why ask why

people keep asking me, "are you going to continue to do ironman races and other races" and"why do you do this to yourself?". All I can say is I am going to do what makes me happy until my money or my health runs out, yeah days get hard , but at the end of more days than not i look back and say i've had a good day and I lay my head on my pillow and sleep like an untroubled child, and wake up the next day and watch the sunrise and smile.

training's hard, racing is easy

I am fully immersed in an Ironman training block and am feeling it. Saturday was a 5 hour bike ride followed by 45 minute recovery run, and Sunday was 3000 yards in open water followed about 5 hrs later by a 2 hr 10 minute run. My wife asked me yesterday, "do you have to go for a run?", and my reply was "No, i don't have to, but these are the days that separate the people crinkled up on the side of the road and those who finish strong and fast."

Training is the difficult part. Racing is fun. In a race you've got the atmosphere, all the people, and all your fellow competitors to race off of, and all the volunteers keeping you going. In training you could be by yourself on a deserted dirt road, a 40 MPH wind in your face, and your water running low with an hour or more to get home. Those days are what makes the racer not the race. Sure you have to execute on race day, however that performance is forged in many fires over many days past.

One of my neighbors recently told me she had the worst swim of her life, which made her most recent race not all that much fun. After talking with her for a few more minutes she says " although, I haven't been swimming all that much", and I thought, "well, there's the reason for the worst swim of your life feeling." Triathlon, like all other sports requires a sharp edge, a finely tuned "engine", however, inadequate attention to detail or preparation seems to be magnified in triathlon because it is such a unique combination of mental and physical. Yes, rest is good, but so is pushing, and testing yourself when you are out there training. You can't just turn the switch on and off unless you're just a freak of nature or one of these rare gifted athletes...It takes months, years to provide a platform for consistent, good performance, especially in triathlon, and if you don't want to get discouraged or injured, it is good to remember that fact.

easy, i don't think so...

So I'm training for an ironman, putting in alot of miles in training, so what's a sprint tri to me? Let me tell you, it's not easy, sprint racing is it's own unique animal, especially when you are building an engine for distance...As soon as you start to find a rhythm in the water, it's time to get on the bike, as soon as my bike legs were warmed up, it's time to run...I don't even wear a watch for these races because who cares about heart rate or what time it is?!! I just push myself as hard as I can go, there's no strategy, there's no pacing, there's no "I need to keep my heart rate at 75% through the first seven mintues of the bike, and then increase it 2.3%percent over the next 25, or whatever, you get my drift..." For me, right out of the gate it's just go, go , go, go, until they rip the chip off your leg!

Having said all this, I enjoy the danger of a sprint race, where every second is magnified, where if you slow your pace just a fraction, your pursuers will be all over you and then by you quickly...

So I finished in 21st place today, 8th in my age group...Damn this town, you could have the race of your life (which, of note, I haven't had yet), and 10 guys will still beat you...I'm kidding, I love Boulder, the competition can only be good for me, and after all, let me repeat one of the oldest sports cliches known to man, "that the most important thing is to have fun". I'd like to add, "and do well" to that line that seemingly drops out of my mouth without any meaning...However today I believe I did well and had fun, so there you have it, success!

recovery is a strange trip

it's funny, 2-3 days after a big race i feel better when moving again, the biking and the running seem to loosen up the muscles more...it's a noticeable progression, when I first started racing, a half-ironman would take me a week to recover from and now I only like to sit around for about 24 hours before I like to get moving again...

Just started my Ironman training block about halfway through, so this one will last three months culminating in Ironman Wisconsin! About 2800 yards in pool this morning, and some sprints on the bike this afternoon, about an hour...


Oh, and I got a flat tire yesterday on the bike and fixed the flat with CO2 for the first time successfully, took me 10 minutes, but it got done, so that was a little confidence booster...

prep for sprint tomorrow, probably will involve quick jump in the water and quick bike...

no rocks, no cry

No rock hauling today! Brain work today....about 3000 very mellow yards in the pool and have some hill run repeats to do this evening.

ironman kansas 70.3

70.3 miles in the books! It always feels good to get that first race of the year out of the way...mother nature threw everything at us, clouds, wind, rain, heat, humidity, however the entire race was completed.

Had my fastest swim at the 1.2 mile distance, finishing in 30 min 10sec despite having my goggles kicked off my face about half way through the swim, and then a couple of minutes later almost having them slapped off my face by the swimmer next to me! I felt like a crash test dummy for a little while...

Killed my legs on the bike through kansas hill country and wind and rain, however, finished in a good place, 2hrs 21 min later...

Felt good at the start of the run and the heat and humidity kicked in and I faded a little, finishing the run in 1 hr 30 min.

Total time was 4 hrs 26 min, 29th amateur to finish, 50th overall...

very happy with result, and had a great weekend camping, racing, driving alot!

Made the mistake of going to work on monday where we were in the process of ripping up a concrete driveway and then today was hauling rock mulch wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow. My legs don't feel quite right...I definately need a complete day of rest after these races, oh well, I can rest when i'm dead...

Sprint triathlon in Boulder this weekend!

no problems

No problems with the swim goggles last night and I had my fastest time ever at the 1 mile swim/3 mile run distance! Go to www.racingunderground.com to see results...I'm feeling confident going into the half-ironman in Kansas this weekend, and in fact am leaving in a few minutes! Rented a big dome tent for the weekend so we'll see how that works....Jess not excited about drive but to me it's one big adventure.

rocks

discovered new weight training workout at my job as a landscaper. Carry around 75-100 lb pieces of flagstone for 6-8 hours on consecutive days! Remember to lift with your legs and take plenty of aspirin every 6-8 hours!

In full taper mode for half-ironman on sunday, however may compete in stroke and stride event here in boulder tomorrow evening which is a 1 mile swim followed by a three mile run. It will be a good final tune up and to test how long I swim before my goggles completely fog up...

it's been a while

I know it's been a while...guess i sort of just burned out on the blogging every day. However, things are getting a little more interesting now that race season has arrived! Just completed my first "official" open water swim last thursday night in the Boulder stroke and stride series of which I have included a link to on the left side of this page...Still am a tremendously slow swimmer, but there is alot of good competition here in Boulder so I don't hang my head too low! Gotta get back work, but I will try to write more from now on until october and winter hibernation sets in again! Next race is the next stroke and stride in Boulder and then Ironman Kansas 70.3 on June 14th!!