the PureProject shoes did not disappoint. I ended up trying on 3 different models : the PureFlow, the PureCadence, and the PureGrit. The PureFlow is Brooks neutral version of the PureProject line. I've generally always run in support/guidance shoes, but I'm slowly trying to wean myself off the full support versions of the Adrenalines. The PureCadence is the guidance/support version of the PureProject and has a little more support to keep the foot from overpronating. I am not a big overpronater but I do have some slight tendencies to pronate too much. Finally, the PureGrit is the trail version of the PureProject line. I tried on the PureFlow model first so I could get a feel for neutral, more natural feel of the shoe. The shoe fit like a glove thanks to the NavBand that wraps around the instep. It also was extremely comfortable and provided a nice ride when I took them for a spin around the parking lot. Next I tried on the PureCadence model which most closely aligns with my current Adrenalines. It was not quite as flexible as the PureFlow, but did feel much more supportive without being bulky or restrictive. It also fit really well and the debate was on about which pair to pick up for my new shoes. Finally, I tried on the PureGrit model just so I could round out the collection that would fit my gait. I really, really liked the feel of this trail shoe. If I was a trail runner, I might have even bought two pair. The shoe was designed in conjunction with Scott Jurek so you know it's a solid shoe. It felt like it focused your weight to your midfoot/forefoot so you could get ultimate traction from the lugs on the bottom of the shoe. I suspect I'll be buying a pair of those when the weather turns a bit colder and I need more traction on the snow. After consulting with a few runners near me and Kathy, my shoe specialist this morning, I decided to break down and buy both the PureFlow and PureCadence shoes. My reasoning was so I could put in my long runs with the Cadence when I need more support and then use the Flow for my shorter, speed workouts. After I got home I took the PureFlow's out for a short 2 mile test run and really, really enjoyed the shoe. I definitely am ready to give the Cadence a run as well. I'll test those out on Wednesday when I join up with Red Coyote and Brooks for the Brooks Pure Pint Run. Our area Brooks rep is going to bring up some free swag from Dallas and we're going to go for a quick 30 minute run followed with giveaways, free beer, and a free Red Coyote pint glass. Not too shabby!

I really do think you owe it to yourself to give the PureProject shoes a try if you can find them in stock. Rumor has it that these things are flying off the shelf and they are already on backorder until Oct 19th on the Brooks website. For more info, go check out the Brooks PureProject web page. You won't be disappointed!

Ironman Louisville - One Month After

2011-09-25T21:17:00.001-05:00

Finally, after one month of travel, reconnecting with friends, the start of college football, and life in general, it's time to write my race report for Ironman Louisville. Initially I planned to write this race report upon my return to Oklahoma the week following the race.   However, my schedule really didn't allow me the opportunity to sit down and focus my efforts. It's amazing how vivid that day still is in my mind. I remember the sights, the sounds, the smells, the emotions like they were yesterday. This race report will be easy to write now that I'm sitting here at my computer. The goal of the report is to recap my day, give a little insight about the race, and relive the moments I remember most. Stick around if it sounds like something that might interest you!

Race Site (Host City, Hotel):

First of all, Louisville, Kentucky, probably isn't on the top of many people's lists of places to visit. I had only been to Louisville once before this visit and my memories were nothing spectacular. It had been over 12 years since my last visit so I was pretty sure the area had changed quite a bit. Overall I really enjoyed the city the five days we were there for the race. We didn't really explore too much as far as tourist attractions go, but there are a few really cool options for family members who are interested : Churchill Downs, Muhammad Ali museum, and Louisville Slugger museum. Luckily, I flew to Louisville on Thursday morning before the race and my parents drove from Oklahoma the same day. It worked out really well for gear transport. I sent all of my gear, food, and essential items with my parents and I took my other clothes on the flight with me. It helped remove one of the big stresses of traveling to a race. I didn't have to worry about my bag getting lost, my bike being damaged, or weight limits in my bags. I probably ended up taking a lot more than necessary, but it was nice to have options when I was packing my gear and special needs bags. I also opted to stay at the host hotel, the Galt House, so I didn't have to worry about transportation to and from the race site.   The cost was manageable since we only booked one room, but as we all know, host hotels are never cheap. One thing I will note is that most rooms do not have a microwave.   I ended up packing my own meals (pasta, marinara, etc) so I didn't have to eat out and risk stomach issues. Not having a microwave was a minor inconvenience, but the hotel allowed athletes to use the microwave of one of the restaurants on site which was very nice. The Galt House was central to everything you needed on race weekend except a grocery store. I'd recommend hitting one before you get downtown if you need to pick up anything like water, snacks, etc.   I ended up taking a trolley from downtown to the theater district and then walked a few blocks to get to a Kroger grocery store on Thursday so I could pick up some fruit, milk, water, and plastic utensils so I could be self-sufficient for meals leading up to the race.   The transition area, finish line, swim course, run course, and banquets are all located within a short walk of the Galt House. I'd recommend it as a home base for this race. I do think there may be better options nearby if you want to find somewhere with a small kitchen, but if you just want a room that's close to everything it's a good spot.

Swim: 2.4 miles in 1:19:17

IM Louisville is unique because it's a time-trial start instead of the usual chaotic mass start. One of the reasons I felt Louisville was appealing was because of this fact. The downside of the time-trial start is the anticipation and build-up as you are waiting in line prior to the swim. The line is first-come, first-served so you just line up as you get to the swim area and that's your spot in the starting corral. I wasn't overly concerned about getting in the front of the line so I took my time getting up and around in the morning. It allowed me to sleep in a little longer and not rush around trying to get to the transition area right when it opened. After making my way through transition to load up my bike with my nutrition, I made the walk down to the swim area. From transition, it's about a 1/2 mile walk to the swim start area. Once I got to the swim area, I got my body marked with my race numbers and then made my way to the snaking line of athletes waiting for the start of the race. This is where I made the first of a couple of rookie mistakes during the day. Once I found the end of the line, I set my morning clothes bag down and left to go join the line waiting for the port-a-potties. In my bag was my swim cap, goggles, ear plugs, GU, and a few other miscellaneous items I thought might be handy while I was waiting for the swim start.   As I waited in line, I heard someone shout over the loud speaker that they were trying to condense the line and asked for everyone to start moving closer to the start area. Keep in mind, that the area was dark and I didn't really pay attention to who was around me when I set my bag down. I just asked the guy next to me to watch my stuff for me while I was gone. In a panic, I saw the line start moving and realized I had no idea who was next to me in the swim line. I knew roughly the location of where my bag was dropped, but since it was dark I couldn't see many details. I decided to wait out the bathroom line since I was almost to the front and then I made my way back to the area where I thought I had dropped my bag. When I got back to that spot, my bag was nowhere to be found. Panic began to creep in. I couldn't do the swim without goggles and my swim cap. I knew I could get another swim cap, but the possibility of finding a pair of goggles that fit was probably pretty slim. I started to make my way up and down the line hoping someone would recognize me as the dumb guy who left his bag next to them in line.   Person after person went by and no one knew where my bag was until a sweet voice rang in my ear with the words, "Hey, I think this is yours." Crisis averted. I thanked the girl over and over for grabbing my bag. She said she debated whether or not to grab it, but noticed the race number had fallen off the bag so she decided to take it with her because she was afraid a volunteer might take it and I'd never get it back. I know I could have made it work without my cap and goggles, but it was not the way I wanted to start my first Ironman adventure.

The next 30-45 minutes were spent chit-chatting with the athletes around me.   Most of us were first timers so we shared the anxiety and nerves leading up to the big moment.   The minutes seemed to crawl by as we waited for the gun to go off for the pro start.   Finally, off in the distance we could hear the national anthem and then the gun for the start of an amazing day.   The time trial start made for an interesting sensation leading up to the swim. It felt like you were walking the plank. We just kept getting shuffled forward as athletes entered the water. I couldn't decide when to put my goggles on and when to put my ear plugs in. As we got closer to the start, a couple of paramedics rushed to the water and the organizers stopped us as I was about to cross the timing mat to make my entry into the water. They delayed us about 5-10 minutes as they worked on a guy who had a heart attack about 2 minutes into his swim.   At the time they didn't tell us what was going on, but a local newspaper reported that he passed away. Very sad news. At least he was doing something he loved. After the delay, I made my final walk off the plank into the murky Ohio River. Instantly my right goggle started leaking. Crap. I initially tried to ignore the water in my goggles but after 10 minutes or so I decided to grab a kayak and try to fix the situation. I tried to dump the water out and create a tighter seal, but it immediately started leaking again so I decided I'd just have to deal with it and move on. The first part of the swim was upstream in a relatively narrow channel between an island and the river bank. The current isn't strong, but my legs did feel like they were dragging behind me more than normal. Despite the time-trial start, I still had to deal with some very physical swimmers. It still baffles me how triathletes think it's OK to swim over someone, grab someone, or hit someone. I guess I'm not cutthroat enough to participate. I had several frustrating moments with my fellow triathletes in the water, but ultimately I tried to stay positive.   As I made the turn around the island and into the main body of water, I immediately started sighting off two big bridges over the river. I knew from the practice swim the day prior that once I hit the second bridge I was basically finished. Not shockingly, it felt like the bridges weren't getting any closer. I felt fairly decent in the water, but my eye started burning from all the river water in my goggle and my legs began to drop in the water as my core got tired. I definitely slowed down a lot towards the end of the swim and had to stop completely because a guy swam across my body and pushed me under the water. One of us was swimming in the wrong direction and I'm pretty sure it was him.   After getting my bearings after being dunked, I looked up and noticed I was finally underneath the second bridge. Home sweet home was only about 400 meters away. As I got to the dock, I really expected my time to be somewhere in the 1 hour and 30 minute range. It felt like I had been in the water a long time.   I was shocked to see 1:19:17 on my Garmin when I made my way to transition. This was the sign of a really good day ahead.

Bike: 112 miles in 6:18:26

My whole goal for the bike was to not overcook myself the first 2 hours. I talked to several people before the race and everyone told me to take it easy on the bike. I drove the course with my parents on Friday before the race so I was pretty familiar with the layout and felt confident in my bike training. I knew I had put in the miles on the bike, the key was staying on top of my nutrition and not going out too fast. As I made my way out of the transition area, I made sure my bike was in my small chain ring and I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't even think about going to my big ring until I hit the 2 hour mark. The first mile or two out of the transition was pretty congested since I left with the middle of the pack in the swim. I settled into my aero position until I felt something hit my leg.   I looked down and didn't really notice anything different so I kept moving. A minute or two later I felt something else hit my leg. I looked down just in time to see my food laying on the ground as I pedaled on down the road. Crap again! I immediately reached into the side pockets of my tri top and noticed I had lost all my food out of my pockets.   Thankfully I had a bento box on my bike that housed my gels, but all of my Honey Stinger Waffles were now littered across the first 3 or 4 miles of the Ironman Louisville bike course. Mentally I was in a really good state of mind this whole day.   The minute I realized I was without solid food I just started making an alternate nutrition plan in my head. I decided to up my gel intake until I could get to my special needs bag and then I'd grab some food there to replenish my supply.   I also decided I'd try to grab a piece of banana or power bar at a couple of the aid stations as a supplement. Crisis averted again.

After the food situation was put aside, I then just settled into a groove and tried to just focus on staying aero, staying comfortable, and staying confident. The swim time definitely carried over to my mental psyche on the bike. I felt strong on the bike and I knew I had a good day ahead of me if I stayed focused. I kept up my end of the bargain and didn't touch my front gear until after about 35 miles. It was then that I decided I could finally open up the legs a bit and start being a little more aggressive. I religiously was taking in calories and never once felt like I had screwed up my plan. I grabbed a banana from time-to-time and took in a gel every 20-30 minutes. Along the course, I was also able to see my parents twice in the city of Lagrange which was really cool. Each time I felt really good and I think my body language was comforting. On the second loop of the course I made a pit stop for my special needs bag at mile 65 to grab my back-up food that I had packed just in case. I picked up a few Honey Stinger Waffles, a few more gels, applied some more chamois butter, took a bathroom break, reapplied some sunscreen, and then went on my way. Overall I probably burned about 10 minutes, but in the grand scheme of things it was time well spent. I felt fresher than ever after my stop and figured I'd try to pick up some more time on the last part of the bike. The course was a little breezy, but nothing compared to Oklahoma wind so I used my battle-tested wind expertise to pass quite a few people on the back side of the bike course.   It was comforting to know how great I was still feeling. It gave me confidence that the run was going to be ok. I did start to have some stomach discomfort the last 10-12 miles of the bike, but a quick bathroom break in T2 helped calm the situation.   The only other real issue I had was my right foot coming off the bike. It had fallen asleep on the bike and as it "woke up" I had a really bad pressure point pain on the bottom of my foot. It took about a mile or two on the run to work it out completely and even then it reappeared late in the run when my lack of run training began to manifest itself. Overall it was a really great ride for me. I felt like I rode comfortable and controlled all day. My goal was to be fresh going into the run.   Mission accomplished. I felt great coming off the bike.

I thoroughly enjoyed this bike course. The first and last 12 miles were flat as a pancake. The course followed the Ohio River for that stretch and then veered off into the horse farm country. The course is a lollipop type with a two-loop segment after you get outside of Louisville proper. There is also one out-and-back section you do once on your way out of town before you hit the looped section. The out and back is about 20 miles into the course and probably is the steepest grade you'll encounter all day. It's a section of the course where you go down into a creek bed and up the other side. You hit the turn around and do it all over again. Both times you are able to get up a ton of speed going downhill and have to throw your bike into the easiest gear to grind up the hill on the other side. The great thing about this course is that it always keeps you involved. Besides the first and last 12 miles, you are constantly shifting, analyzing, and surveying the road in front of you. I felt like it kept me engaged all day long and I never got bored. I don't think I'd enjoy a pancake flat course where all you did was hammer away. I liked the fact I had to stay mentally alert and plan my nutrition intake properly and shift my way up and down hills. The course is definitely a rolling course. You never really encounter any excruciating climbs or hair-raising descents. It's just a nice, moderately challenging bike ride.   The roads were in really good shape throughout the course and traffic was fairly light. Overall a great Ironman distance bike course.

Run: 26.2 miles in 4:44:56

This was definitely the shocker for the day. Going into this race, my longest run had been 14 miles at the first of June. Due to achilles issues that showed up after Kansas 70.3, I basically had to shut down my running from mid-June until race day. I went into this run fully expecting having to walk a lot. I was prepared to be on the course for a LONG time. Thankfully, the day went really well for me all the way around.   Coming off the bike, I knew I had a lot of energy left in me. I was feeling really great. My achilles was only moderately sore and I was finally going to get to run! I had missed running a lot. It's the part of triathlon that I love.   It's always going to be my favorite discipline. Finally being able to lace up my shoes and pound the pavement on race day was a huge blessing.   I felt like I was in my element again. I started my run with the strategy to run to each aid station and then walk through the station to make sure I was taking in enough fluids and calories. I had packed enough GUs for me to take one every 45 minutes for a 6 hour stretch. Yes, I thought I might actually be out there 6 hours.

The course makes you do a quick out-and-back halfway over the Ohio River on one of the bridges near downtown and then you go south toward the University of Louisville and Churchill Downs. The course is flat and very well stocked with aid stations and volunteers.   Each aid station was a mile apart so it allowed me to settle into a really nice pattern of running for about 9 minutes and walking for 1-2 minutes. Each aid station I tried to take in Perform and water every time. I also grabbed ice to put in my shorts/shirt/hat and used a couple of sponges filled with cold water to cool off every mile. Temperatures were manageable in the upper 80s, but it was still warm enough that I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to overheat or dehydrate.

The first half of my run went really well. I grabbed my special needs bag at mile 13.2 and used the body glide I had in it to try to help with the chafing that was becoming an issue because of all the salt dried to my tri shorts. It was like sandpaper in my groin area. I also checked my shoes to make sure I didn't have something in the bottom of my right one because the ball of my foot was hurting pretty bad. Once I realized there wasn't anything in my shoe, it dawned on me it was because of the bike. I knew at that point I would just have to deal with it and hope it wouldn't get worse. Luckily my achilles stayed pretty calm. It started to hurt about mile 10, but it never got to a point where I felt like I needed to stop running. It was sore, but there wasn't any stabbing pain. I decided to soldier on ahead until something in my body told me otherwise.   About mile 14, you get dangerously close to the finish line and it gives you a rush knowing that you'll be back again to see it yourself in 12 more miles. I also saw my parents at this point which helped give me another added boost as I started the 2nd loop of my run.   It wasn't until about mile 15 that I could tell I hadn't been running much. My legs started to get really heavy, the bottom of my feet hurt, and my legs got harder to get going again when I stopped to walk through the aid stations.   Luckily I never really had any extremely dark moments where I questioned why I was doing this and whether or not I'd finish. I stayed pretty calm throughout the run and as the miles added up I started to realize I had a sub-13 hour finish within my site. A week or two before the race, I would have never guessed I'd finish in sub-13 due to the lack of run training. The fact that it was still within site about 18 miles into the marathon was very motivating. I began to calculate in my head what I'd need to do the rest of the way to make sure I made it to the finish before the 13 hour mark. It was then that my legs started to remind me that I hadn't been running for a couple of months. Each step started to hurt a little more and each time I walked through an aid station it got a little tougher to get going again. I started to allow myself to walk past an aid station for a minute or two and then I'd run for 8 or 9 minutes to the next stop. As I got to mile 23, I told myself I couldn't stop anymore. I knew at that point that I wasn't going to be able to get back to running if I stopped again. My hips were tight, my legs ached, my feet hurt, and my body was ready to be done. I knew I was close though and the thought of seeing that finish line was what kept me running. No stopping. No aid stations. Just running. My body hurt but my face didn't show it. I began to smile more and more as each step got me closer to the end. I could hear the crowd. I could hear the music. I could hear Mike Reilly bringing home my fellow athletes. That moment was about to be mine. I was about to become an Ironman. As I turned the corner and saw the finishing chute in front of me, I began to tear up. I got choked up as I saw all of the people around me cheering.   It was one of the most amazing and indescribable feelings I've ever felt. I will never forget those last few moments. The joy. The pain. The pride. As I made my way into the finishing chute, I saw my parents off to the side. I immediately veered directly towards them and gave them the biggest, wettest, stinkiest hug they've ever had in their lifetime. Sharing that moment with them was priceless.   The joy on their faces was something I'll never forget.   They were both smiling ear-to-ear. My mom was screaming with joy. My dad was telling me I did it. It was an unbelievably emotional moment for me. The fact I could share the last few seconds of my Ironman with them was worth all of time and effort put into it. That's a moment we'll be talking about when we're old together. That's a moment I'll remember until I die. That's a moment I wish everyone could experience. This picture is my favorite picture from that day.   This was taken by my mom as I left their side to cross the finish line. Priceless moment.   "Lights will guide you home...."

Ironman Louisville 2011 Finisher: 12:45:53

I can honestly say this was truly an experience of a lifetime. My day at Ironman Louisville couldn't have gone much better. Everything just seemed to fall into place for me. All of the training (mental and physical) came together in nearly perfect fashion. I knew going into it that I'd come out on the other side of it a different person. I do feel different. I feel like I was part of something special. I feel a very close bond to those of my fellow triathletes who took this journey with me. I feel a connection to those who think anything is possible. This Ironman journey has brought me closer to several people in my local triathlon community and I look forward to continuing to cultivate relationships with those I trained with this summer. I also look forward to seeing what's next for me. I can tell you that the minute I crossed that line I knew it wasn't the end for me. I will absolutely do another Ironman. When and where is now the question. For now, I've decided to reconnect with family and friends I've had to neglect for so long. I want to enjoy the football season, hang out with my loved ones, and dream about 2012. After all, we do know my motto : Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen. Stay tuned.

I'd like to end this blog post with a special thank you to my parents. My parents have been my biggest fan for the last 29 years. They've shown me unconditional love, regardless of the circumstance. They've been a rock for me to lean on when I've needed guidance. They've always believed in me. They played a huge part in my success at Ironman Louisville. They hauled my gear. They heated up my meals. They catered to my every need. They fought the crowds. They battled the sun. They were on their feet all day long standing and waiting to see me for a few seconds at a time. They took pictures. They cheered loudly. They went and picked up my bike while I was still competing. They made sure I was comfortable after the race. They gave up their time and money to help make my dream come true. I'll never be able to say thank you enough for all they did that weekend. I am truly blessed to have parents who care so much. I love you Mom and Dad.

Finally Back at Home

2011-09-17T20:12:00.003-05:00

Yeah, it's been a crazy 3 weeks since the Ironman. I knew I was going to be busy the few weeks following the race, but it's been even busier than I originally thought. This has prevented me from blogging, writing a race report, or even thinking about starting my offseason plan. I do apologize for my absence...if anyone is still out there reading. I promise I'll eventually get a race report out, but it will have to wait even a few more days. I have friends from Finland in town so I won't have an opportunity to sit down and give it my full attention. I've also been asked to write an article for the Oklahoma Sports and Fitness magazine about my Ironman journey. Pretty cool opportunity and I look forward to sharing it with all of you. I am eager to return to some form of training. The break has been nice, but I miss it. It's become such a huge part of my life that it's hard to not think about it. I'm still planning the next phase of my journey. I think my next big event will be the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in April 2012. I'll most likely run some smaller local races early in 2012, but I think I'll be event free for the rest of 2011. It'd be wise to focus on saving some money, getting healthy, and focus on improving my speed/strength. Overall I feel really good at the moment. We'll see how the first few workouts go next week. The plan is to start back up next Thursday after the Finns leave. Until then, I'll keep trying to enjoy the break and hopefully not eat too awful. I'll report back soon. Hope everyone else is doing well. I'll catch up on blogs the next few weeks as well. Run happy friends.

I still owe you a report....

2011-09-05T19:35:00.003-05:00

I know I still owe you a race report from Ironman Louisville. I honestly haven't had any time at all to work on it. I want to make sure I have enough time to sit down and do it justice. You'll get it soon hopefully.

The focus of this past week has been recovery. I was pretty sore for a couple of days and going back to my office job prolonged the misery. My hips hated me for days due to sitting at a computer. My coworkers went above and beyond though. I returned to the office on Wednesday to cheers, decorations, potluck food day, and a gift certificate for a 90-minute massage. It was truly a great way to cap off the Ironman journey. I put the gift certificate to good use on Friday after work and have thoroughly enjoyed a long holiday weekend to ease back into a routine.

I still haven't exercised since Louisville, but I plan to break that streak tomorrow. I'm planning on hitting the gym after work to get in some weights and maybe a little elliptical time. I won't be able to get back into a real routine until late September because I have a lot of travel coming up the next 2 weeks. I do plan on taking some running shoes with me to Chicago, but I doubt I actually get the luxury of using them. I'm still trying to nurse this achilles back to full strength so running probably wouldn't be a good idea. I can always go for a walk though.

That's it for now. Sorry it's so brief. I just wanted to send out a quick update. I will get a race report together when I get a night free. I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend!

I am an Ironman!

2011-08-29T16:16:00.000-05:00

Ironman Louisville 2011 is in the books and I can now proudly say I am an Ironman!! I'll detail a full race report sometime later this week, but I wanted to send out a quick update. I ended up having a much better day than I anticipated on all 3 legs and it was about as perfect a race as I could have envisioned. It's been hard to put what I'm feeling into words so I'll save that for another day. I want to soak it all in and really appreciate the moment.

My official finish time was 12:45:53. Unbelievable day in Louisville, Kentucky. Thank you to all who sent words of encouragement, followed along on race day, and have been here throughout this journey. I also want to send out a special thank you to my parents who made the trek to Louisville to help make my dream a reality. It was amazing seeing them out on the course and they really played a huge role in my race weekend. Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen.

Ironman Louisville Preview

2011-08-27T12:19:00.000-05:00

Honestly I'm at a loss for words currently. I really anticipated blogging more frequently this week, but my mind has been a jumbled mess. The packing, the nerves, the doubts, the last minute tasks, the overwhelming excitement. It's been very hard to focus. I flew into Louisville on Thursday morning and did all my athlete check-in requirements before the crowds arrived on Friday. Thursday evening was very relaxing and my parents arrived with all my gear. Friday morning I slept in until 8:30 and then went for a short ride on the first few miles of the bike course. My parents and I then drove the bike course to get a lay of the land before heading back to the hotel for a couple of hours of relaxation before the athlete banquet. Friday evening we attended the welcome banquet and then I had a mandatory athlete briefing at 7:30PM where they went over points of emphasis about the course, pre-race, post-race, and everything in between. This morning I woke up about 6:45AM and hit the Ohio river for a quick practice swim at 8AM. The rest of the day has been spent icing my Achilles, packing my gear bags, and now writing this blog. My nerves are definitely starting to build. I've been fairly calm all week until now. I think it's finally hitting me that it's about to happen. The atmosphere in town is interesting. You can feel a lot of nerves. You can feel a lot of energy. There is movement all around. People running, people biking, people swimming. It's really cool to see all the active lifestyles merge together for one big event. I've tried to avoid being on my feet all the time. My Achilles isn't happy with me the last few days which is concerning. I know it's going to hurt tomorrow. I just hope it holds off hurting for at least part of the run.

As far as expectations for tomorrow, I do have a few. I'm fairly confident in my swim and bike currently. I feel like I've put in the time there. The big question mark is obviously the run. I haven't ran since the first part of July. I've definitely put in the time on the elliptical, but it only goes so far when you are trying to run a marathon. I'm hoping that physically my legs and Achilles will hold up long enough to make it through most of the run. My plan is to run/walk as much as I can and hopefully avoid an all-walk fest. I'll use pain as a guide and alter my plan accordingly. The big goal is to finish. Finish before midnight and complete this chapter in my book of life. I really want to say thanks again for all the support. Each swim stroke, each pedal stroke, and each step will be powered by the support from all of my friends and family.

For those of you wanting to follow along. You can go to www.ironmanlive.com to follow me throughout the day. My bib number is #1001 or you can search my last name : Sloan. I really have no idea when I'll cross the line, but here are a few estimates:

Swim - 1:30 to 1:45 (All three 2.4 mile swims during training were around 1:30 to 1:35)

T1 - 10 minutes

Bike - 6:30ish (Not sure how the hills will show up in my bike time so this is a conservative estimate)

T2 - 10 minutes

Run - ??? I'm guessing it's going to be a 5+ hour day on the run course.

Who knows what tomorrow will hold? I'm hopeful that the race day adrenaline will help ease some of the pain in my Achilles. I'll control the parts I can (nutrition, attitude, and heart) and let the rest of it fall into place. Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen. Let's do this.

Yes, you can....

2011-08-21T20:49:00.000-05:00

Today marked the last long ride of my training schedule for Ironman Louisville. I'm now at the part of the schedule where my workouts are less than an hour. This week my full focus will be on mentally preparing for the race, packing my things, and finally going to Louisville to make this dream a reality.

Less than two and a half years ago I ran my first 5K on April 5, 2009. Prior to 2009, running never was a part of my life. I rarely did cardio work and the only time I ran was playing tennis or softball. I wasn't extremely out of shape, but I wasn't in great shape either. When I signed up for the OKC Memorial Half Marathon in mid-February 2009, I did it as a tool to get me out of a rut. I never really knew if it would stick, but one thing I did know was that it would challenge me and force me to be disciplined. My training started primarily on the treadmill. The thought of running outside was scary. I didn't know how to pace. I didn't know if I could reach the distance of my long runs. I was scared I was going to fail. Every day I got back out there and kept challenging myself to get a little further. I kept telling myself to go a little bit faster. With every passing day I gained more confidence. I knew I was falling in love with the sport. I knew I was becoming hooked. Running became my passion. Running become a huge part of my life. My free time that used to be filled with going to happy hours or watching mindless TV was spent on the running paths. I met people who inspired me and made me smile. I met people who I wanted to be like. I wanted to be that guy or girl who could run a marathon every few months. I wanted to be that person who ran every day. One thing I didn't want to be was a triathlete though.

Triathlons were even scarier. I couldn't see myself doing an open water swim. Heck, I couldn't even see myself swimming at all. I never took swim lessons as a kid and swimming wasn't something I enjoyed. As spring turned to summer and my first marathon came and went, I gained even more and more confidence. The marathon made me realize that I really could do whatever I wanted. Triathlons started to become a little less daunting. I took a leap of faith and attended a Team-in-Training info session on a whim in January 2010. I had no real intentions of signing up, but I wanted to at least leave the option open. I took a swim class at my work and got chewed up and spit out by the pool and the instructor. I left swim class thinking I was a year or two off before I could even think of doing a triathlon. I even told the Team-in-Training staff that I wasn't going to be ready to do a triathlon in 2010 and told them I wasn't signing up. Thankfully, the staff at TNT didn't let up and told me that I'd be fine. They reassured me that most people who sign up rarely can swim well and they'd make sure I was ready before I hit the open water. Thankfully I decided to join up with the TNT crew for the Capital of Texas triathlon. I never fully embraced the triathlon lifestyle until after my first triathlon. Triathlon made me miss running. I hated swimming and viewed it as a distraction from my running passion. I went into my first triathlon with nowhere near the zeal and fire I had for my first marathon. I viewed the Olympic distance race as a great way to end my training, but I didn't fall in love. I knew I needed something more to make me fall in love with triathlon. After CapTex, I decided to focus my efforts on increasing my bike mileage and run a couple of marathons to build my base. I had a goal. I had a goal to do an Ironman. I started thinking about the Ironman almost immediately after leaving the CapTex triathlon. Originally I had planned on doing it in 2012 as a way to celebrate turning 30. As the summer of 2010 passed, I grew more and more passionate about doing the Ironman. I knew 2012 was too far away so I decided that 2011 would be the year of the Ironman. I eagerly started scoping out locations and dreaming of where my first Ironman attempt would take place. I ultimately decided on Louisville due to timing and location. I pulled the trigger and signed up on November 16th, 2010, a little over a week after my third marathon. Since then, my whole focus has been on training and getting ready for August 28th, 2011. The last few weeks, people look at me and tell me they could never do it. They tell me they can't imagine doing 140.6 miles in one day. They say the could never swim 2.4 miles. They say they could never bike 112 miles. They say they could never run 26.2 miles. I look back at them and say "Yes, you can." I'm a firm believer that we're all capable of much more than we give ourselves credit for. Now it's time for me to go prove it. Three years ago, I never thought I'd be doing an Ironman. Three years ago I was one of those people saying I couldn't do it. Now I can't imagine not doing it. Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen.

One Week to Ironman Debut

2011-08-20T19:13:00.001-05:00

Time just keeps ticking away. Now I'm 7 days away from the big race. I've really tried to stay out of my own head and focus on getting everything done before I leave. Focusing on work and prepping everything for the trip has allowed me to stay relatively calm. I say relatively because this week has had it's fair share of nervousness, anxiety, and doubts. As I've stated before, the roller coaster continues. I'm not sure there's any real way to avoid it so I've embraced it. Whenever I have doubts, it makes me focus on mentally going through the race. I take the doubts and try to turn them into something positive. So far it's helping, but I know each day that passes will bring even stronger feelings of anxiety and doubts. Race week jitters are going to be in full force.

On Thursday I had my pre-race doctor visit with my sports med physician. He's a multiple Ironman finisher so the real focus was checking to make sure my Achilles was going to be able to withstand 140.6 miles and give me some meds/advice along the way. As expected, he said my Achilles had gotten worse. I was pretty aware that was the case judging by the way it has felt the last couple of weeks. It has always hurt after my long bikes, but every week I was able to get it back to comfortable by Thursday/Friday in time for another long bike. I would then proceed to tear it up on the bike and repeat the process each week. Each week the recovery was a little slower though. He acknowledged the fact that I had more signs of wear and that we really needed to discuss options post-Ironman He gave me a steroid pack to take next weekend to help relieve inflammation and told me to make sure I wore heel lifts and compression socks on the run. He told me it'd help get me through the run and then we'd revisit when I return to Oklahoma. I've scheduled a follow-up appointment on Sept 8th where will begin discussing if therapy will work or if I'll need to look into platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections into my tendon. I've done a little research on the PRP injections and results have been positive, but it's a fairly new procedure. Since it's so new, it's considered more experimental and most likely won't be covered by my insurance. He did say he's used it on a few patients and the results were positive. The nutrient rich plasma helps speed the recovery process by targeting the region where healing needs to occur. The injection directly into the tendon gets the healing agents to an area where blood flow is limited. It's an option I'll consider when I get back home. I definitely don't want this to be a chronic issue and if this procedure looks promising, it's worth a look. I'll have to decide if the out of pocket expense is something I'm willing to stomach.

So for now, my focus is on knocking out my last few training sessions and get my Achilles to cooperate. I've been icing off and on all day and doing some light stretching. Currently I have my compression socks on and feet elevated. I also have the 2010 Ironman World Championships on in the background. It's great motivation to get up and ride in the AM. Tomorrow will hold a 3 to 3.5 hour ride with the Redman training group followed by a lot of reading, research, and maybe some packing. I've decided to go ahead and rent some race wheels from my local bike shop and I'll have those put on my bike on Tuesday evening. I didn't plan on it, but my coach thinks it will be a nice added boost on race day. If he hadn't recommended it, I probably wouldn't have even considered it. Now it's time for me to get ready for bed. That 4:30 AM alarm clock comes really early!

Odd Shopping List

2011-08-17T21:13:00.000-05:00

Taper week has started really well. I started the week with an open water swim where I met a fellow Ironman Louisville participant and finally got a chance to relax and hang out with friends. I joined up with our Team-in-Training tri group and ended up hanging out and relaxing in the parking lot until the sun set. It was nice to catch up with friends and also get some really good advice from some Ironman veterans. No amount of advice is too much at this point and it's reassuring to know that everyone goes through the roller coaster of emotions. One guy told me that if' I've been moody, emotional, and flat out mean sometimes it means I'm ready. I'd say I'm pretty ready then!

I took the opportunity to go do my shopping for the Ironman Louisville trip tonight. It seems like I have a million things to do before I leave and knocking out this task will save me some headaches next week. Initially I had a pretty short list of items to get, but then I found a checklist for an Ironman trip online and immediately realized I wasn't thinking through the entire situation. Being my first attempt at this distance, there is a lot I don't know. There is also a lot I would never think of on my own. Before I went shopping I decided it would be a pretty good idea to talk to my coach as well. I stopped by my local bike shop where he was working today and chatted with him about some items I should pick up. My main concern was my special needs bag for the bike and run. We talked about having it as a resource for anything that might arise along the way : gastro issues, chafing, blisters, hunger, bonking, rain, cold, heat, motivation. We wrote down a list of things I'd need and off I went to the store. I know the people at the checkout must have thought I was crazy. Here are a sample of things I purchased:

Immodium
Chewable Pepto-Bismal
Chewable Gas-Ex
Wet wipes
Bandaids
Nutter Butters
Fig Newtons
Starbucks VIA
Pasta
Gum
Nutella
Ear Plugs
Tupperware
Gallon-size Ziploc bags

You get the picture. Pretty random and it makes me look like I suffer from chronic gastrointestinal issues. I do think I wrapped up my shopping for this trip though which was a relief. I ended up buying pasta and some tupperware containers so I could cook it and send it with my parents. My coach said it'd be a good idea not to eat out the night before the race so I'll plan on making my own pasta dish at the hotel. I also decided I'd throw in a few treats in my special needs bag so that's where the Nutter Butters come into play. Does anyone else have anything to add to the bags? Am I missing something? I'll have the usual : tubes, co2, socks, gels, contacts, etc.

I also just got my bike back from the shop after a final tune-up. I'll take it for a spin tomorrow to make sure everything is working well and will knock out one more long ride this weekend before I send it on it's way with my parents. I can't thank my parents enough for lugging all of my gear to Kentucky. It saves me so many headaches and allows me peace of mind that it will show up in one piece. My parents are a huge piece of the puzzle next weekend. I hope they realize how much it means to me.

The rest of the week will be pretty tame. I'll ride tomorrow, swim Friday, and use the weekend to read through the athlete guide, ask questions, and start prepping my gear. I also have my last doctor visit before the race tomorrow afternoon. I'm curious to see what he thinks of my Achilles condition and if he can give me any tips/advice on easing the pain during the run. Hopefully he'll have some magic potion I can rub on it before I leave T2. I'll report back again soon.

It's Taper Time

2011-08-14T17:29:00.000-05:00

It's finally here....the beloved taper. I've had this day marked on my calendar for a while now. It was the date that kept moving me forward when my Achilles was sore. I just told myself I needed to make it to taper. If I could push through and get in my training, the taper would be when I could let off the gas pedal and focus on getting healthy. Well folks, it's finally here. I'm proud to say that I've made it through the bulk of my Ironman training and it's now time to mend some wounds, get some rest, and mentally prepare for the juggernaut of August 28th, 2011. In two weeks I'll be toeing the banks of the Ohio River ready to test my body, heart, and mind. In two weeks I'll make my Ironman debut.

As you can see, the last 2 weeks have been pretty hectic for me. I've had almost zero opportunities to sit down at home and write a blog post. It wasn't the smoothest two weeks for me either. Training began to catch up with me and I was physically and emotionally drained. It was humbling to admit to myself that I was tired and overwhelmed. I generally stay pretty calm and even-keeled. I rarely get upset and I'm pretty good at masking my fatigue. It finally caught up with me though. I was moody. I was emotional. I was exhausted. I can't really explain what the tipping point was, but once I stepped back and examined the situation I knew it was a combination of training, work, and life. My sleep pattern was off, my schedule was off, and my body was off. Thankfully I was able to right the ship and fix my problems. I missed a workout or two along the way due to work and bike issues which was probably a blessing in disguise. I don't willingly skip workouts very often. Well-timed, uncontrollable missed training sessions tend to be the ones that help the most. A quick trip to Austin also helped take my mind off training for a couple of days as I kicked back at the lake and sat poolside without goggles in hand. Overall, I felt like the last 2 weeks were a big picture look at what I'll feel on race day. Cram all those emotions, stress, fatigue, and unpredictability into one day and you get the Ironman. It was a good primer and another chapter to add to the journey.

Another important thing to note, during my absence I also received my bib number (#1001) and my athlete guide. Both brought about emotions that ranged from queasiness to relief. It's amazing how this process teases you every day. Some days you feel ready and some days you feel grossly unprepared. Some days you feel so excited you can't contain yourself and some days you feel scared to death. The whole maiden Ironman voyage is one I'm not really sure I'll be able to replicate anytime soon. It's not until I decide to continue to up the ante to something even more extreme that I'll be able to match this whirlwind. It's no secret that endurance athletes are adrenaline junkies. We feed off the race day atmosphere and the nerves. It's what drives us to continue our pursuit of new challenges. The nerves make you feel alive. The nerves make you feel like you are being tested. Conquering the nerves and fears is what make us grow. It's the growth we experience physically, mentally, and emotionally that keeps us coming back for more. I know I'll be back for more. This endurance sports world has me hooked.

Finally, I want to say thank you to those who have stuck around this summer. I haven't posted as much. I've been hampered by injuries. I've complained a little about the heat. One thing that has always been constant is the support from those around me. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. The people in my life who make up my team are the ones who keep me going. My family, friends, colleagues and the blogger world are all sources of motivation when I'm tired or second guess myself. You all have never doubted me. I'll do my best to make you all proud on race day. Two more weeks and I'll lay it on the line for you. Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

2011-08-09T13:28:00.000-05:00

Is that true? Have you missed me? Sorry for the extended absence from the blog. Last week was interesting. I can honestly say I felt overwhelmed. Work bled over into training, training bled over into personal life, and training just wasn't what I wanted it to be at this point in the game. I was very moody and just genuinely felt exhausted. I was tired. Motivation was low at points. I just kept telling myself that I only had a few more weeks. At the moment I'm in Austin, Texas, spending a few days at Lake Travis. It's been a nice break and I'm ready to get home and hit the home stretch. As of today, I'm 18 days away. I'm extremely nervous, emotional, and anxious. I just have a few seconds before I have to head to the airport but I wanted to let you know I'm back. I'll report back soon. Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen. Ironman Louisville or bust.

Race Prep Week - Swim and Bike

2011-07-30T11:01:00.000-05:00

As I inch ever closer to Ironman Louisville, my training is now shifting to race rehearsal type workouts. The week itself is a stepback week for the run so I haven't had to endure the countless hours on the elliptical which has been nice. The brief respite came at a great time because I was growing weary of the elliptical after the last 2 weeks. Thankfully I only have a couple more weeks of really long sessions to put in on the elliptical. I really wish I was running, but I know it's not time.

Overall this week has been pretty productive on the training front. I knocked out a really nice bike ride after work on Tuesday. It was 105 degrees and 15-20mph winds which normally would have put me in a bad mood, but I've gained some confidence on the bike the last few weeks and I enjoyed the challenge. The bike is a funny instrument for me. All year I've really felt like my bike has the most room for improvement and most potential for time improvements in triathlon. I'm pretty happy with my run when I'm healthy and my swimming is what it is. I'm never going to be a fast swimmer and even if I was I think there are minimal time benefits in the grand scheme of things. The bike to me is where I'll focus my efforts on becoming a faster triathlete. Riding by myself I tend to underestimate my pace potential so I've played it pretty safe all summer. Riding with the group the last few weekends has allowed me to step out of my normal comfort zone and realize I have a lot more in my bike than I previously envisioned. While I still plan on not killing myself in Louisville and play it safe with my pace, the last few weeks have allowed me to see the potential of better things to come on the bike. I like the fact that through this training season I've continued see areas that need my attention and give me something to focus on during the offseason. As all endurance athletes know, I'm already thinking about what's next. We are definitely a strange breed.

Thankfully this week I also managed to get in my first open water swim without a wetsuit. The local triathlon club hosted a Splash and Dash on Thursday evening. I snuck in my elliptical workout before work so I could head out Arcadia Lake for some open water fun. There was probably a group of 50 people or so at the "race" and the course was a 500m swim with a 2 mile run afterwards. Due to the Achilles, I opted to do the swim course twice and skip the run portion. I was pretty pleased with the results from the swim. I felt calm and controlled in the water. The water was a bit choppy due to the wind so it was good practice even though I don't expect to have to worry about that in Louisville. I'll probably try to get in a few more open water swims the next few weeks, but if the schedule doesn't allow I won't be too overly concerned. Friday after work was also my trial run for the 2.4 mile swim. I have to be at work between 7 and 7:30 AM so doing my workouts before I head to the office isn't realistic sometimes. Due to this, I headed to the pool after work and basically had the pool to myself. I popped a gel before I hit the water and then just tried to keep my mind focused for the duration. To me, the biggest challenge with this swim was keeping count of my laps. It's hard to keep your mind from wandering when you are staring at a black line for an hour and a half. The swim went about as expected. It took me 1 hour and 32 minutes to get in the full 2.4 miles. Pretty much right where I expect to be in Louisville. Mentally it's nice to get that swim in the books and know that the hardest part will be to stay focused on form and sighting in the water. I can definitely say I'll never want to be an ultra-endurance swimmer. I can't imagine staying in the water much longer than that and actually enjoying it. Ultra-marathoner? Sure, I can see that in my future. It's no secret where my true allegiance lies.

Tomorrow is the big 6 hour adventure on the bike. I'll report back tomorrow after it's over and let you know how it went. The plan is to get out and riding by 6 AM for a lap around Lake Hefner by myself before joining up with the the Redman crew for 3 or 4 hours. I'll tack on an extra hour or two by myself after they finish up and hit my 6 hour goal. Thankfully the next time I need to ride 6 hours I'll be doing one of the local century rides with a big group of people. It always helps mentally when you have others with you the entire ride. Tomorrow will be a good test. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Ten Commandments of Endurance

2011-07-28T21:22:00.001-05:00

Hey gang. It's been a busy week so not much time to write. I wanted to post something that I saw on a friend's Facebook page. I think it's pretty relevant given everyone's training schedule at the moment.

Ten Commandments of Endurance- Marshall Ulrich

1. Expect a journey and a battle
2. Focus on the present and set intermediate goals
3. Don't dwell on the negative
4. Transcend the physical
5. Accept your fate
6. Have confidence that you will succeed
7. Know that there will be an end
8. Suffering is okay
9. Be kind to yourself
10. Quitting is not an option

I thought this was a great reminder of what's to come over the next few weeks. Hope everyone is having a great week. I'll have a full update soon.

Summer of '11

2011-07-24T17:03:00.001-05:00

It doesn't have quite the pop as "Summer of '69", but the summer of 2011 is stacking up to be a beast of a summer. It's brutally hot here in Oklahoma. I know it's brutally hot around a lot of the US right now, but we're now at 32 days of 100+ degree temperatures this summer in Oklahoma City. The all-time record for Oklahoma City is 50 days in 1980. According to the local weather guys, we are well ahead of pace to beat that record and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. The reason I bring up the weather is because I've tried really, really hard not to complain about it on my blog. I am fascinated by the weather though so it's hard for me to let it stay off these pages for too long. I thought I'd at least share a little weather info with those of you not living in Oklahoma. I hope it's cooler where you are training. I'm just excited I picked the hottest summer on record to train for my first Ironman. Mother Nature knows how much I love the heat. She must have ordered it up especially for me.

Today was my long bike session for the week. Again, as expected, I hit another new mileage personal best. I ended up riding a little over 4.5 hours and logged 86.14 miles. I teamed up with my coach and one other guy and we headed out from Lake Hefner about 6:30 this morning. We biked a similar route as last week, but did it in reverse order to break up the monotony. We had several glitches in our ride today. Cadence sensor problems, flats, dropped CO2 cartridges, a little wind, and a lot of heat. We all noticed that by 8 AM it was noticeably hotter than last week's ride and thus adjusted our hydration stops to be more frequent. I went through nearly 14 bottles on this ride. I'm a very heavy sweater and it's essential for me to take in fluid frequently, especially when it's 104 when you stop riding. I also have been trying to avoid switching over to bike shorts/bibs for my long rides which hasn't been a problem until today. I was very happy I decided to take an extra deal of chamois butter with me on this ride. I think I would have been walking funny all week if I hadn't applied some extra at the halfway point. Overall it was a pretty solid ride for me. Riding with other guys has made me push my pace a little more which will only help me in the end. I ended up averaging 18.6 mph today which is much faster than I expect in Louisville. I'm hoping when I settle into a groove at Louisville these days of pushing the pace will make the 112 miles a bit easier when I settle into a slower pace.

This week also ended up blowing last week out of the water as far as total mileage goes. I logged 132 miles this week so I'm inching closer to actually completing that 140.6 in one week. Next week I'm sure I'll get close because I'll have my 2.4 mile swim rehearsal and a big 6 hour bike next weekend. I'm still going to lay off running and substitute the elliptical. My Achilles is showing some signs of improvement during the week and then I blow it up again on the weekends when I do my long rides. I have 3 more big weeks ahead of me and then it's taper time. I'm hoping the taper will help heal it even more and I'll show up on race day with a little pep in my step on the run. We can always hope, right?

Too Much?

2011-07-23T20:01:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I wonder if I write too much about my injury. Today while I was in the pool I started thinking about my blog and it's purpose. Part of me worried that documenting every ache and pain made me seem like a hypochondriac or just a whiny baby. The other part of me thought that documenting my aches and pains might actually help others who might be in the same situation. In the end, my purpose for this blog is to connect with other endurance athletes, allow family and friends to stay involved in my training, and provide myself with a training journal I can look back on in a few years. Through my experiences and writing about them it allows me to relay the ups and downs of training. It's not always sunshine and roses when you are logging miles and my hope is that my blog will help someone else who has hit that trouble spot in their schedule. I'm proof that injuries don't have to sideline you from reaching your goals. Sure, I've had to adapt and change goals several times because of lingering issues, but to this date I've yet to miss a big race because of an injury. I hope that someone who stumbles onto my blog will find solace in knowing they can still make it work. I wish I was someone who wasn't injury prone, but it's not the case. This year has been much better than my first 2 years, but I still have room to clean up my weak spots and become a healthier athlete. I know my personality hasn't done me any favors when it has come to injuries either. I'm a sort of an all-or-nothing guy. I'm impatient when it comes to something I really want and I've always jumped into things quickly. Case in point, Ironman Louisville will be my 3rd triathlon ever. I skipped the sprint altogether and did the Olympic as my first. After getting a taste of the sport I wanted a bigger challenge so I decided to dedicate 2011 to my Ironman dream. Triathlon number 2 came in June at Kansas 70.3 and now I'm five weeks out from my first Ironman and third triathlon. My impatient, all-or-nothing attitude gets me in trouble when it comes to staying healthy. Ideally I would have focused on more Olympic and 70.3 races this year and attacked the Ironman in 2012. I think it would have helped me stay healthy, but even then, I think I would have tried to add in a marathon or two and toed the line of injury still. I know my all-in lifestyle isn't for everyone, but it doesn't allow me to sit back and doubt myself. It makes me work harder so I can develop the confidence to succeed. "Dream Big. Work Hard. Make It Happen."

Ups and Downs

2011-07-20T20:59:00.000-05:00

It's amazing the range of emotions that you go through when training for an endurance sports event. It seems like the last 2 or 3 weeks I've run the gamut of emotions several times. Every workout leaves me with something different. Some days I feel strong and dream of a very successful day on the Ironman Louisville course. Other days I limp away from a workout wondering how I'm ever going to make it work. My injury has forced me to really search inside myself to find that guy who never gives up, never quits, and mentally punishes anything standing in front of me. I've always thought my heart and mind were my two biggest strengths in endurance sports. Physically I'm not extremely gifted. I rely on my love of the sport and my mental toughness to power me through the low spots. The mind is a powerful instrument. Once you learn how to harness it and apply it positively, you can truly accomplish whatever you desire. The last few weeks have reminded me of that inner strength that will carry me on August 28th. I may not be at the starting line healthy, but my mind and heart will be in it for the long haul.

The magnitude of the Ironman event really is something that humbles me when I think about it. Last week I had my highest mileage week I've ever had during my 3 years of training, 117 miles. The sad part was that my week's worth of training didn't even add up to the 140.6 miles I'll be doing on race day. It really put it all into perspective for me again. Each week I'm hitting new personal mileage records on the bike and the swim. Prior to this year, the longest bike ride I had ever completed was a 100K tour last August. My longest swim had been 1500m last May. Coming into this process, many people told me I'd get burnt out toward the end of my training. I honestly expected it to happen too. In a way, my injury has prevented that inevitable burnout. I think it has kept me focused and hasn't allowed me to hit that point where I'm tired of training. I know I need to focus and treat every workout with the respect it deserves. Any slight lapse of concentration or slip-up could result in further injury and I can't afford to lose the next few weeks of training. Due to this, I think I've successfully navigated the burnout phase. That's not to say that sometimes I wish I didn't have to train. Take tomorrow as an example. I'm not going to lie and say I'm looking forward to 2.5 hours on the elliptical. Am I dreading it? No. It's like I told my coach. I don't mind hammering it on the elliptical for 5 more weeks. To me, it's all part of the journey at this point. It's all part of my Ironman Louisville story that's being written. It's crazy that the prologue is nearly 9 months long.

Long Bike - Mixed Bag

2011-07-17T19:09:00.001-05:00

As far as long bike rides go, today ended up being a really good day on the bike. The aftermath is what made this day a mixed bag.

The big test for me today was how my Achilles would react to a long ride. I skipped my long ride last weekend. The weekend before that I had to cut my ride short. I had doubts about how it would react today, but I'm at a point in my training where I'm going to have to suck it up and just deal with it. I also decided to try something different today. Probably not the smartest idea on a long ride, but I think it did help me get through the ride today. In order to further reduce strain on my Achilles, I decided to use my heel cups from my Achilles brace in each cycling shoe. It ended up helping a lot I think. I did have pain, but it wasn't unbearable and was much better than the last couple of rides. Overall I ended the ride pretty pleased with how it went. However, I can't really imagine hopping off the bike and running a marathon the way it felt today. We'll leave that to another day.

Let's start with the ride. I met up with my coach and 3 other people at the parking lot used for transition for our local 140.6 race, the Redman Triathlon. We decided to ride out of town on the Redman course and then follow Waterloo road all the way into Okarche. In Okarche, we made a pit stop and refilled the bottles before heading south on Highway 81 to El Reno. My coach's parents live in El Reno so we made another stop to refill the bottles and jumped in the pool to attempt to cool off for the remainder of the ride. The water wasn't cool by any means, but the wet bike jersey and tri shorts made for a refreshing few miles before I dried out again. From El Reno we headed east back to OKC and made a half loop around Lake Hefner before getting back to our cars. All in all, it was a nice 76ish mile ride in a little over 4 hours. I really enjoyed riding with this group because everyone was about the same pace and we pushed each other too. I still felt strong at the end of the ride so this was a big confidence boost in my overall fitness. I feel like I'm right where I need to be even with the setbacks the last few weeks. My run fitness obviously isn't there, but there's really not much I can do about that aspect right now. My swim and bike feel great so I'm happy with 2 out of the 3. For my first Ironman training cycle, I'll take it.

Here's the disappointing part of the day though. It's now 7PM in the evening, about 7 hours post ride and my Achilles is pretty sore. I've also developed a little nodule on the lower outside portion of my right Achilles. I had a similar issue before my first marathon and it made it nearly impossible to run. I'm icing, applying the anti-inflammatory cream, and have my compression socks on to help ease the inflammation. Right now the nodule is small so that's the plus side. I will definitely be taking tomorrow as a rest day and will resume my elliptical substitution this week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can continue to manage the Achilles and get in my long rides. That's my main focus currently. I'm taking it step-by-step and day-by-day for now.

Doctor Visit - It's going to be a tough 6.5 weeks

2011-07-13T21:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my visit to my sport's med doctor. It went just as expected. The diagnosis was an achilles strain with all of the accompanying inflammation. He said I didn't have any big nodules or "rice krispy" sounds which meant I wasn't to a point where I needed to be concerned about a tear or rupture. We chatted a bit about a few options and my current situation. I made sure he was aware I'm only 6.5 weeks away from Louisville and doing nothing really wasn't an option. He agreed and said I would need to put in at least another 3 or 4 weeks of solid work before I headed into taper. After talking a bit, we decided to mimic the regimen I used when I battled with left Achilles problems before my first marathon. He gave me an Achillotrain brace to wear during everyday activity to ease the burden throughout the day. He also wrote me a prescription for a topical anti-inflammatory cream and a prescription NSAID. Basically I'll try to manage the best I can on my own and if conditions warrant, I'll go back in and see if there is something else we can do. He was honest with me and told me it would probably get worse since the mileage is going to be high. He said it may limit my training some, but he was confident I could manage it and get through the next few weeks. I have a follow-up with him about a week and a half before the race and we'll see if we need to do anything else before race day. He said it may suck and it may hurt, but I'll finish. Finish is my goal so that's fine by me.

Last weekend I also found a pace calculator and plugged in some mock times to see what I'd need to do to finish before the 17 hour cutoff. If I hit my goals for the swim and bike, I can still walk the marathon and get in under the cutoff. If all else fails, I'll walk it home. The key is just making sure I get in my bike mileage the next few weeks and am prepared for the 112 mile ride. Unfortunately, hills on the bike aggravate my Achilles even more so I'm going to skip the hills this week and just try to get in the 4.5 hours I'm scheduled to ride. The good news is I only have 6.5 weeks until the race. The bad news is I only have 6.5 weeks until the race. I'll do my best and see what happens. I'd appreciate all the positive vibes you can send my way. I know it's not going to be easy. No one ever said it would be though. That's one of the reasons I signed up for this race. Challenges make us stronger. Learning to adapt and persevere is key to our success. I'll learn from this experience and come out on the other end stronger and even hungrier to succeed.

Forty-Nine Days

2011-07-10T18:16:00.001-05:00

It seems so close. I can't believe it's only seven weeks until my first Ironman adventure will come to a close. The first seven months of the year haven't been perfect, but this weekend I've taken the opportunity to look back on the first half of 2011. It's really given me a chance to look at the strides I've made in the sport and helps put my current injury in perspective. I've set new PR's in several distances, finished my first 70.3 race, and am still at a point where I'm hungry and excited for more challenges. To me, the eagerness to keep pushing the limits and the dreams of what the future hold are good signs I'm in a healthy relationship. Sometimes I get so consumed with my training and races that I don't take a step back to examine my life as a whole to make sure I'm keeping a healthy balance. This weekend has given me an opportunity to do just that and I have to admit I'm very happy with the inventory I took of my life. I know as endurance athletes we become obsessed with our sport, but in some respects, I think it's necessary. You have to want to eat, breath, and sleep training to be able to drag your butt out the door when the weather isn't ideal or you are having a bad day. You have to have that burning desire to keep pushing your limits or you will never succeed. It's not easy to run a marathon, do a triathlon, or become an Ironman. A healthy obsession with success is key to your survival. It's the oil that keeps the engine running. I know at times we're not the easiest people in the world to be friends with or have in the family, but I try to make sure I share the joy and pain with those around me. The best memories I have of the last 3 years are the ones where my friends and family have made an effort to get involved and join me on my race adventures: the smiles of my parents and brother after finishing my first marathon; a week in Chicago with my parents and two dear friends; a trip to NYC with my cousin; a group of friends to share my first triathlon finish with; and a soon-to-be memory of a lifetime when I hug the neck of my parents at the finish line of Ironman Louisville. I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it. I'm actually crying right now as I type this entry. To me, that's when you know you've found something special. As of now, all signs are pointing up.

As far as this weekend goes, I'm pretty happy with my progress. The swim and elliptical yesterday really helped quench my thirst for training. I decided to skip my long bike scheduled for today so I had some free time on my hands. One goal I've had for the last several months is to make every day count in the road to Louisville. Every day I make sure to do at least one thing that puts me closer to success on August 28th. Today was no different. My task for today was cleaning my bike. I'm not really good at cleaning and maintaining my bike because quite frankly, I don't really know what I should be doing to maintain it. They don't give you a lesson in bike maintenance when you purchase your bike so a lot of this I've just learned along the way. I taught myself how to change a tire on YouTube (Team-in-Training tried to teach me, but I apparently didn't listen well) and today I cleaned my bike after going into my local bike shop for some tips and tools to use during the process. I ended up buying a chain tool to clean my chain, lubed the chain, wiped down my frame, and tried to get all the sticky gunk off my handlebars. Triathlon is a messy sport so it took several shop rags to get the job done. Now I have a squeaky clean bike to take out for my next ride. I'm hoping that next ride is on Tuesday evening, but we'll see what the doctor says.

I also had a chance to catch up on one of my favorite TV shows of all-time. Second to ER back in the beginning, Friday Night Lights is hands down one of my favorite shows of all-time. I absolutely love the show and am very sad to see it go. Next week will be the final episode in the series. I'm not sure why this show never caught on with the general public, but it's been a show I haven't been able to stop watching. My guess is that scheduling is why it never took off completely. Friday nights aren't really prime time spots in TV viewing land. It's a shame because it's very well written, touches on several interesting social issues, and always leaves me emotionally invested in the characters. It's crazy how you become attached to fictional characters and laugh, cry, and cheer for them like they are your own family. I guess that's what you get when you come across a good show. The ending of Friday Night Lights will definitely leave a hole in my TV viewing schedule. Hopefully someone will come along and fill it with another show just as spectacular. If you haven't watched it, you should do yourself a favor and go pick up the series. You will be glad you did.

Time to sign off for now. I'm really going to make an effort to blog more often. As you can see, I've given 3 updates in 3 days this weekend. I won't be that active over the next 7 weeks, but I'll at least try to update a few times a week. I think you'd get pretty tired of me if I updated every day anyway. Talk to you soon.

110 Degrees - Inferno

2011-07-09T21:00:00.000-05:00

It's official. Summer 2011 is going in the books as just plain stupid. Today we broke another record and topped out with a temperature of 110 degrees. Luckily, all of my workouts were scheduled inside today so I managed to escape the heat for the most part. Fortunately we haven't broken the all-time record temperature for Oklahoma City yet, which currently stands at 113 degrees. However, I would not be surprised to see many more records fall this summer. We are stuck in a drought that's feeding the heat that's feeding the drought. It's a vicious cycle that doesn't seem to want to end. I know I said heat acclimation wouldn't be an issue in Oklahoma summers, but this is borderline absurd. I keep checking the weather in Louisville and notice temps in the 80s/90s with light winds. I know the humidity will suck, but I'm definitely getting my body ready for the gauntlet of a hot summer day in Louisville.

Another one of the downsides of this hot, dry summer is that my local open water swim lake is now closed for swimming. The heat and lack of rain are causing bacteria levels to get out of control and they have closed the beaches. I'm not overly concerned about open water swimming anymore, but it would still be nice to get in some longer swim practices without a wetsuit. I'll keep my fingers crossed the beaches open back up soon. Otherwise I'll be making a little road trip somewhere to get in some lake swimming. I'll have to make sure to get a volunteer to go with me to keep me safe though.

Today was supposed to be a run and swim day so I turned it into a swim and elliptical day. I let myself sleep in a bit this morning and then headed to my work to get in a swim before they started swim classes today. I've been feeling really, really good in the water lately. I've actually even gotten to the point where swimming is becoming enjoyable. It's an odd little thing happening to me here. I think the injuries and the heat have made me appreciate the cool water and no-impact exercise. It's something I can do that keeps inching me towards my goal and not negatively impacting my recovery. Today I swam 2200 meters total and then rinsed off and headed to the elliptical to get in an hour there. Mentally I dread the elliptical sometimes. I usually connect the elliptical to injury so I have a negative feeling about it. However, today was different. I was in a good place mentally and I enjoyed sweating and listening to my music. It was nice to get the negativity of Wednesday night out of my body and focus on what I can do. I'm really trying to not think about my lack of running. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it now except keep working hard in my other disciplines and focus on recovery. The faster I can get healthy, the better off I'll be on August 28th. I've been religiously icing and applying my anti-inflammatory cream to my Achilles. It's feeling better today, but I'm a long way from healthy. I'm officially deciding to skip my long bike tomorrow, something I probably should have done a few weeks ago, and will let it rest a few more days. My doctor visit is on Tuesday afternoon and I'll proceed with caution from there. It's not an ideal spot in my training plan for me to be injured, but I'm not sure there ever really is an ideal time. I'll have to bite the bullet and get back on the bike next weekend. My hope is that taking this weekend off will put me in a better position to tackle the next 7 weeks though.

Last night a friend shared this video with me on Facebook. It was the perfect video to get me out of my mental slump and refocus on my goal. I'll see you in 49 days, Ironman Louisville:

Injuries are frustrating

2011-07-08T21:14:00.000-05:00

There's my Captain Obvious quote of the day. Injuries are frustrating. Sadly, I have nothing good to report on the injury front. By this point, I had hoped to be able to share some sign of improvement, but I'm actually going in the other direction. After altering my bike fit, my ride on Tuesday went fairly well. I still had some discomfort during my ride, but it was manageable and an improvement. Wednesday night I went for a quick swim after work and then headed home to give running a shot. I talked to my coach and we thought it'd be OK to go for a short run to test out the Achilles and see where I stood for my scheduled long run the next day. I was not very optimistic based on how my Achilles felt all day, but I figured I'd give it a shot anyway. After 2.75 miles I had to stop running completely and gingerly walked my way home. It was pretty frustrating to realize how far off I am from actually being able to run and run well. I really thought I would see more progress, but unfortunately it wasn't time yet. After limping out of bed on Thursday, I decided it was time to call the doctor. I now have an appointment with my sports med doctor next Tuesday and will see what my options are for the next 7 weeks. Fortunately, my sports doc is a multiple Ironman finisher so he knows where I'm coming from when I say I really need help. I'm hoping he can conjure up something to help speed the healing or at least calm my nerves about the race. I unfortunately let the negative thoughts creep in on Wednesday night and Thursday. For the first time since I started training, I began doubting myself and my ability to pull myself together before Louisville. I have talked myself off the edge, but I know I have a long road ahead of me. I'm going to have to get really familiar with the pool and the elliptical and hope that I can get in my long rides without too much of a problem. It might not be pretty in Louisville, but I'm stubborn enough and committed enough to do what's necessary the next 7 weeks.

Today was also my turn to log my volunteer hours for my company. Each summer our company gives us 4 hours of paid time off to go volunteer at a local organization of our choice. This year I teamed up with a few other people from my group and went to an Equine Therapy Center just north of Oklahoma City. The Center focuses on helping at-risk or disadvantaged kids by having them interact with horses, learn responsibility, and provide a positive environment where they feel safe and can work on their problems. It was a really cool afternoon. We cleaned out the horse stalls, bathed and groomed the horses, and put them all in their stalls for the evening. I could definitely see myself going back up there to volunteer on my own time. I know they could always use the help and I am able-bodied and willing. I'm glad our company encourages us to get involved and show support for our local organizations. Volunteer work definitely makes the world go round.

Hottest June on Record

2011-06-30T20:20:00.000-05:00

After today, OKC will have recorded the hottest June on record. Yep, it's been a scorcher. We have officially logged all 30 days with high temperatures 90 or above. Ten of those days also broke 100 with 106 being the highest temp recorded during the month. Needless to say, it's been pretty brutal training. Luckily, I had a week hiatus in Colorado and enjoyed a nice, cool week of mountain air. I'd give just about anything to go back there right now. The forecast looks like more of the same. Basically we're stuck in a drought with a massive heat dome overhead. I think the icing on the cake is the wind though. The wind has been brutal. It's like someone blowing a hair dryer in your face at 30mph every day. Finally the last day or two it's eased up a bit, but we'll be back to the 20+mph winds for the weekend and beyond. It's definitely made training a challenge.

As far as training goes, I think the injury bug has finally caught up with me. I've been struggling with a lower calf/Achilles issue since Kansas 70.3 on June 12th. I thought the week off in Colorado would help, but the hiking, climbing stairs, and just general activity didn't seem to do me any favors. I wasn't able to fully rest it and now that I'm back in OKC I've been trying to be as kind to it as possible. I've been doing hot/cold treatments, light stretching, foam roller, and anything else I can think of to try and nurse it back to health. I've also stopped running completely and am focusing on the other two disciplines. Unfortunately, biking also tends to make it flare up so I've had to be cautious about where and how much I ride. Last weekend I got in 4 hours of riding, but the last 30 minutes or so were uncomfortable due to tightness/pain in my Achilles. Hills definitely tend to aggravate it so I've been trying to be cautious of spinning up hills and avoiding them if possible. I know I need hill work for Louisville's course, but competing at close to full health is more of a priority at this point. Thankfully it's not getting worse, but unfortunately it's not getting much better either. I have been able to get in a few extra swims and have been logging some time on the elliptical to help maintain some run fitness. Basically at this point I'm going to try to survive and advance the next 8 weeks. I know I still have time to get ready for Louisville so I'll do the best I can to minimize the impacts on training. The good news is I'm keeping a pretty positive outlook on the whole scenario. I know I'll find a way to make it work. I always do. I just hope the body cooperates and plays along with my plans.

Nothing else really going on at the moment. I'm definitely looking forward to a long weekend. I'll plan on getting in a ride on Saturday and then will take Sunday/Monday off to enjoy time with family and friends. My hope is that I'll be poolside on Sunday and spending Monday with my folks. Unfortunately we are in a burn ban currently so it looks like we'll have to forgo fireworks this year. Dang La Nina and your drought-inducing pattern!

Kansas Review - Long Overdue

2011-06-26T12:05:00.000-05:00

Well, it appears I decided to take a 2 week hiatus from blogging. I apologize for the long absence, but vacation and then catching up at home has consumed my time. Here is a long overdue review of Ironman 70.3 Kansas.

Pre-Race:
Kansas, like many Ironman events, is a Sunday morning race so travel to the event is pretty flexible. I decided to travel up to Lawrence on Friday to settle into my hotel room, check-in at the race site, and give my legs/hips a chance to loosen up after the drive. Lawrence is about a 5.5 hour drive from Oklahoma City, manageable, but not enjoyable. I got into Lawrence about 2 PM so I checked in at the hotel and then headed out to the race site to check in and do some shopping. The "expo" area is out at Clinton Lake State Park and is an outdoor expo. The expo is actually nothing more than athlete check-in, the Ironman store, and a few sponsor tents. If you need to do some shopping for gear, I'd recommend heading into town to one of the cycling shops or plan on having everything you need before you arrive. Athlete check-in was pretty seemless on Friday afternoon which was what I expected. We received a Kansas 70.3 sling backpack, a white Kansas 70.3 tech shirt, and some sample products. Nothing out of the ordinary but it's always nice to get a free training shirt. After check-in I meandered through the Ironman store and bought an event shirt and a visor. I passed on anything else, because my budget is pretty strapped right now. I did like the bike jerseys though. Friday night was pretty relaxing. I ordered some pasta from a local Italian joint and relaxed in my hotel room. I tried to go to bed early, but my mind was pretty occupied with the weather forecast and making contingency plans if the forecast panned out. The forecast called for an 80% chance of thunderstorms so I was really concerned the race would be shortened and/or canceled. Thankfully the forecast proved wrong and the weather turned out pretty decent on race day. On Saturday I took my time getting out of bed. I got some coffee, poked around the room, and then went for a quick 30 minute bike ride on the trail system in Lawrence before taking my bike out to T1. One note for all of you planning on doing Kansas in the future, T1 and T2 are separate areas which are about a 1/2 mile apart. It's not a bad thing, just something to make a mental note about when you are packing your race bags, planning on post-event gear pick-up, and setting up your transition areas. Also, the parking area for participants is about a 1/4 mile from T2 and the finish area so you have to walk or ride your bike down to T1 when you are checking your bike in on Saturday. After setting up my bike and covering my bottles, handlebars, and seat with plastic bags to shield from the predicted storms, I headed back to the hotel to try to get some rest. Saturday night's sleep, if you can call it that, was pretty brief. I had an awful time trying to go to bed and woke up at 3:15 to get going for the race. When I woke up on Sunday, the radar showed a line of storms moving towards Lawrence, but thankfully the complex fell apart as it moved closer and the race started on-time and without a hitch. Someone above was smiling down on the sport of triathlon that morning.

Swim:
As you all know, the swim is my weakness in the sport of triathlon. I went in with a loose goal of 45 minute swim and I ended up coming out of the water just under 45 minutes. I did think I could swim a faster time, and given the conditions, I think I do have a faster swim in me. The swim is a deep water start. You make your way into the water from the loading docks and tread water for a few minutes before the gun sounds. I placed myself towards the back of the pack because I'm not a big fan of fighting with the good swimmers at the start. The first part of the swim was pretty uneventful. After we swam for about 5-10 minutes, we made our way out of the cove and hit the open part of the lake. It was unbelievably choppy. The buoys were being blown off course and most swimmers were being blown off course. I know I felt like I had to swim at an angle to swim straight. It made for a pretty tough swim because it felt like you were fighting the wind/waves to stay in position. I also got caught by a few of the faster swimmers from the wave behind me and they were pretty aggressive. A couple of guys swam over me and I made sure they got a quick kick from me in the process. It makes me mad when people purposely swim over you. When I come up on a swimmer, I always go around. It never crosses my mind to just swim over the top of someone. After fighting the wind/waves/misplaced buoys, I made my way out of the water. Note to self and anyone else racing in the future, be cautious at the ramp out of the water. It's very rocky and can cause some issues getting out.

T1:
T1 is pretty tight due to the location. When you have athletes in the area changing out of wetsuits and putting on their cycling gear it can get pretty congested. You really have to be conscious of where you are running with your bike. I had a decent transition, but nothing great. I highly recommend using your morning clothes bag and stuffing all of your gear into it before you leave T1. The race crew will transport your gear back to T2 if you put it in the gear bag. It saved me a walk back to T1 after the race and I was very, very happy I didn't have to make that trek post-race. It probably cost me 30 seconds or so, but it was well worth it! I had a few issues getting on my bike (odd, because that doesn't usually happen), but I'll chalk it up to the loopy feeling you have coming out of the water. It took me a few miles to shake off the swim-head.

Bike:
The bike course in Kansas is a one loop course through the countryside. Most of the roads were in good condition and open to vehicular traffic. I started the bike with the goal of 3 hours and 15 minutes. I wanted to keep my cadence at 90 rpm at all times and try to keep my legs semi-fresh for the run. I knew going in my run would be my strength so I just needed to not screw it up on the bike. Kansas is a rolling hill course with very few flat stretches. I was constantly shifting and coming in and out of aero position. None of the hills were daunting and required me to come out of the saddle so I think this course was a great prep for Louisville. My bike stayed pretty steady and consistent throughout the ride and I generally didn't get passed by other riders. I think this was primarily due to the fact we were one of the last swim waves, but it was still nice to not get blown off the course. As far as race conditions, there was a south wind of 15-20mph which is nothing new for me. I heard quite a few people complaining about the wind post-race, but 15mph winds are a good day in Oklahoma. I know I cuss the wind a lot in my training, but it really does prepare me well for windy conditions on race day. Vehicular traffic was a concern on several occasions which I thought was odd. There were several times when we had to pass cars on downhills so we wouldn't lose momentum. There was also an instance where a triathlete and a guy driving a truck got into a yelling match over something. All I saw were wild gestures by both. I made sure to stay back and give them plenty of room to work out their problems. I don't really understand why people choose to drive on a road littered with cyclists, but I'm sure they ask the same question about why we block their roads. The bike ended up going pretty well for me. I came out of the bike portion of the course about 11 minutes ahead of schedule and I felt really good coming off the bike. I will have to say that I got kind of bored on the bike. I was definitely ready for a change of pace when I hit T2. I'll have to work on my focus and keeping my mind occupied on my long rides the next 2 months.

T2:
T2 was quick and seamless for me. Nothing special to note here. The racks are pretty spread out and I felt like I had plenty of room for all my gear. My achilles was starting to show some signs of wear at this point which was of some concern, but I was pretty sure I could make it through the run without too much of an issue.

Run:
The run was a 2-loop course through the campground area surrounding the lake. It's a winding course with only one short hill that you hit twice on the run. The rest of the run was flat and there were a few areas of shade, but not much. My only complaint on the run course was that I had to get 3 miles into the run before there was a port-a-potty available. I had to pee really, really bad coming off the bike so the first few miles were pretty interesting. My goal going into the run was 1 hour and 50 minutes. I ended up finishing in 1:48:59. I was very, very happy with my run. I felt really strong coming off the bike and the first few miles I had my usual struggle with keeping my pace in check. The aid stations were well-spaced and the volunteers were great in calling out what they were offering. I did a great job of keeping my miles in the 8:00 to 8:20 range until I hit the hill for the second time. Coming out of the hill at mile 9/10 definitely cooked my legs. My mile splits for the last 3 miles were closer to 8:45 and I definitely felt like I was working a lot harder. The best part of the run for me was counting all of the people I was passing. I only got passed by a few people the entire run and I was constantly making up ground. I knew my run would help my spot in the overall rankings, but I didn't realize I'd gain over 150 spots on the run. All in all, the run course was fun, but I'd recommend an earlier bathroom break for athletes and more music. I liked hitting the sections of the course where campers were blaring music and cheering on the athletes.

Finish:
The finishing chute wasn't anything too crazy, but seeing the finish line is always a welcome relief after a long day on the course. I ended up finishing in 5:44:25 which was much better than I expected and I was ecstatic for my first 70.3 finish. The best part of the day was getting my medal from Chrissie Wellington. She's such a tremendous athlete and ambassador of the sport. It was an honor to briefly meet her and share my sense of accomplishment with her. After my medal, I made my way to get some fluids/food and received a nice finisher's hat. I made my way directly to the ice bath/massage area and enjoyed cooling off in a tub full of ice. It never felt so good to submerge myself in ice cold water. The post-race nutrition left a lot to be desired, but I did appreciate the free BBQ sandwich and drinks. I would have preferred something different, but food is food when you are starving.

Overall I was extremely happy with my first 70.3 experience. I ended up putting together a race that exceeded my expectations and I really enjoyed racing this distance. I definitely see myself doing several more of these races in the future. I felt the training load leading up to this race was very manageable and is something that I'll introduce into my rotation as I progress as an endurance athlete. I know have a lot of room for improvement on the swim and bike so I'm excited to see how much I can improve. I would definitely recommend this race to those of you looking for a June 70.3 race. Although it was my first 70.3, I feel like having Chrissie Wellington return 3 years in a row is a pretty good indication of the quality of this race. If she keeps coming back, it must be a race worthy of consideration. Now it's time to turn my focus to Louisville and try to survive the next 2 months. I gained even more confidence in my fitness level at this race and can't wait to see where this crazy world of endurance sports takes me. Endurance sports are hard to explain to people who haven't participated in them. All I know is that I'm happier, healthier, and more confident than I have ever been in my 29 years of life. To me, the hours of training are worth every drop of blood, sweat, and tears I put into it.

Back in Oklahoma

2011-06-20T21:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm back in Oklahoma. I can't say I'm thrilled to return to the 100+ degree temps and 30+mph winds, but it is home. I don't have much time to write tonight, but I did want to update a bit.

Vacation was nearly perfect. I had such a great time hanging out with my family and disconnecting from the world. It was nice to not worry about training, work, and other commitments for a few days. I did do a couple of short workouts while I was in Colorado, but I mainly just enjoyed the time off and spent time with my family. The weather was nearly perfect. Highs were in the 60s and low 70s. The wind was a little gustier than usual, but nothing compared to Oklahoma standards. The snow melt was intense with swollen rivers and closed roads so the outdoor activities were a little hampered, but the snow melt did make for some awesome waterfalls throughout the backcountry. I spent a day on the ATVs with my Dad and spent most of the rest of the time hanging out in town or at the cabin. I absolutely love Colorado and could definitely see myself living there in the future.

On the training front, I'm back at it tomorrow. It will be time to see if the Achilles has been given enough rest. It's really started to bother me the past week or so and I'm hoping the extended rest after Kansas will bring me closer to normal. I guess I'll find out soon enough. I'm now under 10 weeks until the big day so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to make it through without too many injury hiccups. I'm now touching mileage I've never touched before on the bike and swim so it's all unknown at this point.

I have to sign off for now. I'll try to write a full review of Kansas at some point this week. Run happy friends.

Ironman 70.3 Kansas - Quick Review

2011-06-12T19:53:00.000-05:00

First off all, I want to say thanks to Jeff over at http://stilltri-ing.blogspot.com/ for the encouraging comments this week. The support from my blog, Twitter, and Facebook made it almost like I had a virtual cheering section on the course today. Knowing that people were keeping tabs on me while I was out on the course pushed me to keep going.

I'm about to head to bed so I won't write a full report, but I do want to say that I had a great time out on the course today. Overall I'm very happy with results and can't really fathom a better day for my first 70.3 race. I ended up performing better than expected due to a strong day on the bike and run. My swim was right at 45 minutes in a very tough, choppy lake so I'm happy there. My bike came in quite a bit stronger than I expected and my legs felt fresh coming out of T2 so I knew I had a good run ahead of me. I ended up gaining 154 spots in the overall rankings on the run. I was passing people the entire run and am really, really happy with my effort. My legs felt great for the first 8 miles and then fatigue started to set in. The last 3 or 4 miles were pretty tough, but that's when you know you left it all out on the course. To top it all off, I got my finisher's medal from the one and only Chrissie Wellington after running down the yellow brick road finishing chute. It was a great way to finish off a memorable day. Here are the official splits:

Swim - 44:58
T1 - 3:52
Bike - 3:04:37
T2 - 1:59
Run - 1:48:59
Overall finish : 5:44:25

I ended up blowing my expectations out of the water and even beat my "best case scenario" time I had in my head before the race. I'm very, very happy with my race and now am ready for a week of relaxing with my family in Colorado. I'll try to post a full report soon, but vacation will be first and foremost. Thanks again for the support along the way. We're now 11 weeks to Louisville. Dream Big. Work Hard. Make It Happen.

Ironman 70.3 Kansas - Preview

2011-06-11T18:39:00.000-05:00

Race weekend - all the buzz, the excitement, and the nerves all wrapped up into a nice package called athlete check-in. One thing I've noticed about triathlon expos, albeit my experience is very limited, is that the lines are so much longer here than at marathon expos. I've never had to wait in line to get my packet at a marathon and I even went to the big mammoths of NYC and Chicago. I guess all the extra numbers, bibs, bracelets, waivers, and swag causes a backlog of people. My initial impression from the check-in and buzz around the city is that this is a big-time event. I guess it's big by default when you have the greatest female triathlete of our time, maybe ever, racing here. It will be an honor to race behind Chrissie Wellington and maybe even catch a glimpse of her athletic abilities out on the course. By my calculations she'll likely be finished by the time I get off the bike, but I'll at least get to see her come out of the water since my wave starts 44 minutes after her start. Hopefully she'll be sticking around the finishing chute to greet all of us age groupers as we finish up our day.

My weekend in Lawrence started on Friday afternoon. I pulled into town about 2:30 PM and checked in at the hotel and dropped off my bags. I basically brought my entire apartment with me on this trip. Packing for a triathlon followed by a vacation in Colorado is pretty impossible. I had to pack for the heat and the cold and for training on the road. I basically could live out of my car for at least a few weeks. After unloading the car, I headed out to Clinton Lake to check-in and grab my swag at the "expo". I put that in quotations because all of the check-in and merchandise tents are set up in a camp ground near the lake. It's a pretty small expo area, but I bought some souvenirs for myself and gawked at all the extremely fit people around me. It's unreal how fit most of these men and women look at these races. Lean and mean is definitely the look of the day. My muffin tops sure are going to stick out on Sunday.

After the expo, I drove the bike course so I could at least get some sort of feel for what my day would be like. It's definitely a rolling hill course with almost no flats. It looks like I'll be shifting quite a bit and trying not to burn out my legs on the ascents. It's going to be great prep for Louisville and will be a nice gauge of where I'm at in my training. Friday night consisted of a grocery run to pick up bagels, bananas, and fruit, followed by a to-go pick-up of pasta, chicken, and breadsticks from a local Italian joint. I spent the rest of my night curled up on my bed listening to music and enjoying some downtime. Today started easy enough with no alarm and a quick run for Starbucks when I woke up. I ate some breakfast, iced my knees/Achilles, and headed out for a quick 30 minute ride on my bike to test out my positioning. I tweaked my aero pads just a bit because on my ride on Thursday it felt like they were slanting out and down so I never felt really secure. After a slight adjustment, it felt much better on my short ride today and it was off to check in my bike at T1. The T1 and T2 areas are separate from each other at this race so getting around the race site isn't quite as easy as my other races I've done. I'll have to make sure to be diligent about setting up both of my transitions in the morning so I don't forget anything.

Here's the real kicker for this weekend though. Rain, rain, and more rain. Unfortunately it looks like tomorrow is going to be pretty dicey. The weather forecast is looking pretty grim for a timely start or even racing at all. Today (Saturday) was absolutely perfect. Light winds, temps in the low 80s, low humidity, and sunshine. Perfect day for a triathlon. Perfect day for bike check-in at this race though. The buzz around the transition area was obviously the forecast for storms. Transition was littered with bikes shrouded in plastic bags to cover the seats and handlebars. Athletes talked about what they had heard from race officials and speculation was rampant on how long they'd delay the start before completely calling off the race. This added element of uncertainty really has helped calm my nerves. I'm not as fidgety as I was earlier in the week and I'm at peace with my readiness for this race. I'm going into tomorrow with a focused mind, willing heart, and what feels like is just the right combination of training/taper to have a successful day. The bags are packed, the race gear is laid out, and my feet are propped up, snugly tucked into my compression socks. All I can do now is try to sleep and see what Mother Nature has in store for tomorrow. The only thing I can control at this point is my attitude. Tomorrow will be a good day.

As far as expectations, I'm going in with a few loose goals in mind. I haven't nailed down anything concrete because I really don't know how the body will react at this distance. My long brick days have been decent and I feel like my swim is stronger than last year. However, I've never put it all together on one day so there's a lot of unknown for me at this distance. Will my nutrition plan work? Will my run suffer because of my bike? Will my bike be strong enough to hit my goal? Was my swim at Route 66 legit? Due to my lack of racing in triathlon, I have a lot of questions still. Until I race more, I think it's going to be really hard to nail down a time. Here are my loose goals as of this evening:

Swim - 45 minutes (based on Route 66 I could go under 40 on a good day)
Bike - 3 hours 15 minutes (all my rides were windy in OK so I went conservative b/c I don't know)
Run - 1 hour 50 minutes (the biggest factor will be how the bike treats my legs and if I pace properly)
Transitions - 10 minutes total (I'm notoriously slow at transitions)
Total Time - 6 hours

I'll obviously be happy with any time tomorrow as long as I cross the finish line. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some good weather, fresh legs, and cooperative digestive system. I'll see you guys tomorrow night after I soak it all in. Run happy friends. Don't forget to send some good vibes my way tomorrow. Track me live at www.ironman.com : Bib #955, Last Name : Sloan

Final Tune-up

2011-06-05T20:52:00.001-05:00

You know that feeling you get when you suddenly have a lot of time on your hands and you have an important event coming up soon? The glances at the clock, the tapping of the foot, the restlessness, the boredom, the impatience. That pretty much sums up most of this last week/weekend. I'm ready for Kansas. I'm ready for my first half-Ironman. I'm ready to keep training. The last few days I've backed off on my training volume to nurse a sore Achilles and taper for Kansas and it's been driving me mad. It's sad that I don't know what to do with myself when I'm not training. Most of my friends assume I'm training all weekend so the calls to go do stuff are pretty limited. I'm also trying to save money so I've been trying to not eat out or blow money on stuff I don't really need. My level of boredom stooped to a new low and I went to a movie on Friday night. I'm not a movie guy so the fact I went to the theater is a pretty good indication I'm bored. I'm guessing the week ahead isn't going to be much different. I'm heading out for Lawrence on Friday. I'm hoping work goes smoothly and I can head out without too many issues looming. It never seems to work that way, but I'm keeping my hopes up.

Amidst the training break, I did manage to get in my first aquabike race this morning. It was a perfect distraction from the taper madness and allowed me to test out my open water swim and bike nutrition again. The race started at 7:30AM so it was a pretty early wake-up call to get out to El Reno by 6AM to set up transition before it closed. My triathlon experience is very limited (I've still only done 1 triathlon) so I wanted to get out there early enough to make sure I had enough time to get everything set up and feel good about my race. The weather turned out awesome for this morning's race too. Light winds, temps in the 70s at the start, and sunshine. The water in the lake was just barely wetsuit legal so I opted to wear mine because it looks like Kansas will be right on the cusp of being legal too. There weren't any wave starts for this race because only about 200 people competed, but the swim was surprisingly physical. I got hit a lot more than I did in Austin for my first triathlon and felt like my first loop was pretty lackluster. When I hit the beach to run for my 2nd loop I noticed I had gotten out of the first 750 meters in under 15 minutes. I was shocked. That's really fast for me. The 2nd loop was much easier on the swim stroke and I settled into a nice rhythm. I only got hit once or twice and easily brushed aside the contact without upsetting my rhythm. I ended up coming out of the water in 28:48! I'm highly suspicious of this time though. I don't think I should be swimming 1500 meters in under 30 minutes. I'm guessing the course was short. I'll only believe that swim time if I somehow replicate that next weekend in Kansas. If I come out in under 40 minutes I'll know I've made a ton of improvement in my swim.

The bike leg for me wasn't anything special. I've had an abnormal amount of soreness in my legs after my Wednesday weight session followed by an hour ride. I've learned my lesson there. I'm not doing that again. I'm still sore believe it or not. I'm hoping that I'll get this soreness flushed out this week. It's like I ran a marathon or something. Crazy sore. Due to the soreness, it really took me a while to open my legs up and and I still don't feel that I rode as strong as I should have given the fact I didn't have a run on the horizon. I finished the bike leg in about 1 hour and 14 minutes for about a 20mph average. Fair, but I think I could have done better on fresh legs. Regardless, I came in for my dismount and my coach told me I was the 3rd aquabiker to come in which was pretty cool. I ended up winning my age group and came in 3rd overall. All the really stud triathletes were actually competing in the triathlon so my competition wasn't too thick. It's still nice to walk away with some hardware. Given my finishing time of 1:46, I guesstimate my time for the Olympic distance triathlon would have been about 2:36 or so based on a 50 minute 10K. On a good day, my run would be stronger, but my legs wouldn't have let me do that today. The only reason I tell you this time is because it really shows my progress in triathlon. Last year I logged a time of 2:55 at the CapTex Triathlon in Austin, Texas. Once again it's great to see the work paying off in races. I feel like I'll keep improving too. I'm hungry to get better. I'm still a newbie at all of this and I think the only way to go is up.

So, now it's the countdown to my 2nd triathlon. Six days from now I'll be toeing the line for the Kansas 70.3 race on Sunday morning at 7:14 AM. Here is my info for those of you who want to track my progress next weekend:

Bib : 955
Swim wave #13 - 7:14 AM Start
www.ironman.com - There should be a red box in the middle of the page for Kansas 70.3 and a link for Athlete Tracker. Click the link and then enter my bib number or last name to see how I'm doing.

I'll be traveling solo for this race so I'd appreciate all the good race vibes you can send my way next weekend. It'll be my first big race without anyone with me so I'll draw on the fact knowing that my family and friends will be thinking of me during that time. I'll also wear my bracelet in honor of Mitch Whitaker to remind me to overcome the pain and embrace the moment : Keep Fighting. Dream Big. Work Hard. Make It Happen.

Route 66 Splash and Dash

2011-06-02T20:37:00.000-05:00

After a great Memorial Day weekend, I started my work week with a Tuesday night race out in El Reno, OK. It was the state's first officially sanctioned aquathlon and served as a warm-up to this weekend's Route 66 triathlons. I really needed to get in an open water swim so this was a perfect excuse to get out and swim with a group. I would say there were about 60 people total at this race so not too bad of a turnout for a Tuesday evening event. The race consisted of a 500 meter swim in Lake El Reno followed by a 2 mile run on the roads near the boat docks. Water temps were about 70 degrees so it was wetsuit legal and I say about half of the people wore wetsuits and half did not. I opted for a wetsuit swim because Kansas 70.3 will likely be wetsuit legal next weekend. I needed to make sure the wetsuit fit still and it was nice to remember how it felt to be so buoyant and "fast". Swimming is so much easier when you have 5mm rubber all over your body!

The race for me was really good actually. My swim was surprisingly smooth and a bit faster than I expected. I ended up getting out of the water in 9:23 which brought me in 18th overall. I was pretty pleased considering how average my swim is most of the time. Transition was basically just having someone rip my wetsuit off me and then putting on my run shoes. In and out pretty quickly and it was off to the races. My run started off a little sluggish as I shook off the swimming uneasiness. I always come out of the water a bit disoriented so it takes me a little while to get my bearings back. After about 1/4 of a mile all was well and it was time to run. My legs felt great and I knew 2 miles would be over pretty quickly so I let myself run a fast pace for myself. I passed 7 people on the run and ended up logging the 11th best run of the night. I was very happy with my run and still believe it will be my "strength" in triathlon if I don't sabotage myself on the swim or bike. Best of all, I ended up placing 3rd in my age group for my first ever age group award! I've never placed at a race before this week. I guess I need to either get faster or start going to more of these small events to get some hardware. I took home a cool license plate and put it in my office at work for display. The best part is I beat a guy who normally places ahead of me in races. He may have not considered this a race, but I did and it was cool to finally finish before him. I'm still very happy to see my progress at races. I feel like I'm getting faster all the time and the hard work is paying dividends when it counts.

Sunday will be my first aquabike event and I'm really looking forward to it now. At first I was a little indifferent, but now it's something I'm excited about doing and hope it goes well for me. The race starts at 7:30 AM on Sunday so the wind shouldn't be an issue on the swim and the bike should be over before the heat and wind decide to show up in full force. I know I need the work in the heat, but I won't complain about a little reprieve from time to time. It's been nasty hot here that last week or so. Temps in the mid-90s and very high humidity for Oklahoma standards. It's been good prep for the months ahead.

Unfortunately I had to take an unplanned rest day today. My left Achilles is starting to get mad at me so I'm laying off my run for the next few days and will focus on swimming/biking. I'm hoping a few days off will take care of it before it gets too bad. Right now it's just achy so nothing too crazy. I'm trying to prevent that full-on pain from showing up anytime soon. At this point I'm not gaining anything on my run for Kansas 70.3 so I'll focus on getting healthy. I'm outta here for now. Time to finish up laundry so all my race day gear is clean for this weekend. Run happy friends!

Tour de Meers

2011-05-29T17:52:00.000-05:00

I was a little bummed heading into this weekend because my initial plans were to head to Lawrence for an unofficial training camp on the Kansas 70.3 course hosted by the KU Triathlon club. However, the triathlon fund is running a little low at the moment so I didn't have the money to make a long weekend trip. I opted instead for the next best thing I could find and headed southwest to Meers, Oklahoma, for their annual Tour de Meers ride. It's about an hour and half drive from OKC and is on the edge of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. I ran a half marathon down in the area a couple of years ago as part of my prep for my first marathon and had a great experience. This event proved no different.

For starters, the area in the refuge is relatively untouched and the scenery is a nice backdrop for a bike ride. Roaming buffaloes, longhorn cattle, turkeys, and prairie dogs are common sites along the roadways. I took every moment I could to enjoy the natural beauty and appreciate the quiet. Most of my rides in OKC have been on fairly well-traveled highways so the buzz of cars are always in your ear. Out here it was different. Traffic was very low. The wind was relatively calm. The sun was blazing hot. It was just you, the road, and whatever cyclist you happened to be around at the time. The great thing about this ride is I spent most of it alone. The official start time for the ride was 9 AM, but they encouraged people to start whenever they could to avoid the heat of the day. Temps were forecast to be in the low 100s so the earlier you could get off the roads, the better it would be for the volunteers and participants. This led to a pack of riders that were spread out all over the course and no big packs trying to draft. I spent the majority of the ride in my aero bars and only made one pitstop to refill the bottles. The rest of the ride was me working on my nutrition, pacing, and enjoying the scenery. The quality of the roads were excellent and the little traffic made the ride very relaxing. I wasn't constantly worried about cars, glass, potholes, and dogs. It was a perfect ride for my last race prep workout.

The first half of the course was mostly rolling hills through the refuge and then you hit a stretch of flat highway with wide shoulders that allowed me to get in a groove and coast through about 10-15 miles. The last 15 miles or so was another rolling hill section into a 15 mph headwind which is light for Oklahoma standards. The nutrition plan seemed to work really well. I still felt pretty decent at the end of the ride and if it hadn't been for the 100+ degree heat I think my run would have been acceptable. The run ended up being a sufferfest. I'm not ready for 100 degrees yet. This is the first really hot weekend we have had all year. I know it's the first time I've been out training in triple digit heat. I got in some work in the 90s last weekend, but not 4 hours worth of it. By the end of my run, I was ready to do anything but be in the heat. I found some shade at the fire department where I was parked and waited for about 30 minutes before I made it to my car. While I was cooling down, I met a few other triathletes from the OKC area and chatted with them for a bit. We're all signed up to do an event at the Route 66 festivus next weekend so I'll have a few new faces to chat with while I'm waiting on my swim wave to start. All in all, I was pretty happy with my day but definitely need some more work in the extreme heat. I'm hoping with all hope that Louisville isn't 100 degrees, but if it is, I want to be ready. I know I'll have ample opportunity for training in it here. The forecast looks hot and nasty as far as the eye can see. Time to push the excuses aside and get ready to face my demons. Ironman Louisville I'm coming for you.

This weekend I also signed up for Oklahoma's first official aquathon coming up on Tuesday. It's a 500m swim/2 mile run out at the race site for the Route 66 Aquabike I'm doing next weekend. The entry fee was only $12 so I figured it was a good way to get in some open water swim practice with a group. The fee to get into the lake I usually swim at is $8 so the small premium was worth it for some race experience. I'm hoping the weather holds out and the wind isn't blowing 40 mph like it is today. I really could use some open water practice. It's been almost a year since I've hopped in the lake. I know it will be an adjustment after only swimming in a pool for 12 months. Come on good weather! Time to sign off for now. It's a dinner and a movie kind of night since tomorrow's a holiday. Run happy friends!

Tornado Alley - May 24, 2011

2011-05-25T21:13:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was an unbelievable day in Oklahoma. It was deja vu of May 3, 1999, except this time I was in Oklahoma City and not at home with my parents in Amber, Oklahoma. The storms started firing around 2:30PM out in western Oklahoma and started producing large, violent tornadoes as they marched across the state towards my hometown and the metro OKC area. Everyone at work was huddled together in the trade room watching the madness unfold on TV as the chase teams for our local weather stations captured unbelievable videos of the monsters as they tore a path across our state. Thankfully my family and I got out of this one OK. Some of my brother's classmates and families in the area were not so lucky. As I watched from Oklahoma City, all I could think of was how thankful I was that my folks were OK. The minute I heard them say that a tornado was on the ground near my hometown my heart dropped. It was nice to hear my Dad's voice on the phone when I called and he told me they had made it to the neighbor's shelter and were underground. Something we've all learned the past few months is that being underground is truly the only option if you want to survive. Too many people have been killed in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Alabama by these tornadoes as they tried to ride out the storm in their bathrooms or closets. Please keep the Heartland in your thoughts and prayers. I sent a donation box with a coworker to Joplin this week. Now it's time to lend a hand to my fellow Okies.

After the tornado threat moved out, I headed to my apartment and hopped on my bike trainer so I could get in a quick ride. I almost skipped this workout due to all the madness, but I knew it would make me feel better. I continued watching all the news as they searched for survivors and showed more videos from the day. It made me even more thankful that we all came out of this unscathed.

Today was a brand new day. The weather was calm and I hopped in the pool after work to get in a swim. I really need to get some different ear plugs I think. Apparently my right ear hole is bigger than my left and the ear plugs don't block out all the water. I'm constantly having issues with my right ear and today was no different. I left the pool with a headache/earache from Hades. I guess I should consider wearing a swim cap in the pool too. It would probably help in some respect.

Anyway, long run on the agenda for tomorrow. My schedule calls for 1.5 hours with most spent at zone1 and zone2 so I'll probably get in about 10 miles or so. This weekend will be my last race prep weekend and then I'll hit taper mode for Kansas. I'm planning on heading to Meers, Oklahoma, for a 57 mile bike tour that I'll follow up with a 6 mile run. Only 2.5 weeks to the first half-Ironman. I guess I better start making sure all my race gear still fits. That tri top and wetsuit may have shrunk on me over the winter. Off to finish watching the Thunder game and then I'm heading to bed. Run happy friends.

Summer is here

2011-05-22T18:36:00.001-05:00

Well, we held out as long as we could here in Oklahoma. After a couple of really hot weeks in early April, the weather moderated in a big way, as noted by the bone-chillingly cold rain during the OKC Marathon on May 1st. It looks like we might be making the final turn into summer now. This weekend featured temps in the low 90s and the forecast ahead looks to be more of the same with only a day or two break here and there. I'm OK with the change into summer because I need the prep work in the heat. It's funny how my mindset has changed from dreading anything that resembled a run in the heat to now trying to embrace the late afternoon runs in the hottest part of the day. I'm not going to say I enjoy it, but I do know what's necessary to succeed in Louisville. Case in point, today I didn't have anything on my training schedule, but I laced up the sneakers at 3:30PM and went for a 5k run in the neighborhood with temps at 92 degrees and 31% humidity. It's a great way to start the long process of becoming acclimated to the Ironman marathon. Last year I would have never dreamed of running in the afternoon by choice. Watching the Ironman Texas race online yesterday motivated me to get out and get my butt moving in the heat today. It's always so cool to watch the finishline video for those races. I never saw Jeff Irvin, but I was looking. Judging by his finish time, he might have finished during the marriage proposal so I might have missed him during the chaos. Congrats Jeff on your first Ironman! I'll be picking your brain over the next couple of months if you're willing!

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I ended up house-sitting/dog-sitting for a friend this week so my schedule was all flipped upside down. Sleeping in someone else's bed and trying to make another house my training base was not ideal. My apartment is geared around my training, gear, and habits. When you are living in someone else's normal, it's never quite as efficient/relaxing. I love hanging out with the dogs for a week though so I'll do it whenever asked. It's a small price to pay for some awesome bonding time with the pups. I get to satisfy my dog fix and not ever have to own one myself! It's perfect! Plus, these NBA playoffs sure aren't kind to endurance athletes. The 8PM tipoff times are not good for my sleep/training schedule. I'll continue watching as long as our hometown OKC Thunder boys are still playing though. I'll have at least one more week of odd scheduling due to the playoffs. The good thing about my current schedule is that I'll be entering my taper for Ironman Kansas 70.3 soon. Only 3 short weeks until go time!

Training was really up and down this week. The aforementioned sleep/living issues contributed to some fatigue/lack of motivation midweek. I ended up pushing my long run up in the week to Tuesday due to weather concerns and my brother's high school graduation. I logged an easy 12+ mile run mostly staying in a comfortable zone1/zone2 range. I went after work, but the temps were only in the low 80s so it wasn't unbearably hot. The legs felt really good so I'm confident in my run at the 70.3 race. I spent Wednesday night on the trainer because I needed to get in a quick workout so I could get to bed early for a Thursday morning swim. I was dragging major butt on Thursday AM and my swim was pretty sucktastic. It's easily the worst swim I've had in many weeks. I left pretty disgusted, but glad to have finished it. Friday was my long swim prep day again. I tested out the pace for the full 1.2 mile swim again and landed right in the 45 minute range again. I felt surprisingly fresh at the end of the swim which is really what I want coming out of the water on race day. I don't want to sacrifice a ton of energy for a few minute improvement in my swim time. In the grand scheme of the race, it's such a small piece of the puzzle. Calm and collected in the water is my goal. Yesterday was my long bike for the week. I did the Okarche ride again, which is what I did last week for my race prep. This time the wind was 20-25 mph out of the south, as opposed to the north like last week. I'm not sure if I just was a lot better about nutrition or if the south wind is much more bearable for this route, but I left the bike feeling pretty good about my bike. I ended up logging nearly 65 miles which is my longest ride ever. I took in about 100-150 more calories per hour this time around and drank much more frequently which really helped me from hitting any big lows along the ride. Hopefully practice makes perfect on race day. I also had another flat on this ride. It's the second flat I've gotten on this new bike. This time I ran through a patch of glass and immediately could hear the air rushing out of my front tire. I made a little pitstop on the side of the road, changed out the tube, aired it up, and hit the road. It's super easy to change out the tires on the new ride. A big plus if I flat during a race. I'm hoping to avoid patches of glass in Kansas and Louisville though!

Hope everyone had a great weekend of fun in the sun. I'm outta here to get some stuff done around the apartment. This place won't clean itself unfortunately. Run happy friends!

Aquabike? Me? Yes....

2011-05-15T13:48:00.000-05:00

It's no secret I'm a runner first, triathlete second. I love running. It's also no secret that swimming is my least favorite of triathlon disciplines. However, even I know that running takes the biggest toll on the body during training so this week I did the unthinkable. I signed up for an Aquabike race. GASP! I've been tossing around the idea of trying to get in at least one triathlon before Kansas 70.3 in four weeks, but the only race locally is the weekend prior to my date with Chrissie Wellington in Lawrence. The race is the Route 66 triathlon in El Reno, Oklahoma, which is about a 30 minute drive from OKC. It's the first triathlon of the season for the local TRI-OKC club and is also sponsored by my employer. I love supporting the local club and the fact the entry fee is comped by my employer is a double bonus! The weekend features a sprint triathlon on Saturday and then an Olympic distance triathlon on Sunday. In addition to the Sunday triathlon, they are also offering an Aquabike option this year. Talking with my coach, we thought it would be a good idea for me to get in some more practice since I've still only been through the whole triathlon routine once. Initially I considered doing the sprint triathlon on Saturday, but I have a really hard time convincing myself that a sprint triathlon is worth the time investment. I know, I'm a distance snob, but for a race that's so short, it's a whole lot of work. I considered doing the Olympic triathlon, but I really want to show up to Kansas with everything firing on all cylinders and an Olympic distance triathlon has the potential to leave me sore for a few days if I raced too hard or conditions are unfavorable. After further consultation with my coach, we decided that the Aquabike was probably more beneficial than the sprint triathlon in the grand scheme of things. I'll get to test out my swim in a mass start/wetsuit legal swim (hopefully) and work out the final kinks in my bike before hitting the road for Kansas. I'll even probably add in a short run after I cross the finish, but nothing like the 10K leg that would have followed if I was actually racing. I know myself well enough that I couldn't just go out and dog a 10K run. I'd want to run fast and run hard if I was actually out on the course. As a matter of self defense, I'll not allow myself that option. So, the next race is on the calendar - June 6th, Olympic distance Aquabike, in El Reno, OK.

I also want to share a video I pulled from Scott's blog, Enjoy the Ride. It's a video reel about the recent Ironman St. George race in St. George, Utah. This race has a very odd appeal to me. I could never find enough climbing in Oklahoma to actually prepare for this race, but the true grit and determination shown by those conquering this course is inspiring. Maybe one of these days I'll put on my big boy pants and give it a shot. That's assuming I survive Louisville this summer. After yesterday, I realized how daunting a task I have in front of me. The next 15 weeks will challenge me in ways that I could never imagine. It will take every ounce of strength, determination, and stubbornness in my body to keep moving forward when the temps hit 100 and I'm at the end of my rope. I'll need you all to keep me going. I know what lies ahead will forever shape me into a better person. Never quit. In the words of Mitch Whitaker as he left this world after losing his battle to leukemia at age 10 - "Keep fighting". I'll pull my strength from those who were taken too soon and live on in all of us. GoMtichGo

Race Prep Weekend - Kansas 70.3

2011-05-14T22:38:00.000-05:00

This weekend was officially dubbed "Race Prep Weekend" (RPW) by my coach and I. The whole focus of this weekend was to see how ready I was for my first half-Ironman distance race and to practice my nutrition and pacing plans for the race in 4 weeks. Overall, I left this weekend's workouts with a bit of confidence, a bit of humility, and a bit of respect for the task at hand.

RPW started off with a 1900 meter swim Friday morning to see how I could handle the distance in the pool and give me an idea of what to expect for my swim time on race morning. I went in thinking I'd be somewhere in the 40 to 45 minute range and ended up getting out of the pool at 44:22. It was a comfortable, controlled swim so I'm confident I can get closer to the 40 minute mark on race morning. I also wore board shorts and didn't utilize flip-turns or wall push-offs in the pool so this should be a conservative estimate on my swim time. The wetsuit will definitely be my friend in the water on June 12th. Stage 1 of RPW was a success.

RPW continued on Saturday morning with a 56 mile bike/6 mile run brick to get a feel for my bike/run estimates for Kansas. The morning didn't quite go as planned because I got delayed by some work issues and ended up not leaving my house until 9:45am. I really wanted to be riding by 9:30, but I ended up not getting started until 10:30 which led to gustier winds and more traffic on my route than I would have liked. I went back to the same route I did with Team-in-Training a few weeks ago which took me NW out of OKC to the small town of Okarche. The roads for the first and last 9 miles were incredibly rough and I fought a headwind all the way to Okarche which was my half-way point. The great thing about this route is it's a very good comparison to use for Kansas. It has lots of rolling hills and the elevation profiles for both rides are good matches. The headwind definitely frustrated me the first 28 miles. I was in a pretty sour mood and I was cursing the bad roads and winds quite often. The turnaround in Okarche was a very welcome reprieve. I ended up cruising at a nice clip courtesy of the tailwind on the way home. It definitely lifted my spirits a bit and made the run to follow a little more palatable.

After the ride, I hopped off the bike, locked it to my bike rack, and laced up the running shoes. I was in an unfamiliar area so I just headed out from the car and popped in neighborhoods and ran until I hit a major road or a dead end and turned around and retraced my steps. I made it a point to go back by my car about 3 miles in so I could get a drink and take a gel. Most of the run was blocked from the wind so that part made me happy. One thing I did notice was that I struggle slowing my pace coming off the bike. I really had a tough time keeping myself from going out way too fast. Towards the end of my run I could definitely tell that I was running low on energy. I need to increase my calories on the bike evidently. I estimate that I took in 300 to 350 calories per hour on the bike today. I'm thinking I probably need to increase to 450 or so judging by my height and body weight. I'll have to find something else to add to my concoction. I'm not sure I want to add another gel in the mix every hour. I already get sick of anything remotely sweet the longer the ride lasts. Maybe I'll try to find something salty to help with sodium levels as well.

Overall I felt pretty good about my results from this weekend. I had a rough time of 6 hours in my head prior to this weekend as my estimate for my first 70.3 distance race. Here's how this weekend's workouts stacked up:

Swim - 44:22
Bike - 3:07:23
Run (6 Miles) - 50:09

Judging by this weekend's efforts, I think 6 hours will be a pretty good benchmark for my race in 4 weeks. After today's brick it hit me again how hard the Ironman is going to be in 15 weeks. I'm going to have to do 2x the mileage on the bike and over 4x the amount of running I did today. Definitely a daunting task. Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen. Time to get some shut-eye now. I'm beat. Run happy friends.

Open Water Swim Cancelled

2011-05-11T19:47:00.000-05:00

Today was supposed to be my first open water swim of the season, but we got some much needed rain today so I'll have to delay the open water adventure for another week. I'm hoping next Wednesday I can hit the water with the Team and start practicing my sighting skills again.

This week has actually been pretty routine so far. I've had a few issues with my left hamstring so I bailed on my run after my bike yesterday. My schedule called for a short brick workout, but I'm playing it safe. I don't want any major issues to pop up these last few weeks before Kansas. I've been very diligent about icing my hamstring and rolling it out with "The Stick". A little rest and some TLC seems to be doing the trick. I'll give it a little run tomorrow and see how it reacts. This weekend is race rehearsal weekend for me. I'll swim the 1.2 miles on Friday as a rehearsal run. I'll then hop on the bike and do 56 miles as a race rehearsal to practice nutrition and pacing on Saturday. After the bike, I'll hop off and go for a quick 6 mile run to see how the nutrition plan works out. I need to make a run to the local bike shop and grab a few more Honey Stinger waffles because those things are simply amazing and will be making it in my race-day nutrition plan.

Nothing else really going on at the moment. I'm debating on signing up for a triathlon the weekend before Kansas. My work is sponsoring our entry into the race. It's a sprint triathlon on Saturday and an Olympic distance event on Sunday. There is also an aquabike option on Sunday which may be a perfect fit in my schedule. I'll toss it around a day or two more and get my coach's opinion. My entry is due Friday so only a couple of days left. Time to hop off here and get ready for bed. Run happy friends!

Valley Rally - 62 Mile Tour

2011-05-08T11:23:00.000-05:00

Post-OKC Memorial week has flown by and now I'm staring at Ironman Kansas 70.3 in exactly 5 weeks. Five weeks until I get to wear that 70.3 label proudly and then hit the road to Colorado for some great bonding time with the family. This year just keeps going by faster and faster. Every time I look up, a new calendar month is staring me in the face and IM Louisville just keeps inching closer. The good news is the training continues to progress and so far I've been able to keep minor aches and pains as minor aches and pains. I have a few hot spots this week, so I'm going to take an extra rest day today and mend some of those wounds. Besides, it's Mother's Day and I'm about to head out to go see my beloved Mom.

On a whim, I signed up for a 62-mile bike tour being held this weekend and decided it would serve as my long ride for the weekend. I was only scheduled to ride 3 hours, but I figured the extra mileage wouldn't kill me and having a supported ride was an extra bonus. I registered for the Valley Rally that started in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, which is about an hour south of OKC. The ride started in downtown Pauls Valley and proceeded south to the Arbuckle Mountains. Yes, we do have some mountains in Oklahoma. They are really glorified hills at this point, but geologists suggest they used to be big mountains in the early days of Earth. The map profile of the ride looked like a good comparison for the IM Kansas 70.3 course so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to get in some rolling hills and ride in the heat. Temperatures here in Oklahoma reached 95 degrees yesterday. I figured getting out in the heat now will prove beneficial in the long run. Let me tell you, 95 degrees feels HOT when it was 40s, rainy, and windy the weekend prior. Welcome to Oklahoma weather. As another added bonus, we fought a 15-20mph headwind the first half of the course as we headed mostly due south for the first half of the ride. The plus-side was that we had the wind at our back for the majority of the ride home. The highlight of the course for me was the climb to Falls Creek. For those of you non-Okies, Falls Creek is a place in the Arbuckle's where the Southern Baptist Convention holds youth camps during the summer. I went 3 times as a teenager and had an amazing time each year I went. I hadn't been back in the area since I graduated high school so being able to ride into Falls Creek was a good blast from the past. The Valley Rally actually had a cash prize for the King of the Mountain. As part of the tour, we made a steep climb up the Falls Creek road to the highest point in the Arbuckles. Needless to say I had no shot of getting the cash because there were several Garmin Junior Development cyclists on this ride. I'm pretty sure they took home all the cash. The climb did provide a good challenge and was by far the hardest I've worked on the bike in my short riding career. My hips hurt, my legs were burning, sweat was pouring off of me, and I was cranking in my easiest gear possible. I made it though. It hurt, but I made it to the top to see the view of the Oklahoma landscape. It was a fun challenge and provided a good early season test of the legs.

Overall my ride was pretty sub-par. I was pretty average going into the headwind and my rear-mounted water bottles popped out several times due to rough roads so I lost quite a bit of time turning around and picking up bottles along the way. I now know not to use the rear bottle mounts unless absolutely necessary. In one of my attempts to turn around to get my bottles I bit the dust after I hit a patch of gravel. I walked away with a bloody knee, dropped my chain, and tore up my handlebar tape on the left side of my bike. Luckily I wasn't going very fast when it happened. I'll take the bike in at some point to get it re-taped, but for now I'll just ride with it as-is.

Here are some lessons learned from this weekend's ride:
- Honey Stinger Waffles are AMAZING
- Rear-mounted water bottles fly off often and lead to too many lost minutes
- Headwinds and hills are not a good mix
- Summer is going to kill me (or make me one tough dude)

I know I signed up for a hot, hilly Ironman so I'm going to complain about the heat as little as possible this summer. I signed up for it so I just need to man up and face the facts. I'm going to have to figure out a hydration solution. I drank pretty much all day on the bike and still came off feeling like I needed to drink a lot more. I do have concerns about my ability to stay hydrated in humid conditions. I'm not a small guy. I'm about 6'1" and 190 pounds. I'm not one of your lean, mean triathletes that weigh 165lbs soaking wet. I'll have to figure out a way to combat dehydration on race day. I'll experiment as much as I can during training to hopefully avoid something disastrous on race day. It is definitely a concern heading into summer though. One positive note about yesterday's ride is that I really nailed my calorie intake. I was more conscious of when and what I was putting in my body and think I may have found a mix that will work. I felt pretty strong at the end of the ride so that was good news.

I'm out of here for now. I hope all of you had a good weekend of training. It looks like I might get in my first open water swim of the year this coming week. Hopefully the severe weather holds off and we can get in the lake. Run happy friends!

OKC Memorial - 2011 Race Recap

2011-05-04T21:06:00.000-05:00

So I lied. I said I'd have a report up on Monday, but doing laundry, grocery shopping, and cleaning up around the apartment got the nod over blogging. I'm a couple of days late, but here we go.

As I mentioned on Sunday, the OKC Memorial was my best race ever. It's the first time I've felt that I've effectively executed a race plan and everything fell into place. The weather wasn't ideal, but my attitude going into this race was extremely positive. I felt strong and I felt prepared. All it came down to was execution. Friday night before the race I talked with my coach for 20 or 30 minutes about my strategy. The weather forecast was calling for 20mph winds from the NNE and a chance for some light rain/drizzle. Temps were projected to be in the 50s so we knew heat wouldn't be a factor. Most races I've run, I've always been told to take the first few miles easy and then gradually increase into my race pace. However, for this race Ryan told me to do something different. The start of the race was downtown and most of the wind was blocked. However, after mile 1 we turned north and we were running into a headwind through the first 6 or 7 miles. He told me if I didn't push and keep a strong pace through the wind, I'd never be able to make up that time on the back side of the course when I had the wind at my back. Our plan was for me to really push myself those first miles and make sure I was on pace when I made the turn south. He told me that my turn south would allow me to maintain my same pace with less effort on the backside of the course since I'd have the wind at my back. It turns out this was a perfect strategy. My first mile was easily my slowest mile at 8:01 pace and after that I found a zone in the 7:30 to 7:45 pace and never fell out of it. The funny thing about my race is that I rarely looked at my Garmin. Normally I would be checking it every 2 minutes making sure I was on pace, but I just felt like I was running strong and I didn't want to let doubt start creeping in if I saw how much faster my pace was than what I initially thought I was going to run. I was feeling really strong and I wanted to just run by feel. I knew I was in a spot where I could maintain my effort and come in with a time that far exceeded my original goal of 1:45. As I turned the corner in the last 1/2 mile I had the biggest smile on my face. I was in a zone. I was starting to hurt, but I knew I had a huge PR in my pocket and no one was taking it from me. All the hard work and training finally came together during a race and I was elated.

After I finished, the cold really set in. I went from just being mildly uncomfortable to shivering uncontrollably. I was a wet mess from head to toe due to the nonstop rain during the race. Nothing I did could make me stop shivering. The north wind just added to the misery and I finally found shelter in the Team-in-Training tent for a bit while I tried to drink some chocolate milk and stretch out a bit. I finally found a cup of coffee that made everything better and then I made my way to my car to change into dry clothes so I could head back out on the course to coach our Team-in-Training runners still on the course. Needless to say, I was wet and cold within 5 minutes. My job as coach was probably the best one of the lot. Since I ran the half marathon, I just stuck around the finish area and met all of runners as they made the final .5 mile run into the finishing chute. It was so amazing to see all of their faces and talk to them as they made their way to the finish. There was a lot of pain, a lot of pride, and a lot of shared misery among the marathon runners who had to endure the rain for much longer than me. At one point, about 3.5 hours into the race, it even started hailing. It was small hail, about the size of peas, but it stung and you could tell it was just one of those moments where everyone threw up their hands and said, "Really?! Hail too?!" Ha, it was definitely a day to remember for everyone out on the course. I can't imagine that anyone will walk away from the 2011 OKC Memorial Marathon without memories for a lifetime. I was blessed to be a part of it and can't even begin to explain how much I love this race and everything about it. You really should come join us sometime.

This race really instilled a new confidence in my fitness level and training. I feel like I'm making significant strides and all those early mornings, hours on the trainer, and days lifting weights are beginning to show up on race day. Now all I need to do is bottle up that confidence and excitement for future races and mix a little patience in for a perfect combination. My biggest downfall is my lack of patience. I'm not one to sit around and take small steps. If I'm in, I'm all in. It's the way I've always been and that will never change. Most of you probably already came to that conclusion when I signed up for the full Ironman after only doing one triathlon. Yep, I've still only raced one triathlon and I have my first half-Ironman coming up in 5.5 weeks. Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen.

After this weekend, I really caught the marathon bug again. My result made me realize how much better I can do at that distance. None of my race times this year point to anything near the 4 hour mark. They all plug me in the 3:30 to 3:45 range. My performance in Chicago left me with a bitter taste in my mouth and I can't wait to get back out on the marathon course and see what I really have inside of me. I know that time will come. For now I'll have to keep working hard and shelve that marathon desire for a few more months. I plan to shatter that marathon PR in 2012.

OKC Memorial Half Marathon - Version 2011

2011-05-01T20:15:00.000-05:00

Awesome. That single word pretty much sums up my race today. Despite weather conditions that were quite brutal - 40 degree temps, 20 mph winds, rain the entire race, and a 30-minute delayed start due to lightning, I ran my best race ever today. I smashed my old PR by nearly 9 minutes and set a new bar with a 1:40:45 time in my 4th half marathon. It feels great to see all my work paying off on race day. Now it's time for me to refocus my efforts on Ironman Kansas 70.3 in 6 short weeks. Time flies when you are having fun!

I'll report more about my race tomorrow. I'm beat and headed to bed. All-in-all a very successful race. I have mad respect for all those who ran the full marathon today in tough conditions. Run happy friends!

No NYC Marathon This Year

2011-04-27T20:30:00.000-05:00

Sad news. I found out today that I didn't get selected in the ING NYC Marathon lottery this year. I'm actually a little more bummed about it than I thought I would be honestly. I went into the lottery not really sure I was going to be able to go to NYC this fall, but as the lottery date drew closer, my anticipation for returning to the Big Apple grew stronger. Not getting selected is probably a blessing in disguise. Plus, this one denial makes me one step closer to gaining guaranteed entry. After three straight denials, you get guaranteed entry the fourth year. I'll at least be running NYC again in 2014, if not earlier.

After hearing about my NYC situation, I had a friend ask me to throw my name in for the Houston marathon in 2012. I'm strongly considering this race now. My friend lives in Houston and offered up a place to stay that weekend. Houston is also the site for the 2012 USA Olympic trials. All of the big American runners will be there trying to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London. You know Ryan, Meb, Desi, Kara, Shalane, and a host of other star power will be there running to get a spot on the Olympic team. There are about 2,000 guaranteed entry spots that open up in May. OKC Memorial is actually one of the races listed as a common qualifier. Technically any race can be used, but OKC made the list of events specifically singled out. Unless the weather sucks or I just have a really bad day, I should be able to use my OKC Memorial time for one of the guaranteed spots. If not, I can throw my name in the lottery there for a spot in the crowd. The race is on January 14, 2012, so it would allow me some recovery time post-Louisville and I'd get to train during the fall - that's an A+ in my books. The only downside is that I'd be training through football season again - definitely something to consider. I have season tickets to Oklahoma State University and we're going to be good again this year. I'm sure I'll be wanting to make a few road trips as well. We'll see how this weekend goes and take it from there.

Race Week - OKC Memorial Half Marathon

2011-04-25T20:50:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again! Half marathon #4 is just around the corner!!

In previous years, I've limped into this race with some lingering injuries and some not so ideal mileage totals. This year I feel strong. This year I feel ready. This race will mark the 3rd anniversary of my entrance into endurance sports. The previous 2 years I've set new PRs on this course, the first by default obviously. I've gone back and forth in my head about what to expect from this race. At the first of the year, this was one of my 3 "A" races that I gave to my coach. It made it on the list with Ironman Kansas 70.3 and Ironman Louisville because running is my first love. It's the one sport I know I'll always come back to after the Ironman season is over. I'm not sure I'll try another Ironman. I know I'll run more marathons. Running will always be there. I have the lofty goals of becoming a Boston qualifier, even though I know it will take years to get to that point. I can definitely see myself having the goal of running a marathon in all 50 states somewhere down the road. I see myself continuing to try to get faster and stronger and push myself harder. That's why I'm so torn about what to expect from this race. I know I have another PR in me. I just need to figure out how hard and how fast I want to push. I'm not only there for me this weekend. I'm also there to help our Team-in-Training members reach their goals. After I'm done running my half, I'll hop back out on the course and help those behind me fulfill their dreams. For many, this will be their first marathon. I want it to be something they'll cherish as much as I did. I want to be there if they need me. Thus my dilemma, do I go all out and see what's in my tank or do I play it safe and not risk a blow-up? I'm torn.

Here's the progression of my half marathon times the past 2 years:

2009 : 1:51:47

2010 : 1:49:16

2011 : ???

Based on my 5K and 10K times from this spring, most pace calculators have me nailed in the 1:41 to 1:43 range for projected finish times. If so, my PR will be shattered and I'll know I'm making steps in the right direction. At this point the weather looks to be really cooperative and my legs will hopefully feel fresh after a light training load this week. I know I won't have a full 2-week taper in my legs, but this is the lightest training load I've seen on my calendar since my time off in November/December. So, as race day draws near, I'll go through a race plan with my coach and see how we feel on Saturday. I'll be sure to keep you all in the loop.

For those of you with iPhone's, you can dowload the OKC Memorial Marathon app and follow me live with my bib number : 10385. I'm really excited for this weekend and can't wait to feel the marathon vibe in the city. I love this time of year in OKC. Run happy friends!

We Run to Remember - Every Day of the Year

2011-04-23T20:08:00.000-05:00

Thursday was one of those days where I didn't want to run. Shocker, I know. I went to the OKC Thunder vs Denver Nuggets game on Wednesday night so I woke up Thursday pretty tired and unmotivated. The fact we were off work on Friday due to Good Friday made my evening run even more unappealing. I fought back and forth with myself all day about my long run. Should I run after work or should I skip it and do it Friday morning? Either way I knew I would get it in, it was just a matter of when and where. I went ahead and grabbed all my gear and nutrition from my house when I went home for lunch and took it back to work with me. All afternoon I had it in my head that I was going to skip out on my run and do it the next morning. As the work day drew to a close, I looked at the weather and noticed a temp of 65 and light winds. Too good to pass up no matter how unmotivated I was feeling that day. I changed clothes in my office and then headed out to plant my water and Gatorade bottles along my running path. As I was driving to drop my water bottles, I noticed something different. Something that made me thankful to be able to go run. Something that made me remember why we shouldn't take a single day for granted. Here's what I saw:

Talk about a kick in the butt. Here, marking my course for the night, were the names of those killed 16 years ago in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building in Downtown OKC. My usual Thursday evening route from my office follows about 3 or 4 miles of the OKC Memorial Marathon course and along the route the marathon crew has placed the names of all of those killed that awful morning of April 19, 1995. Seeing sign after sign of the names of those who are no longer with us made me thankful for the opportunity to run. I suddenly felt energized and blessed to be alive and able to run. I know it sounds corny, but it's true. Life is a blessing. Being healthy and able to run is a blessing. Being able to remember those who passed before us along your running route is a blessing. I paid tribute to every name I passed, quietly reading each name out loud and letting them know that we all remember. We all remember how it felt. We'll never fully understand the pain and suffering, but we remember. Running that night made me even more grateful for my place in this world. You never know what day will be your last. Run for those who can't. Run for those who won't. Run because you love it. Run to remember - every day of your life.

Finally, I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter. Regardless of your religious affiliation or lack thereof, I want to leave you guys with a YouTube video. I saw Carrie Underwood in concert last year and she sang this song as part of her setlist. It was amazing, powerful, and an example of how truly gifted she is as a vocalist. Last night I saw it again on CBS during a show commemorating the female stars of country music. I'd like to share it with you now because I think it's that good. Please watch for yourself:

Does Lightning Strike Twice in the Same Place?

2011-04-19T19:32:00.001-05:00

We'll find out soon! Tomorrow is the official deadline to enter the ING NYC Marathon lottery. The drawing is going to be held in late April so I should find out within the next week if I'm in for 2011. Part of me would love to get accepted for a 2nd year in a row and part of me thinks I should probably chill out post-Ironman. We'll see which side wins out in the end. I'll let you guys know as soon as I find out the results! Did anyone else apply?

I think it's a shame the Boston Marathon isn't televised. It's the most prestigious marathon in the world and it can't even get a 3 hour time slot on a Monday morning. I know runner's make up a small segment of the population, but it's a very loyal group and one that most likely has demographics that are appealing to advertisers and television executives alike. It just blows my mind that you have to pay $5 to watch an online feed and that's your only option. Due to work IT policies, I was stuck following the action on Twitter. I was a nervous wreck trying to stay up on the action and hoping Hall and Desi could pull out the victories. It's awesome that Ryan and Desi both had such great showings. The professional running community in the US is definitely getting stronger and it's only a matter of time before one of them puts together a complete race and wins it. Desi was so close! Losing by 2 seconds in a race that covers that amount of distance is insane. May kudos to her and Ryan for such amazing performances. You also can't discount the fact that Kara Goucher set a new PR only 6 months after having a baby. She'll be back competing for the crown in no time.

Nothing else really going on today. I ended up doing my brick workout this morning because I thought I had customers in town, but I ended up having the evening free. I went ahead and knocked out my strength-training session for the week and will have the rest of the week to focus on my other disciplines. I also ended up getting tickets to the OKC Thunder vs Denver Nuggets game tomorrow night so I'll get my swim done in the AM and go enjoy the playoff atmosphere for the first time. Thunder up! Hope you all have a great week. I'm looking forward to a 3-day weekend!

19 weeks - Flight is booked

2011-04-17T17:00:00.000-05:00

As I type this, we are officially 19 weeks away from Ironman Louisville. I finally pulled the trigger and bought my flight to Louisville today. I've been putting it off for a few weeks now to see if prices would change, but at this point I think the only change is going to be up. I'll fly out to Louisville on Thursday, August 25th, to have a couple of days to acclimate and see the course. One of the bad things about doing Louisville is that it's expensive and not easy to get to and from there from OKC. Ideally, I would go out at least once this summer to ride the course and see the venue first-hand, but I don't think the finances or work are going to allow that to happen. I'm still holding out some hope that I can make it out there in July, but it's a very slim chance. The good news is that my parents are driving out and a lot of the travel hassle will be taken out of the equation. Thank you Mom and Dad! Having them transport my bike and gear is going to be a huge positive and one less thing to worry about come race weekend. I'll be forever grateful!

This weekend has been a lot of fun and a good change of pace. Yesterday's ride was a nice change from the solo rides and today I waited until the afternoon to run so I could slowly acclimate my body for summer. Temps were in the 80s and the wind was howling so it was good prep for the months ahead. I ended up running 5.4 miles today to round out my highest mileage week of the year! It's only going to go up from here, but as of now I'm about as healthy as I can ever remember. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this trend continues for the rest of the year. I really believe the weight-training is making a huge difference in my overall health. Last week I scheduled it in my week just like I would a swim, bike, or run workout. I plan on making that my routine, otherwise it's easy to just skip it if I don't have the time. I'll make the time now.

I got sidetracked on YouTube yesterday after searching for that "I'm Training for an Ironman" video. I love watching motivational videos for the Ironman or marathon. I spent a good 30-40 minutes surfing through videos and getting all hyped up for my own journey. I found another one I'd like to share. I'm not a huge Eminem fan, but I love the video. The song is fitting as well. I do apologize for the profanity, but I felt the video was too good not to share. I watched it today before heading out for my run. Hope you enjoy it as well:

What's Your Something?

2011-04-17T16:46:00.000-05:00

Those of you who read this blog regularly know how grateful I am to be able to wake up every day and chase my dreams. I'm a firm believer that we should never take for granted our health and good fortune in life. As endurance athletes, we make every day count and I truly believe that because of it, we'll put ourselves in situations to succeed in all aspects of our life. It's not lost on me that the reason I am who I am today is because of a lot of hard work, a little luck, and an undying passion to continue to push myself and become a better person. Endurance sports has been the perfect avenue for me to continue to grow as an adult. I became stagnant after college for a couple of years and lost a little bit of my fire. I didn't like who I became and endurance sports gave me the spark I needed to start the fire again. Now it's not a question about if I can do something, it's about how and when I can make it happen. Sure, I have those days when a workout is a lot harder than I wanted and the stars don't align, but the doubt is very short-lived. In those couple of years after college, a lot of self doubt started to set in and took hold in my life. I lost the confidence in myself and I ended up in a place where I was looking for others for solutions. I was becoming someone who needed approval, acceptance, and guidance from other people. It wasn't me. I hated it. Thanks to endurance sports I've become a self-confident, self-reliant, and extremely happy individual. I now have people in my life who enrich me and make me a better person. I now have the confidence to say no. I know what I want, I know what makes me happy, and I know I have people in my life who add meaning and value, not just entertainment. I believe as we grow older we continuously are growing and changing. It's important to find something in life that will help you grow stronger and more confident. If you aren't in that spot in your life, it's time to make a change. Find something you love. Find something that will make you want to remove the distractions, the negativity, and all of the noise in your life. I truly think when you find that something you will become a person who will not only enrich your own life, but those around you. I've found my something. What's yours?

Self-talk definitely helps

2011-04-16T16:14:00.001-05:00

It's been another one of those weeks. It's been so busy I can't see straight. I'm beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel as far as customer visits and my evenings being full due to work or other obligations. I'm really, really looking forward to a more "normal" schedule. I'm not sure how normal my schedule will be with all the training hours needing to be logged, but at least I won't have to shift as many workouts around if the calendar isn't full.

Wednesday/Thursday was the first time I've felt like I'm that guy in the Ironman YouTube video:

Due to many conflicts in my schedule this week, my only choice to get in my long run this week was to do it before work on Thursday morning. I have to be at work at 7AM so for me to log a long run before work means that I really have to be up and running REALLY early. Due to this, I worked my schedule around to where I could get to bed at 8PM on Wednesday night. It was still light outside and the neighbor's kids were still screaming and yelling outside, but I closed the blinds, turned on some ambient noise, and made myself go to bed. Fast forward to 3:40AM when I heard the dinging of the iPhone going off in my head. Since I had gone to bed so early, I actually felt pretty well rested, but 3:40AM is early no matter how you slice it. I stumbled into the bathroom and looked myself in the mirror and gave myself a little pep talk : "This is why you are going to be an Ironman. You are willing to wake up at 3:40AM to get in a long run. You will put in the time and work to cross that finish line. You will be an Ironman." Yep, I really did that in my bathroom on Thursday morning. Let me tell you something, self-talk definitely helps. I was motivated to get out the door and knock out my run. I wish my legs were as motivated as my head though. I had lifted weights the night before and my legs were absolute mush the first four miles. After I broke through that barrier, the rest of the run was really nice. No one else was out on the trail until I was almost finished and it was the first time I got to test out my new running headlamp that I got as a birthday gift this year. I'll have to say I freaking love the headlamp. It was just what I needed to eliminate all excuses from getting out when it's dark.

Today was my long ride of the week and I joined up with our Team-in-Training cycling group. They are training for the Lake Tahoe Century Ride and were logging about 60 miles today. It matched up perfectly with my schedule so I tagged along today. The weather was actually really chilly this morning compared to the last few weeks. Temps were in the low 40s and a bit breezy. We headed out north and west of OKC to a town called Okarche and turned around and headed back along the same route. On the way out of town towards Okarche I ended up pulling the group for about 20 miles into a headwind. It was a great workout and everyone was very complimentary of my ability to pull the entire way into the headwind. I ended up logging just under 57 miles today so that is now my longest ride of the year. Believe it or not, it was a hilly ride as well. Yes, Oklahoma does have a few hills. I'm definitely going to add that route to my list for this summer. It's a 4-lane highway most of the way with very wide shoulders. It's plenty of room to stay off the road and there isn't a ton of debris on the shoulder. There was definitely a hefty sample of roadkill, but not much in the way of glass, nails, metal, or anything else that could cause a flat.

Now I'm off to cheer on my Oklahoma State Cowboys as they battle the OU Sooners at Bricktown Ballpark in some Bedlam baseball action. It looks like a perfect evening to be out at the park. 60s and light winds with a lot of orange in the stadium. Go Pokes! Beat OU!

Redbud Weekend - 50 Mile Bike and 10K Run

2011-04-10T21:37:00.001-05:00

A year ago this weekend I was a bit apprehensive about finishing a 33-mile bike tour. It was the first time I had ridden in a group setting and was going to be the longest distance I had ever pedaled on my new road bike. I was a newbie. I still hadn't fully embraced my triathlete-in-training label and quite honestly wasn't sure I wanted to adopt it fully. Wow. Times have definitely changed. This weekend was the one year anniversary of my first bike tour and another stepping stone in the Road to Louisville.

The week leading up to the Redbud Classic was not one of the best training weeks I've had lately. I got way too little sleep. I skipped a swim. I was exhausted and burning on fumes when Friday finally arrived. This has to be the busiest time of the year for me. Coming out of winter is when everything kicks into high gear. Customers start visiting more frequently, my brother and niece start up with spring sports, race season kicks into gear, and everyone I know has a birthday. It's the same way every year. I love spring, but it can be exhausting - and expensive. Luckily, Chesapeake Energy picks up the tab for all of my spring races and all I have to do is show up and give it my best effort. This weekend I had registered for the Redbud 50 Mile bike tour on Saturday and the 10K run on Sunday afternoon. The Redbud 5K was my first race ever back in 2009. Redbud is a great event and is really the big race that kicks off the racing season. It's the first big cycling event in the area as well. It's basically a great weekend to showcase the winter training and kick the dust off the tires on the bike.

The 50 mile tour was a lot of fun for me this year. It's the longest ride I've had in 2011 and the weather was pretty cooperative. Temps were in the low 70s at the start and probably reached the high-70s by the time I finished. The winds were about as good as you can ask for this time of year - somewhere in the 20mph range. I started the race by myself because I showed up just in time for the start and didn't get a chance to squeeze in with the Team-in-Training folk. The first 10-12 miles were pretty congested since most of it is spent on a 2-lane road. After you make the turn south,then east of OKC, you really break up the pack because the headwind starts picking people off and then a water stop picks off a few more. About mile 17, I caught up to a fellow TNT'er who is training for Ironman Wisconsin this year and we settled in together and rode side-by-side for the rest of the ride. We chatted about training, goals, ambitions, fears, and everything else Ironman-related. It was one of the best rides I've had on the bike. I really enjoyed the company and felt like I could talk freely with my riding partner about the aurora surrounding the Ironman. It was refreshing to know I had someone so close to me going through the exact same thing. I really hope we can make our schedules work to share many more long rides together this summer.

Today was my shot to see how the legs would respond after the bike yesterday. I really didn't expect much honestly, but to my surprise I felt pretty decent today. The run starts at 2PM every year so it's really a toss-up weather-wise. This year we were treated to low 80s and fairly light winds. It wasn't weather that you'd really say was perfect for a PR, but it was still pretty nice compared to the 40-50mph wind gusts that had been forecast for today. I'm not really sure where the forecast went wrong, but I'm sure everyone involved in today's run was very grateful for the mistake. Stupid me forgot to start my Garmin when I crossed the mat at the starting line so I never really knew my official time throughout the whole race. I guessed i was about .10 miles off judging by the signs along the route, but I never really knew exactly where I was with my overall time. I knew early on I was going to be pretty close to setting a new PR. Conditions weren't ideal, but I was kicking off pretty solid pace averages and by my estimates I was on track to beat my time of 46:41 from 2 years ago in nearly perfect race conditions (50s, cloudy, no wind). As I made my final turn onto the last .5 mile straight-away, I estimated I needed to average about a 6:50 pace to close out a PR so I kicked up the pace a bit and closed out strongly. My Garmin read 45:44 and 6.15 miles. I was pretty confident I had just nailed a new PR. Sadly, my time according to the online results shows a 46:42. Aargh! Missed a PR by 2 seconds! If I hadn't been such a dummy at the start, I would have known to push just a little bit harder on that homestretch. Oh well, I'm still really happy with my running right now. My PR from 2 years ago was at a time when all I was doing was running and race conditions were nearly perfect. I'll take my 46:42 in today's weather and set my sights on the OKC Memorial Half Marathon in 3 weeks. I think I see that 1:49:16 shaking in it's boots. Here's hoping for a healthy, happy, and restful 3 weeks until OKC Memorial. I'm looking for a PR baby!

What's Your Limit?

2011-04-03T20:08:00.000-05:00

The weather today in Oklahoma made me wonder what my limits are for training rides. Today was my long bike ride of the week. I slept in until 8:00 AM and then got all my gear ready for a my 2 hour ride and 20 min run brick workout. My plan was to go out to Lake Stanley Draper on the southeast side of OKC and try to get in some hill work during my ride. The roads are in pretty good shape and there is fairly light traffic in the area. Plus, it's one of the few areas where you can actually ride some rolling hills in the metro area. I knew it was supposed to be windy today, but I don't guess I really expected it to be a big factor. It's Oklahoma. It's windy 95% of the year. We get used to it and like I've joked before, it's our version of hill training. Today was different though.

When I parked my car at the marina, I got out to a howling south wind. It was one of those winds that if you didn't have a firm grip on your car door it was going to get slammed shut or almost ripped off the hinges. I looked around and noticed I was the only car in the parking lot. Usually there are a lot of people out riding on the weekend so that was my first clue that today wasn't a good idea. I got my bike ready and decided I'd do a couple of warm-up loops in the parking lot before heading out on the highway. It was at this point that I almost got blown over on my bike and seriously started reconsidering my ride options for the day. I turned the corner and took the wind head-on and got sand-blasted by the blowing dust. Mentally I was shot. No way did I want to spend two hours fighting to stay upright and pedal in place. I set my limits for my bike rides today. My limit is 40-50 mph gusts I guess. I'll take 20-30mph winds and struggle through, but when it gets more than that I'll stick to the trainer. I racked my bike and headed back home for a date with the trainer. The good news is that I put my tri bike on the trainer and knocked out 2 hours while watching the Ironman Louisville course DVD and then headed outside for a quick 20 minute run. The temps today in OKC maxed out at 91 degrees and I ran in the heat of the day. It was a good taste of things to come.

I also tried out a new pair of Brooks that I won as a result of the race series in 2010. I've had them for a few months, but have been scared to run in anything but my usual Adrenaline's. I went ahead and tried out the Ravenna's today and really enjoyed them. They are a guidance shoe which should fit my gait better. I'm a mild overpronator so I think the Adrenaline's provide a little too much support. However, my body is used to the Adrenaline so it scares me to switch to a new shoe. The last time I switched to a different shoe I had problems with pain on the outer part of my foot. So far the feet feel good post-run and I think I'll continue to work in the new shoes on my shorter runs. I like the heel cup of the Ravenna shoe better than the Adrenaline. It a little more open and doesn't rub my Achilles as much. I've had issues with my Achilles since my first marathon so any relief there will be a welcome change. I'll report back later if I decide to make an official switch.

Now it's time to settle in for a little relaxation time. I'm planning on watching some NCAA Women's Final Four action and the Academy of Country Music Awards. I'm a huge country music fan so I can't wait to see some new music. Run happy friends.

Dream Big. Work Hard. Make It Happen.

2011-04-02T19:39:00.000-05:00

My mantra for 2011 has been stuck in my head a lot lately. "Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen." I say it to myself when I think about skipping a workout. I say it to myself when I get frustrated and feel overwhelmed. I repeat it to myself when I know I need to push a little harder in a workout. It's seven little words that are etched in my brain. It's seven words that I hope to carry with me the rest of my life. Every journey starts with a dream. A dream of crossing a finish line, reaching new heights, and pushing yourself to do something you never thought possible not too long ago. I've received a lot of questions the past couple of weeks about my passion for endurance sports. Most people assume I've been doing this for several years. They are shocked to learn I've only been pursuing my dreams for a little over 2 years. They look at me and say they can't do it. I look right back at them and say "Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen." Nothing is impossible. It all starts with one step.

This past week I was asked to fill out a survey for my 5-year service award banquet at my current employer. I'm not a big fan of questions that ask about your most memorable moment or a random fun fact that most people don't know about you. However, both questions were on this survey and it was surprisingly easy for me to fill out. I remember vividly the day I signed up for my first half marathon in 2009 as a result of my company's race sponsorship policy. It's my best memory from the past 5 years at my job and one I'll always remember no matter where I end up in the future. Without the push from my employer, I'm not sure how long it would have taken me to make that first leap into endurance sports. Thanks to my current quest to become an Ironman, my fun fact was an easy shoo-in. Plus, what Ironman-in-training doesn't like to tell people what they are up to at the moment?! Now I'll have even more people around to keep me accountable.

The rest of this week was pretty routine. My work schedule was a little more relaxed so I avoided the 4:30 AM wake-up calls. After last weekend's duathlon, my Achilles was pretty tender so I took a couple of extra rest days and it did wonders for the soreness. I'm really trying to be smart about my body and try not to push too hard, too soon. It's still 21 weeks until the Ironman so it's a long road ahead still. One aspect of training that I'm still trying to get used to are the midweek long runs. Due to the long run and long bike sessions each week, I'm forced to push one to a midweek workout and in the future it will be impossible to get the long bike workout in during the week. Due to this, I'm forced to do my long run during the week. This week I ran 10 miles after work on Thursday and I have to admit I'm not a huge fan. Sitting around at the office all day isn't really a recipe for success when it comes to running. I guess I'll get used to it eventually, but it's not ideal. I'll have to key in on nutrition on those days and hopefully be able to combat the heat when the summer starts to settle in. I'm concerned we're going to have a brutal summer. We're in a severe drought at the moment and once that summer blocking patten takes hold, it's tough to move it out of the area. I'll be fighting my heat demons pretty regularly it seems. The plus side is that I'll be in great shape to combat the heat and hills of Louisville in August.

Time for me to get back to chores and get ready for my bike ride tomorrow. Nothing too crazy on the schedule, but it will be the longest ride on the tri bike to date. I'm sure my neck and shoulders will love me when I'm finished. I'm going to practice eating and drinking on the bike tomorrow to start working out some kinks there too. I'm hoping the 30mph winds don't completely beat me down. Anyone willing to come pick me up if I do a one-way bike ride with the wind at my back?!

March in Okarche Duathlon

2011-03-28T20:15:00.001-05:00

First of all, I want to apologize for the lag time between posts. This past week was a blur and I never had a chance to sit down and write. I thought about my blog a lot. I even wondered if this once-a-week posting was going to be the new norm. I hope not. The worst thing about not having time to post is that I haven't had a chance to read any other blogs either. I feel behind in the blogosphere. I'll catch up eventually.

This last week was extremely busy with work, my birthday, and other obligations. I didn't have a chance to sleep much and I was completely wiped out by Friday. I'm not meant to stay up late and get up early. I just can't function. I know this, but quite often my schedule doesn't work out to allow me to have my optimal sleep schedule. This past week just happened to be the worst week of sleep I've had in a long time. I finally made myself skip my run on Sunday so I could sleep in and catch up on rest. My mind needed it. My body needed it even more. I slept a solid 12 hours and didn't move. It finally put me back on track and I now feel like I'm back on schedule. Hopefully this week cooperates.

Saturday was my first ever duathlon race. I raced in the March in Okarche Duathlon which is the first race of the TRI-OKC season. It's known for cold and windy conditions and this year's event didn't disappoint. For two weeks the forecast was showing mid-70s, sunny, and nice, but of course, the day before the event, the forecast shifted to 40, cloudy, and windy. If this had been a running event, I would have been OK, but when you throw in a bike leg, it just complicated matters. I didn't know what to wear because I knew I'd be burning up on the run and freezing on the bike. I don't own many cold-weather cycling clothes or accessories, because I've only owned a bike for a little over a year. I didn't bike outside at all this past winter so my options were pretty limited. I made my best runner's attempt to layer in some warm clothing and just prayed my feet would stay warm enough to get off the bike and run the last leg of the race. Overall, I was pretty pleased with my race. My run is in good shape at the moment and both of my 5K's were around 22:30 which is not far off the PR I set a couple of weeks ago. I definitely think I have some faster 5K times in my legs, but we won't find out anytime soon. The bike leg was pretty lackluster. I ended up logging a 1:03:30 time for the 30K bike. The first and last 4 miles of the course were very, very rough with a lot of potholes and uneven roads. I struggled to keep in a rhythm and the stiff crosswind made the bumps and rough roads even more treacherous. Every time I hit a bump the wind would catch my wheel and push it sideways. I was incredibly tense the entire bike ride and my shoulders and neck showed the wear the most. I heard from several people that they experienced the same thing on the bike course so it made me feel a little better. I definitely have some work to do on the bike, but the good thing is that I learn something on every ride. My official time for March in Okarche was 1:52:11. I'll take it.

The rest of the weekend I spent time celebrating my birthday with family and friends. It was nice to catch up with everyone and enjoy some time together before my life turns into a whirlwind of biking, swimming, and running. My schedule for this week is now laid out in front of me. The good news is I don't have to wake up at 4:30 in the morning. Thank goodness. I'll try to be better about updating this week. I think I'll be back to a semi-normal routine for a few days.

Slice is Nice

2011-03-21T20:37:00.000-05:00

First of all, thanks to Patrick and Big Daddy Diesel for the bike comments. I stole the title of today's post from Patrick's comments and I'll book a bike porn shooting session with BDD in the future. I know I could use some help in that aspect of my bike/triathlon skill set.

After a week of staring at my new beauty in my apartment, I finally took the Slice for it's first ride yesterday (Sunday). I originally had planned on riding Saturday morning with the Team-in-Training cycling group that's training for the Lake Tahoe Century Ride, but the forecast was iffy at best for Saturday morning. There was a 60% chance of rain so I opted to go ahead and run Saturday morning because I like running in the rain and I knew I needed to get in both workouts this weekend. Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day in OKC with no rain (of course - because it hasn't rained in like 6 months) and very light winds. While this provided for phenomenal running weather, it would have been even better biking weather. Regardless, I had a killer run and saved my bike ride for Sunday. Sunday turned out to be really warm (low 80s), but extremely windy (25-30mph). It probably wasn't the best conditions for biking, but I had to get out and give the Slice it's opportunity to impress me. It didn't disappoint. I always knew a tri bike would provide some bike benefits, but the extent of how much stronger and faster I felt was much more than I imagined. My legs felt great and my ride felt pretty effortless even in a stiff headwind/crosswind. I managed to stay in aero for a good portion of the ride, only coming out of my aero bars when I had a nasty crosswind and the bike was trying to come out from under my body. I'm sold on the benefits of a tri bike and can't wait to get out and ride some more. My only complaint so far is the amount of room between my seat and my water bottle cage. I guess when you have long legs, your arms are supposed to be equally long. Well, my arms must come up a bit short because trying to grab my water bottle is quite the chore. I'll have to work on that aspect of my riding skills. For now, I'll have to slow down quite a bit to prevent any potential mishaps while I'm learning. I'll give the first ride an A+!!

Today was also the start of my Ironman Kansas 70.3 and Ironman Louisville training plans. As most, I started today with a rest day! Woo hoo! I took the opportunity to make several meals and finish my "chores" for the week. I made a huge bowl of fruit salad with pineapple, blackberries, blueberries, oranges, red grapes, and cantaloupe for my snacks throughout the week. I also grilled some pork chops and made a pot of spaghetti with meat sauce. I'm going to try and make Monday's my food prep week during Ironman training to alleviate the bad eating habits/poor nutrition problems I can foresee creeping in if I'm not diligent. One thing I've noticed so far is that this new training schedule makes me more efficient and organized. I plan out even the smallest tasks now to make my time more useful. I'm sure that will all come to a screeching halt at some point, but it's my goal to make it last.

I will admit I had a minor freak out on the phone with my Mom today. Nothing major, but I just went on this rant about how I feel overwhelmed with work, training, family, friends, and life in general at the moment. It's not a bad thing, just something that's been stressing me out. Every time I turn around I have another meeting request, customer visit, birthday party, event, or something else fill up a spot on the calendar. I knew it was coming, but sometimes when I get weak mentally I let it bother me. I sent a text to my Mom after I hung up and apologized for ranting, but it was good to get it off my chest. It lets me hear how dumb I sound and then I tell myself I just need to suck it up and make it happen. I'm sure I'll have many more of those moments over the next 4 or 5 months, but I signed up for this and it's my job to manage it. I love my life and I really can't complain. I know I'll manage and I know I'll make changes to my schedule as the calendar requires. It's nice to live in this dream world where I can get in every workout, stay healthy, and still be a good friend and family member, but I know I'll have to miss a workout or event from time to time. My goal is to minimize the downtime and make efficient use of my time. Hopefully everyone else will understand if that means skipping a dinner or a party from time to time. Finishing this is a huge priority and all of you who make sacrifices along with me are a part of the journey too.

March : The Perfect Month

2011-03-17T20:27:00.000-05:00

I'll admit I'm a bit biased here, but March is the perfect month. Spring brings with it new life, new goals, and renewed dedication to the year ahead. We all set New Year's resolutions, but even the best of us get sucked into the doldrums of winter and her bitter grasp on our world. Spring hits us with a breath of fresh air and suddenly nothing seems impossible. We jump into action and start knocking off tasks on the to-do list. We tackle our workouts with renewed vigor and passion as the weather outside warms. Spring forward let's us take back our evenings for training rides and runs in the broad daylight. We suddenly feel alive again! Ok, maybe it's not quite that great, but it's pretty dang close. I love March. It's the first time of the year that I really feel like everything is just right. The temperatures are nearly perfect. The extra daylight in the evenings makes it easier to be productive after work. March Madness greets us with all of it's wonderful drama and excitement. The grass starts to turn greener, flowers start to bloom, and my birthday caps out the best month of the year. While in college I loved it even more because of Spring Break, but now that I am a working man, it's not quite as cool. The problem I run into with March is that it seems like it's the busiest month of the year too! This past week has been nothing short of hectic and I don't see any reason that pattern will be disrupted for the next 5 months. I'm finally accepting the fact that I'll probably always be in a state of fatigue and incredibly busy. I guess that's what I signed up for when I paid that fee for IM Louisville. My goal is to not let it get the best of me and take it day by day.

My goal for today was to get my swim in before work and then join up with some friends for some March Madness viewing tonight. I set the alarm for 4:45 AM this morning and hit the hay at 9 PM last night. All was going well until my mind decided it was time to wake up at 2:45 AM. It was up and it didn't care what the rest of the body was doing for the next two hours. Needless to say, I laid there for 2 hours contemplating life and stumbled out of bed at 4:45 to the dinging of the iPhone alarm. It wasn't what I would call a good night's sleep so I opted out of March Madness festivities to spend some quality time with my couch. I'm sure my absence didn't affect the outcome of any of tonight's games so please don't hold it against me if your team lost.

The good thing about staying home is that I get to write to you and I finally registered for my first duathlon. I'll be racing the March in Okarche Duathlon next weekend in Okarche, Oklahoma. The race is a 5K run followed by a 30K bike and ends with another 5K run. I'm keeping my fingers crossed mother nature decides to cooperate and keep our weather delightful and give us a tad less wind. It will be the first race on my new bike and the way things are going, it may be my first ride on it as well. I'm almost ashamed to admit I haven't even taken the new bike for a spin. My one night on the bike this week was spent on the trainer and I just opted for the road bike since it was already set up and ready to ride. I'm still waiting on my new shoes and some small accessories for the tri bike anyway. That's my real excuse. After the race, some friends and I are going to stay in Okarche and celebrate my 29th birthday at the famous Eischen's Bar where the fried chicken and beer are tough to beat. It's probably not the wisest option, but hey, it's my birthday so I'll take advantage of the small slice of freedom in my training schedule and roll with it. If you happen to be in Oklahoma, come on out and join us after the race.

Tri Bike Purchase and 5K PR

2011-03-13T21:10:00.000-05:00

It was a great weekend here in OKC. Perfect weather. Team-in-Training practice. Tri bike purchase. 5K PR. There really isn't much more you could ask for in a early spring weekend. I would say that's a pretty good start to a race schedule full of new adventures.

Saturday morning started with a great TNT marathon training run followed by a pancake breakfast with our honored heroes. We heard stories from leukemia and lymphoma survivors and reminded ourselves of why we give of our time and money to help fund the research for a cure. It's truly a humbling experience to hear from the survivors and those directly connected to the disease. It really puts my own life in perspective and makes me even more thankful for the opportunity to help. While I've never directly been affected by blood cancer, I'm fully invested in the cause and those who struggle with it everyday.

After the TNT breakfast, I made my way over to my local bike shop : Schlegel's Bicycle. Steve, the owner, is one of the TNT triathlon coaches and Ryan, my tri coach and TNT coach as well, works there so my business will always go there for as long as I'm buying bikes and needing gear. I feel like I'm one of the family and I know they will take good care of me. I bought my road bike from Schlegel's last year so all of my measurements were on file and immediately I was told I'd be a really hard fit for a triathlon bike because I'm all leg. My proportions are very asymmetrical. Most of my friends ride a Cervelo and I kinda thought that's what I would end up with due to it's popularity and availability. After rechecking my measurements, I was immediately ruled out of the Cervelo brand due to the reach being too long. I run into problems with the stack and reach requirements not fitting my body style so it basically came down to 2 bikes in my price range that fit my body type. The first was the Cannondale Slice which is also what Chrissie Wellington rides and a Look bike that was on the upper end of my price range. I tossed around the idea of buying the Look due to it's upgrade in components : all SRAM Rival vs the Cannondale's Shimano 105. I honestly don't know that I would ever be able to discern the difference between component sets so I ultimately opted for the Cannondale Slice which saved me about $700 and left me some room to buy some triathlon gear and possibly uprade my wheels later in the year. I'm sure the Look would have been a great option as well and given me a bike that's not extremely common in the triathlon world, but I like the budget-conscious decision I made with teh Slice and I really feel like I got the best bike for my buck. I'm really happy with the purchase and can't wait to get out on the road and start logging some miles. Here is a pic of the new baby:

To top off an already great weekend, I ran the inaugural Run Lucky 5K. It was a race put on by several Team-in-Training members and all proceeds went to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They ended up raising over $43,000 and had over 1500 participants. It was a race that I really wanted to run to support the cause and it just happened to be the first 5K I've ran in almost a year and a half. I really didn't know what to expect time-wise so I just started running and let my body feel it out. I do very little speedwork and mostly focus on pacing for much longer distances so my speed isn't something I consider as my strength. I was pretty confident I could keep a 7:30 pace, but the fact I ran in the 7:04 range was kind of a surprise. I felt strong at the end of the race too so I think I could have pushed even harder and broke the 7 min/mile pace. I ended up with a chip time of 21:56 so I broke my previous record by over 1 minute. It was a great way to end my first official weekend of spring. After this weekend, I'm even more excited about the year ahead. Only one more week until the full Ironman schedule kicks into full gear.

Spring Forward

2011-03-10T20:19:00.000-06:00

It's almost time! I'm really excited for this weekend when we set the clocks forward an hour. I'm ready for 2+ hours I'll have after work from now until October to do as I choose : run, bike, or both. Oh I'm so ready. Spring is near!

Today was my dress rehearsal for my full Ironman training schedule that officially kicks in on March 21st. I wanted to get the timing down for a pre-work swim and make sure I was going to give myself enough time to get in a full workout. Last year I tried to run before work, but I've found it difficult to get in a proper warm-up and cool-down when my mileage increases. My plan for Ironman training is to do all of my swims before work until the yardage gets too much for me to fit it in as well. I have no idea what I'll do at that point, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. Dress rehearsal started this morning at 4:45 AM and I was at the gym by 5:30. My gym opens at 5:30 so it's going to be the earliest I can get in the pool. Today's workout was only 1800 meters so I fit it in pretty easily and felt like I had plenty of time to get ready and into the office on time. I'm a little concerned about the availability of showers in the locker room. This morning there was a very fine line between no one in the locker room and people standing in line to get a shower. I'll need to make sure I err on the side of caution and get in the shower early, as opposed to 5 minutes later. Overall, I really think I'm going to like getting my swims out of the way in the AM and focusing on my other two disciplines in the evenings. I'm also not too terribly tired this evening which I'm sure is the result of my 8:45 PM bedtime last night. I'm almost positive that won't happen every day of the week. It never hurts to try though.

Due to my pre-work swim, I had the evening off to get a few things done. I'm not doubling up on workouts yet so I took my car and gave it a good wash and put the bike rack on. You know it's getting close to springtime when the bike rack is being put back on the car. I'm really excited to go get my triathlon bike this weekend and taking it on it's maiden voyage. I'll be sure to post pictures of the new toy sometime this weekend. I guess I probably need to make some room in my apartment too. This is one instance where spring cleaning will actually be fun! I'm outta here for now. Run happy friends!

Marathon Envy

2011-03-06T21:02:00.001-06:00

This morning I laced up the running shoes and joined the masses for the OKC Landrunner marathon training run. It was a brisk morning and a group of about 150 runners decided to unite together to rule the early morning streets of the OKC Memorial Marathon course. The start of today's training run was the entrance to the OKC Bombing Memorial and the old starting line of the marathon. I went into this run only scheduled for 7 miles and I had every intention to stick to the plan since I've been skiing for a few days and haven't ran since Monday. I figured my legs would be heavy and sluggish. Something about running with that group really energizes me though. I don't really know anyone in the group and I don't do more than small talk with those around me, but it's nice to be among other people who share the same passion. It's also nice to be in a training group where I can learn and be tested. The skill levels range from people who win marathons to those who will have to opt for the early start option for the full marathon in OKC. Almost every time I run with them I find someone who is nearly a perfect pace for me to run with or test me. Today was no different. About two miles into the run I met a guy named Shane who was training to run his 3rd marathon. I struck up a conversation by joking that some of those lead runners sure know how to blow up a pack pretty quickly. It's interesting to note the speed of runners early in the run because almost everyone goes out too fast and about 2 or 3 miles in you notice a dramatic slowing of pace. Shane and I quickly realized we were running about the same pace so we stuck together and shared stories, goals, and observations. It made the next few miles go by very quickly and I enjoyed the small talk. I ended up having to go on by myself after Shane made a pit stop for some bathroom relief. His goal is to break the 4 hour mark at OKC this year. Good luck Shane, I'll be cheering for you! After parting ways, I looked down at my watch and realized I was nearly 6 miles into my run and not anywhere near my car. I decided to go ahead and run to the 6 mile water stop and turnaround to make the trek back to my car.

At the water stop, I had an odd sensation come over me. All the runners around me were taking in gels, shaking out their legs, and getting ready to embark on the next 2/3rds of their training run. I envied them and the next 12 miles they had in front of them. I wanted to keep running. I wanted to be training for the OKC Memorial Marathon. I wanted to be a part of the journey with them. It was then that I immediately decided I would be running the OKC Memorial Marathon in 2012. I want to experience the course of the full marathon and run on my home turf. I love the half marathon and I'm ready to be tested by the full marathon. OKC can be very unpredictable weather-wise in the spring and you are almost guaranteed to have wind. It's definitely not an easy course either. The last 3 years, the marathon just didn't fit it in my schedule. Year one of my running career, the half marathon here was what got me hooked. Later that year I ran the Dallas White Rock Marathon for my first full marathon. My downtime after Dallas was more than expected due to achilles issues so I opted for the half marathon again and here I am going into year three of my running career with the Ironman looming in August. I think it's time I make the OKC Memorial Marathon a priority though. I feel like I need to pay tribute to OKC and those killed in the bombing nearly 16 years ago. I feel like I owe it to my city and those affected to run the full marathon. Count me in for 2012. I'm finally going to stay home and make some memories with my OKC brethren.

The run today was on the slower side of my runs lately, but I was pretty happy with the way I felt post-ski trip. I ended up cranking out 9 miles and am a couple of weeks ahead of schedule I guess. I'll get back to my actual training schedule this week as I get ever-so-close to the start of IM Louisville training kicking into full gear. I'll also be running my first race next weekend as I participate in the 1st annual Run Lucky 5K to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I'm looking forward to my first event and daylight savings time which goes into effect Saturday night. Hello sunshine after work! I'll finally be able to get my bike outside during the week! I'm outta here for now. Have a great start to the week.

Deer Valley, Utah

2011-03-05T21:35:00.000-06:00

I'm home! I just spent 3 wonderful days in Deer Valley, Utah, enjoying the powder and slopes of Deer Valley Ski Resort. It was my second trip to Deer Valley and it was every bit as good as I remembered. I flew into Salt Lake City on Wednesday afternoon to meet up with a group of people from my industry. Each year, one of my customers hosts a ski retreat in Deer Valley and invites a small group of people to hang out and enjoy some time away from the office. It's a great chance to network with a small group and the trip is a lot of fun. It's usually a group of 12-15 and we all stay in one cabin near the ski resort. This year we stayed about midway up the mountain within walking distance of one of the ski lifts. One of the great things about Deer Valley is they limit the number of lift tickets each day so the mountain is never really crowded The lines for the lifts are non-existent and most of the trails stay pretty well groomed even late in the day. Snowboarding is prohibited as well, which is kinda nice in my opinion. I have had some really close calls with out of control snowboarders so to remove one more obstacle from the mountain is an added perk.

I usually judge the success of a ski trip by the way I feel after I return my skis and head back home. By that criteria this ski trip was a colossal success. I made it through without any major hiccups and I'm still healthy and ready for the training week ahead. This was only my 5th ski trip so I'm not a skilled veteran but I've finally gotten to the point where blacks are no longer daunting and I usually can make through a day without really crashing. I still have some falls, but they are usually ones where I can pop right back up without even having to brush off any snow. I'm not a daredevil so black moguls and any trail that has the name "Ruin" in the title is usually not on my list of acceptable runs for me to traverse. I stick to blues and easy blacks and try to make it through the trip having a good time without any long-term side effects. My legs actually felt great all trip and I can pretty much ski all day without feeling tired. It's kinda funny to hear everyone else complain about how sore they are at the end of the day and I don't even really feel like I've worked out. It's an added bonus from endurance sports I guess. One interesting aspect of this trip was the weather on Thursday morning. I've never skiied when it was snowing and I've definitely never skiied in near whiteout conditions. It made for an interesting few runs because you really couldn't see more than 5 or 10 feet in front of you at times. The good thing was that the mountain was pretty much empty, so you didn't have to worry about other skiers much. It made from some difficult navigating though. It's an experience I'll log in the memory book for sure. The weather on Friday was perfect though: low 30's, sunny, and light winds. It made for a great end to our time in Deer Valley.

Today I flew home and have my life back in normal mode. I did my usual Saturday night grocery run (wild and crazy in OKC!) and am now about to head to bed so I can get up and join the OKC Running Club for their marathon training run in the morning. The plan is to start at the actual starting line for the OKC Memorial Marathon course. They are running 18 miles, but I'll only be running 7 or 8 so I'll peel off and do my own thing after 4 miles or so. I had contemplated sleeping in tomorrow and doing my long run later in the day, but I love knocking out my run early and having the rest of the day to do as I please. I'm out of here for now. Thanks for sticking around while I was gone!

What to wear?

2011-02-27T13:27:00.000-06:00

Triathlon clothing is difficult for me. My legs are long, my torso is short, and I'm not real comfortable parading around in spandex that shows off every curve of my body. Another issue is that OKC isn't really a hotbed for triathlon shops so the ability to shop around and try on different brands of gear is difficult. My local bike shop has started to carry more tri gear, but they only carry a few brands. I've tried to order gear online and try it on, but the process of shipping, then returning gear becomes tedious. I seem to have found a pair of tri shorts that I like, but I'm concerned they aren't going to be a good fit for long-course triathlons. They don't have much padding and I'm not sure my rear will appreciate 112 miles on a bike in these shorts. I love the fit though and they work great for my shorter distance events. They are the low-cut Desoto Forza tri shorts and I love the way they sit lower on my waist to help hide some of my curves in my midsection and allow me to move comfortably on the bike. I've yet to find a tri top that fits the bill, so if anyone has any suggestions let me know. For my Oly triathlon in Austin last year I raced in the Team-in-Training top made by Sugoi. It was sufficient, but I didn't fall in love with it. I've tried on Desoto, 2XU, and a few Zoot tops and haven't yet found one that fits perfect. I keep hoping that I'll stumble on to something great, but it just hasn't happened. For the time being, I'll continue to represent Team-in-Training until I can find something better.

I don't even want to think about trying to find a swim skin yet. Since Louisville isn't wetsuit legal, I'll have to make that decision over the next few months. Do you all think a swim skin would be beneficial? I've read conflicting viewpoints. I'm undecided whether it's worth dropping another few hundred dollars for something that's not going to add buoyancy. I'm not going to be a fast swimmer anyway, so the benefits may not be worth the cost.

Yesterday I started compiling a list to take with me to my local bike shop in 2 weeks when I go in to buy my triathlon bike. I forget how any add-ons you have to buy in addition to the bike. I'm hoping I can score a deal on a 2010 model still, but by now they may not have many to choose from in my size. I'm pretty excited to get the new bike and get to work though. I've never ridden with aero bars before so I'm sure there will be a little learning curve before I get fully comfortable. I'll probably try to get in a few rides on the trainer each week to help get my body adjusted to the position and then I'll try my luck at the March in Okarche duathlon in late March.

Only 3 more weeks of "play-time" before the real training kicks in. I'm taking off for a quick trip to the slopes this coming week so my training will take a back seat for a few days. I'll squeeze in a few workouts tomorrow and Tuesday, then it's time to enjoy a few days off before I dial in the training. Have a good start to the week gang.

President's Day - Worker Bee

2011-02-21T20:43:00.000-06:00

I think we were one of the very few trading shops actually open today since it was a bank/trading holiday. The good thing about the market being closed is that I didn't walk into chaos. It was odd to be able to just come in and leisurely start my day. Definitely a stark change from the usual frenetic pace of the first few hours of my day.

The swim today was craptastic. I think it was something in the water though. Even the ex-college swimmer in the lane with me said he was filling pretty weak today too. Believe me, his weak still laps me quite often. Swimming with an ex-college swimmer in your lane is a perfect way to shoot your confidence and realize you have a long way to go still. I considered saying no to him when he asked to share a lane with me because I knew he'd make me feel like a sloth in the water. Haha, very selfish I know. The pool was packed today too. It must be time for everyone's training schedules to kick into gear because all the triathletes were in there. I'm definitely the weakest swimmer of the group too so it's a little disheartening to have everyone in the pool with me. The good news (I guess) is that I'll be moving my swims to the AM pretty soon. I have to be at work at 7 so it'll be quite the adjustment, but I've heard that very few people swim in the morning. It will be nice to have my own lane because I get distracted when the pool is busy. I focus too much on what's going on around me. It's nice to be able to zone in and try to make myself better.

Finally, I'll leave you with a quote I pulled from another blog I read : The Simple Dollar. It's not an endurance sports blog. It's actually a personal finance blog that I started reading many years ago which helps me stay focused on my long-term financial goals. In a recent post, the writer shared ten pieces of inspiration and here was one of the quotes:

“The truth is that most people have a better chance to be uncommon (successful) by effort than by natural gifts. Anyone could give that effort in his or her chosen endeavor, but the typical person doesn’t, choosing to do only enough to get by.” – Tony Dungy

It seemed pretty fitting for the year ahead. I'm not naturally gifted, but my work ethic and effort are rarely lacking. I think most endurance athletes share this trait. Keep your chin up and let's get to work.

Solid week of training

2011-02-20T21:10:00.000-06:00

I think the weather probably had something to do with it, but I had a fantastic week of training. This was the first time in a long time where I had at least some sort of training on every day of the week. I normally have a day or two where work or life gets in the way, but everything fell into place this week. I even managed to sneak in a quick 3 mile run between work and my bowling league on Thursday night. I may have been a tad smelly for the coworkers, but I was in a much better mood at bowling than I have been the past few weeks. I've reached that point in the bowling league where I'm ready for it be over. I'm ready to claim that night of the week back and get back on my schedule. Plus, I'm not a bowler. My average is like 135, nothing to write home about and nothing I ever care to perfect. I'd prefer to spend my time in spandex and running shoes working on ways to hide my curves. Any good tips out there?

In another shocking development, I'm actually starting to think of myself as a triathlete.....GASP! I've actually only completed one to date, but all this talk of the Ironman and my obsessive compulsive side combing through every forum, website, and YouTube video I can find about training and racing is really making me fall for the sport. There's something quirky about triathletes that makes me smile. I guess if the shoe fits, wear it. I do have to say that I absolutely love running though. I joined the OKC Running Club today for their week 7 training run for the OKC Memorial Marathon. It was my first time to join them this year because of conflicts with my Team-in-Training duties most weekends. I actually had this weekend off and they ran on Sunday so it worked out perfect. We left from the Bass Pro Shop in Bricktown and followed the lower half of the OKC Memorial course until I broke off from the main pack to get in my lesser mileage. They were running 16 miles, and as much as my marathon-craving body wanted to keep running, I made myself take the detour back to start and finished just under 7 miles. I haven't really set any goals for the OKC Memorial Half Marathon, but if today's run is any indication of things to come, I might just have a PR up my sleeve. It's still about 10 weeks away and the weather around here in May can be very unpredictable (search May 3, 1999 on YouTube and you'll get the picture) so a lot can happen that's out of my control. I'll have to admit that today felt comfortable and strong. I'm hoping it only gets better from here.

One last thing before I go pack up the swimming bag for tomorrow. Today I received a Facebook invite from a friend of my coach. I originally talked to this guy a few months ago when I was contemplating which Ironman to register for in 2011. He had raced IM Louisville in 2010 and lives in Lawrence, Kansas, where I'm also racing IM Kansas 70.3 in June. He's been a good contact for training and racing opportunities in Kansas and I know he'll be a great person to talk to as Louisville draws closer. The invite pertained to a IM Kansas 70.3 Training Camp that is taking place on Memorial Day weekend in Lawrence, from Thursday-Sunday. This will be 2 weeks prior to the actual event and they will be conducting workshops, training on the actual race course, and going over details of the transition areas and other details of the race. Best of all, it's free! It is being put on by the Kansas Triathlon Club and is open to anyone and everyone. I think it's a perfect excuse for me to get to Lawrence and train on my long weekend. Hopefully I can scoot away from work for a few days. The end of the month sucks for me taking off, but if all else fails I can just drive up for the Sat/Sun workouts. Now if I could somehow manage to get my bike and gear to Louisville for a training weekend as well. I have a schedule of a couple of weekends in July and August where groups are getting together. It's just not a cheap or quick trip for me. Lawrence is only a 5 hour drive. Louisville is 12+ hours. Not exactly a long weekend kind of drive.

Happy Hour Dilemma

2011-02-18T22:51:00.000-06:00

Since I've taken up endurance sports, I've found myself constantly thrown into situations where people question my friendship, make fun of me for being lame, and say that I never want to hang out anymore. A lot of times I just blow it off and go about my business, but sometimes it gets under my skin. I know it's not something I should worry about, but I'm human. Today was one of those occasions where I was called lame and had several people tell me that I never hang out anymore. It kinda upset me and I caught myself before I lashed out.

When I first started working at my job, I was pretty fresh out of college, still in the party mode, and didn't really have physical fitness as a top priority. I went to happy hours regularly and went out to the bars on the weekend. However over the last three years, I've really developed into an endurance athlete and someone who is passionate about my lifestyle. I don't go to happy hours as much and I usually hate going out on the weekends because I've grown to love the early morning training runs and rides. I enjoy the people I've met through training and I feel like they are all positive influences in my life. It's definitely affected how I spend my time, but I feel like it has changed my life for the better. I'm healthier than I've ever been in my life and I'm extremely happy. I can't recall a time in my life where I've ever been more confident, happy, and fulfilled. I've found that niche to satisfy my competitive hunger, feed my desire to excel, and tap into my work ethic that's driven me to succeed in many areas of my life. I really feel like endurance sports is my outlet to help me to continue to grow and fulfill my desire to improve my life.

I'm not quite sure how to handle the happy hour dilemma though. I've talked to some friends at work and tried to explain to them that I need allies at the office. I need them to help calm the storm when people try to guilt me into skipping my training and hanging out at happy hours or go to the bars. It's worked at times, but the message doesn't seem to stick. I guess I should just grin and bear it, but the culture of our industry is very social and it centers around a party-type atmosphere. I do wonder at times if it could eventually negatively impact my career, but I know my employer is a big proponent of physical fitness at a corporate level so that's reassuring. As far as my specific segment of this industry, it's more about the relationships you form along the way. It concerns me at times that I'm constantly missing functions and passing up on chances to build relationships. I think I've found a pretty good balance of attending and skipping, but only time will tell. I just hope I can continue to gain allies along the way who understand my passion and can appreciate the burning desire I have to succeed at my goals. I do know I already have some great allies in the industry and they are often very interested in my training. I even have several who read this blog and are training for big events themselves. I want to thank them for being an ally and helping me along the way. You are all helping me achieve my goal of being an Ironman. Now I just hope my immediate coworkers will jump on board.

In other news, the brick workout today was fantastic and Bart Yasso is now following me on Twitter. Success!

Am I Sick?

2011-02-15T21:34:00.000-06:00

Something has to be wrong with me. Maybe it's a mild case of the flu, a stomach virus, or just allergies making me loopy, but something is definitely wrong. It's the only explanation for the odd feeling I had yesterday afternoon. I actually WANTED to swim and then I actually enjoyed it! What?! I must be sick. For those of you who are new to the blog, I loathe swimming. I do it because it's a silly little requirement to complete a triathlon. Otherwise, I don't think I would ever step in a pool for lap swimming. I never did before I decided to take up this crazy little sport last January and the lack of time spent in the pool post-triathlon should be a pretty good indicator how it ranks on my list of things to do when I'm bored. It ranks right up there with watching Blake Griffin highlights on Sportscenter : i.e. I'm not a fan. Sorry Dad. I'm not really sure what came over me, but I'm going to ride this little wave of fondness towards swimming as long as I can. I did joke with one of my Team-in-Training friends the other day that I have a feeling I'm really going to grow to like swimming when I get deep into Ironman training. It's going to feel like a break....1.5 hours in the pool versus 6 hours on the bike. Swimming might climb up the ladder of things to do in my spare time. Eh, who am I kidding? It's not going to happen.

In other news, the weather here in Oklahoma is simply perfect right now. I'll take a big ol' super size order of this weather every day of the year. There is something really nice about waking up to a cool house, not frigid; being able to start my car without it sounding like the engine is going to fall out; and wearing a light jacket and feeling a little warm. Another fantastic feature of the last few days is the lack of wind. In Oklahoma you treat those days like gold. You try to cram in every bike workout of the week into one afternoon because they don't come around very often. I took advantage of the light winds and low-70s temps and hit the streets for a little run after work today. Daylight savings time is just around the corner and then I'll finally be able to take the bike to work and head out for a ride before the sun sets. I'm really looking forward to spring. I like winter and all of her glory. It's a great excuse to take a break and relax. I have things to do now though. It's time to shake off this cold, put up the sweatshirts, and get to work.

Spring Fever?

2011-02-13T11:15:00.000-06:00

I've noticed the last few weeks that I am really lacking about things to write about and my motivation to post has waned. I'm attributing it to the crazy work weeks and the repeat snowmaggedon disasters the past 2 weeks. I can't say that I've been overly enthused to hop on my computer and slam out a blog post after spending countless hours banging my head against my keyboard at work. However, I can see light at the end of the tunnel. The weather is moderating in a big hurry and I'm getting back to my old self. I'm still kinda antsy about the upcoming training/racing season, but I'm trying to just be patient and let it come to me. I still have several weeks before I get into the meat of my training schedule. The good thing is I have a ski trip the first week of March to distract me and keep my mind in more of a recreational, base-building mode. It will be my last week of normalcy before all my time and focus will be devoted to triathlon training.

Today was supposed to be my "long run" of my half marathon training schedule, but yesterday I got a little coach-happy at Team-in-Training practice and logged 8.42 miles running with the Team. I have made it a habit to wear my Garmin on my coaching days now so I can keep track of my mileage and factor it into my weekly totals. I'm really trying to stay focused and healthy this year so I feel like this needs to be considered in my overall base mileage. It's usually run at a variety of paces, some walking, and I stop to help at water stops as well. It's not necessarily "good mileage" as far as training goes, but it's still running, and I can't discount the mileage in the grand scheme of things. Due to the mileage yesterday, I'm going to take my bike outside for the first time in a very long time. I'm about to change out my trainer tire and get ready to hit the road with the Team-in-Training cycling crew. They are starting their journey to the Lake Tahoe Century Ride in June so I'll probably tag along on quite a few of their rides over the next few months. Safety in numbers!

Next week looks great weather-wise in OKC. I'll definitely be doing all of my runs outside, but I'm still probably going to get stuck on the trainer during the week for the bike workouts. I still don't have quite enough daylight after work to get in a good workout. I guess I'll get really good at changing out my tires the next few weeks. It's about time to put the bike rack back on the car - spring is almost here! With the arrival of spring, I'm also going to be purchasing my triathlon bike soon. I've pushed it back a few months because of other unexpected expenses, but I think I'll be ready to purchase it after my return from the ski trip. It will be just in time to be able to take advantage of daylight savings time and warmer weather. Spring fever is definitely setting in!

OKC Memorial and a near-miss for Ironman Louisville accommodations

2011-02-09T19:40:00.000-06:00

Ever since I registered for IM Louisville I've been searching for a property where my family and I could all stay under one roof and be together for the entire trip. We made arrangements like this for Chicago and it was a great experience and the accommodations were so much better than a hotel. I had e-mailed about a property a few weeks ago that was listed on www.vacationhomerentals.com. It was located in downtown Louisville, about 4 blocks from the epicenter of Ironman Louisville events. The "vacation rental by owner" market isn't exactly thriving in Louisville, so I was bummed when I didn't hear back from the owner of the property and really gave up hope of finding accommodations other than a couple of hotel rooms which I have already booked. However, this week I received an e-mail from the owner and we started a dialogue about renting the townhome for my stay in Louisville. The price was just a little more expensive than the 2 hotel rooms I had booked, but we would have access to 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a living area, a full kitchen, a laundry room, and we would have our own private balcony and parking garage. Due to work, I was a little delayed in responding, but since we had another snow day away from work, I made a phone call to the owner of the property and discussed the rental in detail. During the conversation, the owner mentioned she had one lady say she wanted the property, but hadn't yet called back and given her all the information to complete the reservation. I hung up the phone and called my parents to get their thoughts on the more expensive accommodations and we all agreed that either one would be ok, but being together would be a big plus. I called the owner back about 2 hours later and reserved the property for Aug 25th-30th. Less than 2 hours later, the owner called me and said the other lady had called back to confirm the reservation and was hysterical and crying about her renting out the property to someone else. She said she had elderly people in her family who were making the trip and needed somewhere they could stay comfortably and be able to still see the race. Another plus of this property is that it's on the run course of the Ironman event. A big plus for elderly people not to have to stay out in the heat and humidity to watch the race. She said she told the other lady she would call me to see if I would consider canceling and allow them to book in my place. I really contemplated saying no, but the nice side of me said we would cancel and make other arrangements. The owner kept thanking me over and over again and I made a joke that maybe karma would be on my side since I was giving up the property. I hope that the other family enjoys the property and we can still find accommodations that suit our needs. I asked the owner to put me on the wait list for her property and to keep me in mind if she heard of anything else in Louisville during those dates. I'm wondering if sometimes I'm too nice. I definitely get that trait from my parents. I may need that little dose of karma about 13 or 14 hours into the event though. Maybe I'll get to cash it in at that point. If anyone knows of a place in Louisville we could stay, let me know!

In other news, I am officially registered for the OKC Memorial Half Marathon. My company sent out the registration link on Tuesday. I've been running semi-consistently for about a month and a half now so hopefully all goes well with training. I'll probably wait a day or two for the snow to melt off again before I hit the streets. In the meantime I'll stick to the trainer and treadmill. I did manage to get in one last run outdoors last night before the storm hit. It was cold, but so much better than running on the 'mill. It looks we're going to get a nice stretch of 60s next week. Perfection!

Redbud 2011 - Registration Complete

2011-02-07T21:03:00.000-06:00

I officially entered two more races today courtesy of my employer. I am now officially registered for the Redbud 50-mile bike tour and the Redbud 10K run on April 9th and 10th, respectively. Within the next week or two, I expect we'll get another e-mail for our registration in the OKC Memorial Marathon races. The schedule is definitely coming together as we make our way into mid-February. It's nice to have most of the entry fees out of the way and now I can just focus on training and staying healthy.

Yesterday I had the chance to get outside and run 5 miles at Lake Hefner. Most of the snow had melted off the running path, but there were still a few spots where I had to slow down and wade through snow or run off the trail on the soggy grass. It was cloudy and cold which in my opinion is great running weather. I thoroughly enjoyed getting out and putting my feet to the pavement. It looks like I'll be stuck on the treadmill and bike trainer for the rest of the week. According to the local news folks, we have another 6 to 12 inches of snow moving in Tuesday night/Wednesday. It won't be quite a blizzard because the winds are only going to be blowing 20-30 mph, but it's still a huge snow storm for Oklahoma. The grocery stores were pure madness again this weekend and today. It's like people think they are going to be stuck inside for a month. No, it's only 2 days folks. You don't need to buy the whole store. I'm hoping work isn't quite as hectic as it was last week during the blizzard. I'm not sure I can handle another repeat performance.

Off to do some foam rolling, stretching, and then off to bed. Tomorrow I'll be getting in 3 miles at some point - hopefully I can squeeze in a run outside before the roads get too messy.

Getting Back to Semi-Normal

2011-02-05T17:48:00.002-06:00

Work has finally started to settle down a bit after 4 days of madness. Temps are warming up a bit so the snow is melting off. As of last night, the roads were still pretty mean. However, today we are seeing sunshine and low 40s so everything is thawing out and the roads are clearing up. The Mazda 3 doesn't really like the icy mess we had left over from the blizzard so it's very thankful for the warmer weather. Yesterday we actually picked up another 3 inches of snow, but it was that awesome, peaceful snow that you just want to sit and watch. No wind, just quiet bliss. I had a chance to just sit in my car and soak it in after work. It helped relieve some stress and was a great way to start my weekend.

Not only is work getting back to normal, but I've also gotten back to training. I've logged a couple of rides on the trainer and got in a relaxing 4 mile run on the treadmill last night. It's nice to not have a complete bust of a week in the books. I only missed 2 days completely so I think I did pretty good considering the bleak outlook earlier in the week. Tomorrow I'm going to try and get in another run, hopefully outside, but it will depend on how tonight goes weather-wise. I think we're supposed to pick up another 1-3" of snow. If it's just snow and the roads aren't icy I'll definitely layer up and hit the streets. The crazy thing is that we're supposed to get another decent storm on Tues/Wed. It looks like I'll be spending a lot of time inside training next week as well.

Finally, my training schedule is pretty much set. I'll start officially training for the half marathon next week and will still incorporate biking and swimming to keep my base-building routine in full swing. I won't officially start the road to IM Kansas 70.3 and IM Louisville until mid-March, but mentally I'm already there. I consider this to be the preseason with a couple of races on the schedule for March. I'm really getting antsy, but also trying to remind myself that I have a very long road ahead of me. While I'm not putting in a lot of long workouts (pretty much nothing over an hour), I feel like my fitness has come back pretty quickly. I feel like I'm setting myself up for a good year ahead. I'm learning lessons and becoming more in tune with my body each year. I'm starting to realize my limits, picking out my strengths, and making recovery a more focused effort. I hope it helps keep the injury bug away this year. I also read last night that Ironman Louisville has less than 200 spots until general entry is closed. I'm kinda shocked it hasn't sold out yet, but after reading all the comments on Ironman's Facebook site, I can understand. I guess people don't like heat, hills, and non-wetsuit legal races. Who knew?

They were right....

2011-02-02T20:54:00.000-06:00

Well, the weather guys got it right. We just had our second blizzard in the last 13 months here in OKC. Overnight Monday and into Tuesday morning, we got 12.1 inches of snow dumped on us. Throw in a 45-50 mph winds, temperatures in the low teens and single digits, and you have yourself a full-blown blizzard. Last year at Christmas, the weather guys said that was a once-in-a-lifetime storm. We had only had one other blizzard in recorded history back in the early 1900s. Now we've had 2 in a little over a year. It definitely makes winter more interesting to say the least. I actually really like the snow. It's the wind and insanely cold temperatures that aren't so fun. We're supposed to bottom out about -3 tonight. It's not often you see negative temps around here.

Well, due to the weather and a very rough 2 days of work, I've been doing nothing physically active until today. The last 2 days could quite possibly go down as the worst 2 days of work I've had in my 5 years at my current company. The weather wreaks havoc on our natural gas production in the field. Wells freeze off, crews can't get to the wells, and it just really makes for a mess. Our offices were closed the last 2 days, but my group handles the day-to-day task of making sure our gas has a home to flow to so we've been busy. When we don't have the production we thought we would have, it causes more problems. Basically I've been attached to my computer for 12 hours straight the last 2 days. Not quite the snow day we all had in mind. I did finally get a chance to take out some frustration on a driveway full of snow and then hopped on my trainer for an hour this evening. I really needed a workout. I was becoming an angry, sloth-like demon the last two days. The negativity was oozing from my veins. It's amazing what a workout will do for the psyche. Thank you CycleOps!

Tomorrow I'm back to the office, thankfully. It will be nice to have 2 monitors, a mouse, and a 10-key. I forget how much easier it is to work with all of those things until I get home and have to work from my laptop. After that it's back to bowling league tomorrow night, then I'll try to get back on track with my training. I'll officially start training for the OKC Memorial Half Marathon next week. Let the running commence! That makes me smile :-) Run happy friends.

Snowmageddon?

2011-01-30T20:40:00.000-06:00

When it comes to weather, the local weather stations are usually pretty accurate with their forecasts on severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and other spring through fall weather. Winter weather is a whole different story. We don't exactly live in a winter wonderland where we get snow all the time. We tend to get a couple of storms roll through with a few inches of snow or the awful ice storms. We rarely get big-time snow events. One exception was the Christmas Eve blizzard in 2009 that crippled the state and left many stranded on the highways or wherever they could find shelter. For that storm, they thought it was going to be a big storm, but they never really talked it up as a blizzard before it hit. Well, either they are being overly cautious and using the "b" word just in case, or they really think Snowmageddon is going to hit Monday night and Tuesday. According to the weather guys this evening, we could be in for a repeat of the 2009 blizzard. That should make training rather interesting for a few days. Thank goodness for my indoor trainer.

This week was my stepback week of my offseason schedule so my mileage was pretty light overall. I got in a long swim of 2200 meters and one bike workout of 20 miles on Tuesday. The rest of the week I took advantage of the amazing weather and got in some nice running mileage. Friday after work I changed into my running clothes at my office and ran through Nichols Hills in OKC. It was 75 degrees when I got off work and very light winds. It was amazing to be running in shorts and a tech tee and be sweating. I'm feeling healthy and happy and looking forward to stepping into my official training schedule in the next week or two. We are still fine-tuning my schedule, but I should be all in and ready to go soon. I'm officially 13 weeks from OKC Memorial Half Marathon, 19 weeks away from Ironman Kansas 70.3, and 30 weeks away from Ironman Louisville. It's about to get busy.

Remember the Ten - January 27, 2001

2011-01-26T20:29:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow will mark the tenth anniversary of the plane crash that killed 10 members of the Oklahoma State University men's basketball team. I was a freshman at OSU at the time and it was a very somber feeling on campus the days following the crash. I still remember where I was when I heard the news and vividly remember Gallagher-Iba Arena packed to the brims with people at the memorial service only a few days later. For those who don't know me, I live and breathe OSU pride all the time. I am extremely proud to be a Cowboy. Remembering the Ten always makes me thankful for those around me.

After work, I got in a quick 4.5 miles before it got dark. It's been really nice running weather lately. I'm taking advantage of the light winds while I have them. It won't be long before spring blows in with all of her lovely wind. Nothing else really going on at the moment. Tomorrow is bowling night so I'll take a break from training and enjoy some time with friends. It's a nice break and we're actually in first place in the league right now. Go figure.

First Official Running Event Registration

2011-01-25T21:14:00.000-06:00

Today I signed up for my first official running event of 2011. I know this is the year of the triathlon, but I still need my running fix. As previously stated before, my company is very generous when it comes to promoting an active and healthy lifestyle. Today we received our first e-mail pertaining to races sponsored by Chesapeake. Each year we are given the opportunity to enter about 10-12 events where Chesapeake picks up the entry fee. All we have to do is show up and race. It's a GREAT deal!! It's what initially got me started in endurance sports. They paid for my entry fee into the OKC Memorial Half Marathon in 2009 and I haven't looked back. It's odd to say that I've only been running for 2 years and now I'm staring down the barrel of a full Ironman. Yikes, I guess I do like to move fast. Anyway, after I got the e-mail today I signed the dotted line and registered for the Run Lucky 5K. It's a local race on March 13th and all proceeds benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society which is dear to my heart due to my involvement with Team-in-Training. Many of our local TNT members are putting this race together and the influx of Chesapeake employees will go a long way towards helping out the cause.

Also, I just wanted to note that my employer made the "Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For" list again this year. We moved up 2 spots to #32 this year. I feel very blessed to have the ability to work for such a great company in a state and city I love so much. I know a lot of people knock Oklahoma, but it's home. It's really hard to beat home. I loved Austin when I lived there and I love to travel, but it's always good to come home. I do envy all of you in CA who experience perfect weather nearly year-round. However, I'm a weather nerd at heart and there aren't many places more entertaining weather-wise than Oklahoma. We are the heart of tornado alley and a melting pot of all four seasons. It's a second hobby of mine to look at weather models and know what's going on in the weather. I digress. On February 1st, I'll be celebrating my 5-year anniversary at Chesapeake Energy. It's been a great five years back home. I hope the next five continue to challenge me and make me grow as much as I have the past five years, both professionally and personally.

Run happy friends.

Dream Big. Work Hard. Make it Happen.

2011-01-23T00:13:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I posted a status update on my Facebook. " Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen." It's my motto for 2011 and one several of my friends have decided to adopt as well. I really consider myself to be very blessed to have the support group around me that not only believes in me, but has decided to join me in my journey to continue to push myself. My family has fully embraced my endurance sports lifestyle and is actively involved in every phase of my journey to the Ironman. My friends who aren't endurance athletes themselves have allowed me to be obsessive, put up with my schedule, and listen to my non-stop talk of everything running or triathlon. Several of my friends through Team-in-Training have decided to take the leap into the Ironman distance as well. We all started this crazy triathlon journey together almost exactly one year ago from today. We trained together. We learned together. We grew together. Now we are all taking a leap together. Four of us will be tackling the Ironman distance in late summer/early fall. I honestly didn't expect it to happen this way, but we're all going to be in this together. It's going to be such a great asset to have built-in training partners who I've come to respect and admire over the past year. My coworkers have started to take an increasingly active role in my lifestyle as well. They are encouraging, respectful, and inquisitive. They no longer chastise me for missing a happy hour or for skipping the donuts. They have become almost like a second conscience reminding me that I probably shouldn't eat bad or go drink because I probably have to go run or bike after work. At first this was all a challenge because it was such a big change from my norm. Now, it's almost second nature and a way of life. My network around me has come full circle and I couldn't take this leap without all of their support. I don't think everyone truly realizes how much they play a role in the pursuit of my dreams. It's through this blog and through my own words and actions that I hope to convey this message. If I know you, you're a part of this journey too. I hope you'll continue to dream big with me.

I want to leave you with a quote I saw on a blog post by Josh Scobey on the Trakkers website. It's a great reminder for all of us as we get deeper into our 2011 schedule:

"Keep training and keep smiling…remember, triathlon is a choice we make…not a burden."

Midweek Update

2011-01-19T21:20:00.000-06:00

I actually wrote a post last night but somehow deleted it and didn't really feel like typing it all up again. It wasn't anything important obviously.

I really am loving training right now. It's amazing how much more enjoyable it is when you're not hampered by an injury and everything feels good. I got really frustrated with training leading up to Chicago and NYC last year because it just hurt to do anything. Injuries suck the joy out of training so it feels good to be on the other end of the spectrum again. Everything seems to be moving in good order and I feel like I'm being smarter with daily routines. The obvious hope is that I can continue this streak and keep the body in good working order. I know it's not going to be a small task, but it's one of my points of emphasis this year.

Tomorrow we're supposed to get our first taste of measurable snow this year. We've had some flurries and light snow a few times, but tomorrow it looks like we might get a few inches of the white stuff. I wish it was happening a little later in the day so I could get in a run while it was snowing. I ran in the snow last year and absolutely loved it. It was so quiet and surreal. Unfortunately it looks like it's going to be happening while I'm at work so I'll have to hope for another storm in the near future.

Back to watching some Cowboys basketball. Take care everyone!

Open Water Swim Simulation

2011-01-17T20:53:00.000-06:00

I inadvertently found out the perfect way to turn an indoor pool into an open water swim simulation this evening. First, you have to get in a pool with only a few lanes (preferably 4). Second, you have to make sure that only two lanes have ropes and the other two lanes are open access. Third, you put me in one lane and then a rather large man who likes to show off his flip turns in the lane next to me. Lastly, you find 15 or so middle-aged women, give them some water weights and noodles, turn on some jazzercise music, and tell them to hop up and down uncontrollably for 30 minutes in a water aerobics class. It was white cap waves in the pool. I really didn't go into my Monday swim thinking that would be the case, but kudos to my fellow employees for helping me out by creating an open water swim simulation. I know they did it just for me and it was greatly appreciated.

After my open water swim practice, I grabbed a quick bite to eat and drove to my neighborhood gym for a little weight-lifting. I actually got kicked out of the gym tonight because it was closing time. I think that's the first time that's happened to me. I guess I should probably get used to it since my workouts will keep getting longer and longer. The good thing is that right now, Monday's are my longest days of the week and it's in the books. The rest of my days are focused on biking and running and I'm still holding everything to about an hour. The rest of the week looks to be pretty tame which is great. I am going to see Kathy Griffin on Friday night, but other than that it will be a lot of work, training, and hopefully reading up on blogs. Oh yeah, the Australian Open started last night so I will have some awesome tennis to watch in the evenings. I absolutely love tennis so the Grand Slams are like TV viewing heaven for me. I still have yet to go to a Grand Slam tournament in person, but they are all definitely on my bucket list. I hope everyone had a great MLK day and enjoyed the day off if you had it. We had to work, but I know a lot of my friends were off today. Anyway, happy training folks. We're on the downward side of winter. It will be spring before we know it!

Cyclist vs Car - Is it inevitable?

2011-01-16T11:49:00.000-06:00

I may be in the minority here, but I kinda like riding my bike on the trainer. It has allowed me to use my bike so much more than I would have otherwise during this time of year. Sure, it's not the same as being out on the open road, but it's a great substitute. Plus, it allows me more flexibility in my day-to-day schedule. To actually go ride for an hour or two outside, I have to tack on another 30 minutes to an hour at least just to get to somewhere that I feel relatively safe riding. Oklahoma isn't the mecca for bike riding. We have a lot of wide open spaces if you get out of OKC, but even there people don't respect bikers. We just had another cyclist hit yesterday at NW 39th and Council which is only a few miles from my house. I really don't feel safe riding in the inner city. I see people do it, but it's just not worth it in my opinion. The trainer has allowed me to get on my bike and get in those essential base-building workouts that I seem to have neglected over the past year. The trainer also keeps me safe. I'm not going to get hit by an unaware motorist riding in my living room. If I do, then it was obviously my time to go.

A few of my friends commented on a post on Facebook that they almost feel it's inevitable to be hit by a car while riding their bike. It was alarming, but made me think. Is it really inevitable that we'll all have an encounter with a motorist at some point in our cycling life? I tend to disagree, but it is something to think about as we all get ready for the spring and summer riding season. We will all be out on the roads for hours on end as we train for our races of choice. This will definitely be my most bike intensive year, but then again, I've only owned a bike for one year. Last year I spent a lot of time on trail systems in the OKC area that only have cyclist and pedestrian traffic. I never really felt in danger because vehicular traffic wasn't around to make me nervous. This year I won't have that luxury. The 6-7 hour rides will require me to get out on the roads. I'll have to go east of OKC to find the hills and terrain necessary to prepare for Louisville. I'm a bit concerned, but I'll have to trust in my fellow citizens to be alert and share the road. I'll do my best to make sure I'm taking the necessary precautions on my end. I'll be road aware. I'll wear my Road ID in the unfortunate case something does happen. I'll make sure someone knows my route and my expectations for each workout. I'll also do my best to find some riding partners to help create safety in numbers. I won't let the possibility of something bad happening keep me away from goals. Be safe friends.

Busy Week

2011-01-15T14:52:00.000-06:00

Sorry it's been all week since I've posted. Due to the absence from the computer, I've also fallen behind on all of your blogs. It's supposed to be a cloudy, cold day tomorrow so I'll probably spend some time catching up with the blogosphere.

This week's been fairly busy, but a good busy. I've been able to get in all of my workouts and today I'm taking a rest day. Luck would have it that today is the nicest weather of the week, but that's ok. I don't mind running in the cold so tomorrow will make for nice running weather.

So far this week I've logged 44 miles. I swam and did weights on Monday. My swim was actually going really well until a guy jumped in the lane next to me and lapped me several times. He was flying through the water. It made me feel even slower than normal. I hated him the entire time I was in the water. I finally got a chance to talk to him for a sec and it turns out he swam in college so it made me feel a little better.

Tuesday I went to the "Hood to Coast" documentary. I really enjoyed the movie. I invited a couple of friends I've been trying to convince to do a relay with me and I think I have them hooked now. The talk that evening ended with a declaration to enter the 2012 lottery for Hood to Coast relay. We'll see if we can scrape together a few more folks. I think it would be an incredible experience.

The rest of the week has been pretty routine. Biking, weights, and running. I also had the Thursday night bowling league and squeezed in a run between work and bowling. All in all, everything is going really well at the moment. I went and saw my coach on Wednesday. We looked at some tri bikes together and he told me to let him know when I wanted to purchase one and he'd make sure he was available. It's probably going to happen at some point in February. I'm excited to get a new bike and start hammering out some miles on it. Each passing week restores confidence in my fitness level and I feel like I'm catching back up to where I left off in November. It's nice to be back to training. I've definitely missed it.

Week One Is In the Books

2011-01-09T20:11:00.000-06:00

Week one of my return to training is in the books. While I haven't "officially" began my Ironman Louisville training, this was my unofficial start. The reasoning is because now I'm ready. I'm ready to start the long trek to Louisville and no better way to get my mind in the right place than to hit the ground running. The plan I'm following right now is a basic offseason plan uploaded to my TrainingPeaks account by my coach. It's very bike heavy and workouts generally last about an hour. I have yet to actually get my bike out of my apartment, but my time on the indoor trainer has been frequent. I'm only swimming one day a week currently because I'm trying to ease myself back into the triathlon routine and we're all aware that swimming is my least favorite of the disciplines. My total mileage for the week was 63 miles on the bike/run/swim. It's the most mileage I've put into one week since mid-August. I know it's not much compared to some of you avid cyclists, but I'm happy with the return to training. The coming week I'll resume a similar schedule and hope that work/life stays tame so the consistency can continue.

Tonight I also had a chance to speak with my coach about the upcoming year. We discussed my race schedule, the training methodology we're going to use, and caught up a bit. It felt good to discuss the year ahead and plan out more of my year. I told him I had a freakout earlier in the week and he said that's normal. He said I may have another one when he uploads my actual training plan, but I think I'll be ok. I've been there and have moved on. It's time to tackle this head-on. No more more worrying. Dream big. Work hard. Make it happen.

Before I leave you this week, I heard a song today while I was on my trainer that really struck home. It took me to a place where I was envisioning what it's going to be like running down the finishing chute of Ironman Louisville. The lights, the crowds, the emotions. This goes out to all of you training for something big in 2011. Remember this moment.

I said remember this moment
In the back of my mind
The time we stood with our shaking hands
The crowds in stands went wild
We were the kings and the queens
And they read off our names
The night you danced like you knew our lives would never be the same
You held your head like a hero on a history book page
It was the end of a decade
But the start of an age
Long live the walls we crashed through
How the kingdom lights shined just for me and you
I was screaming long live all the magic we made
And bring on all the pretenders
One day we will be remembered

I said remember this feeling
I pass the pictures around
Of all the years that we stood there on the sidelines
Wishing for right now
We are the kings and the queens
You traded your baseball cap for a crown
When they gave us our trophies
And we held them up for our town
And the cynics were outraged
Screaming this is absurd
Cause for a moment a band of thieves in ripped up jeans got to rule the world

Looking back

2011-01-08T20:57:00.000-06:00

Today was my turn to help out with our Team-in-Training marathon teams. I'm still only assistant coaching so my role is pretty minimal, but I enjoy being a part of the process. It's great to see people running and becoming hooked. It's the least I can do to give back to a sport that's changed my life. Today I set up a water stop about 3.5 miles into our run course so I had a few moments to reflect until the runners made it to my section. It was a cold, crisp morning and there was only a slight breeze. The sun was just coming up and there wasn't a lot of traffic out on the streets. It was a quiet and reflective type of morning. As I waited, my mind began to think back to 2 years ago. It was January 2009 and I was in a rut. I didn't have a lot of motivation, I had gained some weight, and I really wasn't doing anything for my health. I was a regular member at the local Y, but all I did was lift some weights and waste some time in the evenings. I was pretty much stuck in neutral and I really could have fallen in either direction : reverse or drive. Luckily for me, my company encourages a physically active lifestyle and one month later I was signing up for my first half marathon courtesy of my employer. I easily could have fallen deeper into a rut and woke up 3 years later at age 30 wondering how I'd ended up getting so off course. Instead, here I am, 2 years later with a new me. I'm motivated, active, and happy. I've fallen in love with endurance sports. I've met people who not only make me smile, but also make me a better man. I'm constantly reminded of how lucky I am to be healthy and able to chase my dreams. I'm humbled by the opportunity to be a positive influence on my family and friends. I've been told by a countless number of people who say I've inspired them over the past 2 years. People who have known me for most of my life are constantly telling me they are proud of me and want to know how they can get started. I really can't imagine my life without endurance sports. Helping out with the Team is my way of saying thank you. Thank you for making me into a better person. Thank you for making me feel alive again. Thank you for the opportunity to make a difference. Thank you for a lifetime of memories. Thank you for the challenges. Thank you for the tears. Thank you for the confidence. Thank you for the determination. Thank you for helping me dream big. Lastly, thank you for what lies ahead. I know it's going to be a great ride.

First Brick Workout of 2011

2011-01-07T20:41:00.000-06:00

Quick question : Does bowling count as cross-training? My annual tradition of playing in a winter bowling league commenced last night. It's a work bowling league so it's fun to go hang out with co-workers outside of the office atmosphere. It's also a good excuse to get out of the house during the dead of the winter. This year I wasn't as fired up as usual about it because my schedule is getting pretty busy. I'm glad we're keeping the tradition alive though. This is my 4th year to play in the league and it's mostly the same people every year. I work for a large company (5,000+ employees) so having some familiarity with more than the people in my group is kinda cool. Plus, it's not quite time to go into my Ironman solidarity mode. I should use the extra time for fun with friends while I still have it available.

Tonight after work I did my first brick workout in a very long time. I think the last time I did one was in May 2010 right before I left for the CapTex triathlon in Austin, Texas. I hooked the bike up to the trainer and slugged out an hour on the bike with varying intensity. All of my workouts lately have a zone 5 period that really kicks my butt. The rest of the time I really try to focus on becoming a more efficient peddler and maintain my 90 rpm cadence. I did my hour on the bike while watching the last part of the Spinervals DVD of the IM Louisville course. Every time I watch that video it amazes me how it's constantly rolling hills. I know I was warned, but dang, it's a lot of hills. It's good to see it so I know what to expect. I would hate to go into that thing without seeing the course at all.

After the bike, I jumped off the bike and changed into my running clothes. I had a mini-transition area set up near my bike to mimic what I'll be doing on race day. I actually had to layer up for the run though because it was dark and kinda windy so the transition wasn't quick by any means. Overall the run was pretty decent. I only ran for 15 minutes so it wasn't anything too strenuous. It feels great to be back out running though.

This weekend it's my turn to help out with Team-in-Training marathon practice. It's officially marathon season here in OKC. All of the local running groups start their training for the OKC Memorial marathon this weekend. It's going to be great to see everyone out training. I love this time of year! Nothing much planned otherwise. I'll get in a couple of workouts and try to stay out of the wet and cold. It's supposed to turn bitterly cold here so I guess it's time to bundle up and get ready for the arctic blast. Have a good weekend everyone!

I'd take 50's every day of the year

2011-01-05T21:07:00.000-06:00

I know it's not likely to happen except for those of you who live in California, but I think I'd take 50 degree weather every day of the year. Ok, maybe 60's, but it's hard to complain about anything in the 50 to 70 range.

Today was beautiful running weather here in Oklahoma. I'm slowly starting to get back out on the roads and it feels great. I think I've finally convinced myself that it's not going to hurt, so it's ok to run. The past month and a half I've avoided most running because I didn't want it to hurt. I wanted to be healthy so I took an extended leave of absence. Last week was the first time I'd ran and my knee didn't hurt at all since mid-August. The last part of my training for Chicago and NYC was all patchwork and I ran with pain every time I hit the streets. The marathons were the same. I ran through pain to get them done. I wouldn't trade the experience for the world, but I got really tired of hurting. It feels good to be back to pain free running. My hope is that by taking some time off and easing myself back into it I'll be able to stay relatively injury free this year.

One of the great things about running is that you get to explore. Today I ran from my gym and just did a simple 2.5 miles on an out and back route. My gym is in Midtown Oklahoma City so there's quite a bit of new development. It's an area that was rundown until the city committed to reviving the core of the metro area. A lot of new restaurants and bars have opened up in the area and just today I noticed that the place I had my birthday party and Team-in-Training fundraising party at last March had closed down! Bummer! The good news is that another place is opening in the same location and it's guaranteed to be a success. It's a sports bar type place that now has expanded to several locations all over the OKC metro. It's going to be a great addition to our neighborhood. It was nice to do some exploring and check out the neighborhood on foot. I'm still renting at the moment, but it's an area I'd love to be able to settle into in the future. The moral of the story is that I've missed running for a number of reasons and one of them is the ability to explore an area more intimately. When your driving your car or riding a bike, you don't really get to soak it all in and pay attention to the details. It's good to be back.

Panic followed by a calm focus

2011-01-04T21:18:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had that moment where everything standing in front of you just hit you like a ton of bricks? I had that moment last night.

After writing my blog about swimwear, I started looking at the calendar. I'm a planner by nature. I'm obsessive and some would say a little overbearing when it comes to planning and scheduling. It's worse when it's something big and something I'm really looking forward to doing. Last time I went to Europe I couldn't help but doing something trip-related every day leading up to my departure. I did research on places to go. I actively tracked the exchange rate. I tracked weather as far out as possible. I asked questions on message boards. I even went as far as going to Google Earth and looking at all the places I was going so I could see the lay of the land. It's pretty similar to how I'm approaching the Ironman. I'm obsessive to a fault. I've watched course videos, researched maps, read race reports, surfed every message board topic thread I could find, looked at every training plan I can get my hands on, and even put together a list of things I need to accomplish/acquire the next 8 months. Overboard? Perhaps. The odd thing is that I guess it never has hit me how hard this is going to be until last night. Sure, I've written about how it's going to be a long road. I've written my apologies for future behavior. I've even said numerous times how ready I am for the challenge. Was it all coach speak? Maybe. It just hit me like a ton of bricks last night what I'm actually getting myself into this year. I had the training plans in front of me. I started looking at the schedules and worrying about how I was going to fit it all in. I started trying to think how it was going to be physically possible to pull this off. I worried about injuries. I worried about burnout. I worried about letting people down. I started worrying about the swim and the whole "no wetsuit" thing: no crutch to lean on in the water. I started worrying about the hills (probably from the obsessive course-video watching). I started worrying about the heat. I couldn't fathom putting it all together on race day in a hot, hilly environment for 12+ hours. It just all came rushing into my head. "What am I getting myself into?" "You're nuts!" "Who put you up to this?" "How are you going to do this?" All these questions were swirling in my head. Then, out of nowhere, a calm came over me. I looked myself in the mirror and said : "You will do this!" That's all it took. I was ready. The brief panic attack led me to a place of focus. I now actually do feel ready. Time to get to work.