This is one of 14 updates about my 2014 challenge to complete an Ironman – you can see a list of the others here. I got in to Ironman Arizona! On November 16th I’ll have a second chance to complete my 2014 challenge. I am particularly excited because Ironman Arizona was actually my first choice back when I started looking into races in January of this year. It is such a popular race though that it was full almost as soon as registration opened last November. This changes a lot of things though. Before we look at that though I’d like to take a second to talk about the Lake Tahoe Ironman. Lake Tahoe Ironman Cancelation Immediately after the race I shared some of my thoughts. Having a race canceled 15 minutes before the start is a rough way to start a morning. Especially a morning you’ve been looking forward to
This is one of 14 updates about my 2014 challenge to complete an Ironman – you can see a list of the others here. 4:30AM – Alarm goes off, grab breakfast and mix my fuel drinks 5:00AM – Drive to T1 5:30AM – Go to T1, get marked with my race number, get the bike set up and add a few things to my bike bag 6:00AM – Wetsuit on, final things finished, a light rain starts 6:20AM – Head down to water, walk in to knee deep, get ready to warm up, race starts in 20 minutes. 6:25AM – The announcer comes in over the loudspeaker. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have some unfortunate news about today’s event….” Due to the low air quality caused by smoke from the nearby King fire, the race was canceled. Where we were for the swim was fine, but the run and bike courses had
This is one of 14 updates about my 2014 challenge to complete an Ironman – you can see a list of the others here. I’m sitting in a cabin in Lake Tahoe, days away from my first and what may be my only Ironman. I picked up my race number today. Despite the forest fire raging not too far from here and the smoke filled air, I’m trying to relax and stay focused. As I sit here I’m thinking back to my first day of training and the two miles of running that had me winded. I’m thinking back to the first time I clipped into the bike pedals and how I fell four times on a three mile test ride of my new bike. I’m thinking back to my first trip to the pool and how I timidly got into the slow lane. And day after day I did
This is one of 14 updates about my 2014 challenge to complete an Ironman – you can see a list of the others here. On your mark ready set let’s goIronman pro I know you knowI go psycho when my new bike hitJust can’t sitGotta get aero wit it [Chorus:]Na na na na na na na nanaNa na na na nanaGettin’ aero wit it[Repeat 3x] -Will Smith (sort of) I am one week out from my Ironman. My training is done. This final week is all about resting my body & mentally preparing for the race. There is almost nothing I can do to help improve my performance next weekend. Almost nothing. The one trick I have left up my sleeve is becoming more aerodynamic on the bike. Today we’re going to talk about that. But first, a training update. Training Data Nine months. 3,176 Miles. 357.5 hour of training. Hundreds of hours of
This is one of 14 updates about my 2014 challenge to complete an Ironman – you can see a list of the others here. I am now less than one month from my Ironman. I have been training for eight months and have missed only a few days of training. How do I stay motivated? Today I share a few tricks. But first, a training update: Training Data I just cracked the 3K mile mark. That means that if instead of doing loops and returning home for all of my workouts, I kept going east, I would be in New York, almost to Manhattan. Crazy. If you look closely in August you’ll see two weeks that are low. Half way through a key week in my training, I picked up a cold that kept me in bed until the middle of the next week. Thankfully the second week was a planned
This is one of 14 updates about my 2014 challenge to complete an Ironman – you can see a list of the others here. Today I am going to talk about what I eat during training rides and between them. I am also going to share some insight from my time working with professional athlete & All-Pro NFL Tight End, Tony Gonzalez, who is passionate about nutrition and attributes a lot of his success to it. But first, a training update: Training Data I cracked the 300 hour mark. I’ve also surpassed 2,500 miles. July was a solid month. I’ve now gotten used to 100+ mile bike rides and my long run is up to 19 miles at 7:45 pace. I am injury free so far and lingering pains from past injuries aren’t bothering me much. Recently my weeks have become extremely intense. I now have two long days per week and four quality days,
This is one of 14 updates about my 2014 challenge to complete an Ironman – you can see a list of the others here. Along with being an Ironman hopeful, I am a practitioner of the quantified self movement. One week per quarter for the past seven year’s I’ve tracked everything I did for a week in a spreadsheet. This data has been great to see how my life has evolved over time and is particularly interesting now that my training plan is in full swing. When I started researching what it would take to train for an Ironman, I had a hard time finding real life examples from other athletes. There were some posts by professionals and there were training plans, but it was hard to see what real life would look like. Especially for someone that was also a husband, father and working professional. I hope that this post will
I have not made much progress in the past two months. To date this year I’ve read: The Millionaire Next Door* David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants* The Joy of Less The 4-Hour Workweek* The Art of War* Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People* Warren Buffett’s Management Secrets* The Triathlete’s Training Bible I am currently Reading: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Shepherding a Child’s Heart Les Miserables* *Denotes audiobook I’m having a hard time believing Les Miserables is only 60 hours. I feel like I’ve been listening to it forever and checking the table of contents recently I realized I’m not even a third of the way through it. I’ve grown a bit tired of it and now instead of listening to audio books for all of my workouts, I’m only using them for my
Last weekend I went backpacking in the Emigrant Wilderness where I became acutely aware of how opposed to rest I have been lately. On Thursday at 5PM the lake pictured below changed from a peaceful reflection pool to something reminiscent of a horror movie as swarms of mosquitoes descended. Our entire group hopped into our tents, the only protection from their bites. Without technology to distract me, I lay there counting the mosquitoes on the ceiling. I got up to 100 before I fell asleep, not to awake for four hours. I’m not much of a napper. I’ve probably taken a dozen in my adult life and my mom might defend that I only took slightly more as a child. Nonetheless I crashed for a few hours in the evening without trouble. Why could I sleep so easy? I certainly have an excuse to be tired. Lately I’ve been doing a lot. I
This is one of 14 updates about my 2014 challenge to complete an Ironman – you can see a list of the others here. I have now completed five months of my nine month Ironman training plan. Next week I finish with my base period, hit my max mileage… and then the hard work starts. I am training based on a custom plan that I designed. In this post I’ll share my philosophy and workout plan. But first a training update. Training Data May has been a solid month and last week was one of my best weeks of training yet. In the past seven days I’ve hit new distance records in all three events: 2.5 mile swim, 92 mile bike and 15 mile run. I have also taken steps to work on all of my weak areas that I discovered at my training race – detailed here. I have