Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas to you and yours and here is to Happy New Year. I always love this time of year. The festiveness of the holiday season carries a magic that is just so infectious.
For me, this season, has been as magical as ever. My training has been kept right on track and has really not prevented enjoying as much cheer as possible. Believe me, the hardest trip to the workout is easier than going to Wal Mart. Maybe that is why you rarely see a triathlete in Wal Mart;). I had a workout set for every day including Christmas. Christmas was a nice incline treadmill workout in the basement. A nice little present after opening presents. By the way, I must have been fairly nice this year as Santa and family brought some great tri gear to keep me going. He even brought me an early present of a true tri bike: Cervelo P2.
The only thing that has been sacrificed is my tradition of placing my glutinous behind on the couch and partaking till uncomfortable. It's actually been great to have the energy that comes with a vigorous workout plan as well as the lack of guilt when sitting down to the family dinners and snacking on those holiday treats.
My real challenge continues to be weather. Currently, we are under a blizzard warning. To combat that I hit the pool at 5AM this morning at the Y just as the snow was at the cusp of our area. It was so great to be out in the peace of the early morn with a light snow and to knock out the pool smack down. So now I reside at home and prepare for some core training ........snow shoveling.

Spin Cycle

You have seen bits of my training on a bike.  For me, the bike is definitely my favorite and with most favorites it tends towards your strongest event.  Fortunately for me, the bike is a major influence on your race.  Being fast on a bike over the distance of an ironman(112 miles) in and around 6 hours which should be your biggest allotment towards the 3 disciplines can pay huge dividends in both a fast time but when doing it correctly can also provide some residual energy to finish well on the marathon.
Currently my training is  two fairly short rides(1.5-2 hours each) in a week.  It is a bit of a function of my location and still some time till the race.  Even though the Midwest winter has been negligible to this point, it still is a challenge to ride in low 40's, windy, intermittent showers, and with only  10 hours of available daylight.  In comparison, summer just has a litany of opportunity for getting a 5-6 hour ride in and still enjoy the day.  Those days are coming I know.  Feel free to come join me on one of those even if on a moped.
To continue to improve my base on the bike I have gone multiple.  I am still getting a ride outside selectively.  I am doing spin classes at the Y.  I am doing a trainer in my garage.  Lastly, I am doing a compu-trainer at a cycle studio. 
I will give you some insight on to each.  Spin classes use a stationary bike in classroom setting with a lead instructor that will walk you through a variety of conditions put to music for about 45 minutes to an hour.  These are high energy and can really give you the beat down if you push yourself.  The challenge can be knowing how hard you are pushing yourself in the class as its mostly perceived exertion.  Its great for the cardio and keeping bicycle muscle memory. 
Riding a trainer involves placing your actual bike on a contraption that allows for you to pedal as you normally do without going anywhere. You adjust resistance on a fly wheel your rear tire runs against. Again, it can give a pretty decent workout, its good to be on the bike you will ride in the race and you can go all night long if you want.  The real challenge is that is sooooo boooooorrrrrriiiiiinnnnngg.  I use mine in front of a TV but still it just is pitifully blah.
The computrainer is a blend of a spin class and riding the trainer.  You use a trainer like you would at home but you are in a class setting.  The real upside is that its a much more realistic feeling ride and it gives great feedback as to how you are performing.  When you are riding your trainer it is hooked up to a computer.  This computer allows you to gain all the metrics of your ride and it actually adjusts your trainers tension so as to feel more like you are on riding an undulating road.  It even has preloaded courses so as to give you the feel of the course through the miles.  Yes, it even has the Louisville Ironman course.  Lastly, your metrics are all on big screen at the front of the room allowing you to be semi competitively against the other riders in the room.  It also allows you to see  your perceived thresholds to the real-time measurements.  There is no hiding or loafing here.  Its been really great to establish my fitness benchmarks or training zones.  Needless to say its a pretty energizing scenario that really seems to payoff in performance. It also spurs that competitive spirit and when your in a room of riders there is no shortage of that.
So I will continue to use these multiple platforms through the coming three months to build my base and with the use of the available technology I will truly be able to see if its happening.  

On the road while on the road

Last week was my first week of Ironman training while traveling for an extended period. For me, due to my work this is not that uncommon of a practice but working out while on the road is not easy. It's like cooking dinner in someone else's kitchen you have never been in. You spend significant time just trying to find the items to cook with and when you do it's still different as they are not the utensils you are used to.
So for me, I traveled to Cincinnati for our annual sales meeting on Thursday and Friday followed by our Christmas party Friday night. After that, my wife and I travelled to Louisville for our daughters swim meet on Saturday and Sunday. My training schedule had a swim Thursday AM, a run on Friday, Saturday was a recovery day, and Sunday was a bike ride.
To keep in line with my Thursday AM swim I pushed it to Wednesday night, 8-9PM since I was leaving at 6AM Thursday. Thursday was all good and it was a very productive and enjoyable day.  Friday I awoke to that sinking feeling. A cold was afoot. Nooooooooo! I sneezed, sniffled, and coughed my way through the day. I hit the treadmill post meeting and pre party in desperate hope of sweating the infestation away. No such luck was to be had. The upside was the training was still on schedule despite my condition. The added bonus was the humorous visual of me running hill intervals on the hotel treadmill circa the last century on its last leg in a semi asthmatic breathing pattern with my fellow workout partners being attendees for the Chinese English teachers association giving me the constant look of expected collapse at any moment. Needless to say the evenings party was not one I felt very up for but it was still nice to share a little holiday joy yet it ended rather early an off to bed for me.
Saturday as a recovery day and was perfect timing as I pushed the fluids and meds while soaking in the chlorinated heat of an indoor pool for my daughter's meet. No training was a great relief.
One of the great coincidences of the meet was its location. Being in Louisville it gave me a great chance to get an early look at the set up for the race. I checked out the hotel I will be staying in during the weekend, I checked out the transition area, saw the swim start location, and it was very exciting to see the finish line. It was recently voted as one of the top 5 best finishes of all Ironman races. The Louisville finish is on what the call 4th street live. It's one of Louisville's hot spots and is very impressive as they have basically roofed over a few downtown city street blocks full of restaurants, bars, and shops. Most describe it like finishing in the midst of a rock concert.
Sunday, I arose with some relief that I felt bit on the mend but a little disappointed as a steady rain was coming down. This was definitely dampening my enthusiasm as I was planning on riding part of the bike course. Again, some good luck quickly hit as the rain suddenly stopped and allowed me to go ahead and give it a go. The unseasonably warm temps of 55 were a bonus too. The ride was rather damp as the roads were still very wet and marred with a lot of standing water. It was still really nice to get some miles in with a double purpose of seeing the course and meeting my days workout plan. Plus it was great scenery riding along the Ohio river for the 22 mile round trip. The grand finale bonus was the smell of fresh cut Christmas trees that were staged at a stand at the end of the ride. Definitely, a new sense to be had while on a bicycle yet good news that my cold was receding enough to allow for a sense of smell.
And now.....Home sweat home.

Loving the smell of chlorine in the morning

With this post I will try and give you a feel for my swim workouts. I find these to be some of the most difficult workouts and that's not just because my normal workout start time is 5:30AM.
First, I will give you some background to my swimming history. It won't take long as I have next to none. I always enjoyed swimming but I have no competitive background. My swims to this point were either back to the pool ladder from a trip off of a diving board or back to the boat after a cooling swim. My exposure to competitive swimming began nearly 7 years ago when our daughter decided to go from swim lessons to a swim team. It was this rather insignificant event then that really puts me in a drastically different place today. Since then our pool activity has been a center to a lot of our life. Rachel has been a real point of pride for her mother and me. Her dedication and work ethic have been remarkable. As being swim parents we have actively participated in all facets of the club. I have become a USA Swimming official and her mother has been a tireless volunteer as a meet chair, team mom, committee chairs, and several other services. We have truly enjoyed the experience and have gained many close friends in this process. Again, its some of these friends and experiences that lead me here today as they are triathletes and several are already Ironmen as well. I will be the first to admit that being an official and watching a lot of meets does not do justice to the true task of competitive swimming.
Prior to my first tri I had been doing some swim workouts. These were an internet based guide based on some arrangement to slowly grow swim time capacity. It did give me progress. I can recall back to my first legitimate times in the water where I found a couple lengths to be taxing unto itself. With time it did get easier but comfortable was a ways off. For reference as to the length of an ironman it is just under 170 lengths of a 25 yard pool. As of now I am targeting about 1 hour and 25 minutes to complete this distance in the Ohio river.
Getting back to my current swim workouts. As part of my plan for training I joined the masters swim club which is part of the swim team that my daughter participates. This is a program for adults older than 18 with varying interests in swimming from just learning to swim up to competing in international events. Our local club has a specific triathlon program as part of the masters group that is conducted by our swim team coaches. This is a great opportunity for me to now build not just swim conditioning for this distance but to also get stroke specific instruction of which is crucial for a do it yourselfer like me. One key to swimming a distance like this is not just endurance with speed but with efficiency. The toll to your body is extensive. Anything you can do more efficiently  in the race will pay great dividends later. The last advantage of this program is all my swim workouts are pre set by a person which does it for a living. As a newbie to these, I find the descriptions to be so full of numbers, phrases, and acronyms that its like complex algorithms. To hear them read is like listening football plays in the huddle. Once you get the lingo it all makes perfect sense. Right now, I am that running back who occasionally goes the wrong way because he does not know the play book yet. The other true appreciation in swimming is for the amount of numbers. You have the number of swim sets, count strokes, count breaths, number of lengths, overall swim length, lap time, rest time, all the while you use this clock on the wall clock which just continuously counts up to 60 called a pace clock. Then you throw in these lovely periods of isolation every twenty five yards just to make you fully lose tract. So, right now I am swimming 2 -3 days a week for an hour to an hour and half depending on those numbers again. I actually go twice at 5:30 AM. This works well for my lack of daylight, gets my training done before I even have to be into work, and most interesting of all is my daughter is there practicing at the same time. How's that for a carpool? I can not tell you how interesting this is. First was her complete embarrassment of her father in the pool in front of all her teammates. Second, is this weird deja vu of being back at practice in a high school.

Either way this is working really well so far and it's very efficient. Allowing me to save for later.

Turkey and Training

Training seems like an endless effort.  It takes time and it can take a toll.  The toll can be directly felt by those that are closest to you, your family.  The time and places for training can be lonesome and far flung from those you love.  These paths rarely cross and are often hard to relate.  My kids are always the first to ask; How far did you go? The response is usually interpreted as just a number to them.  Obviously, some are more impressive than others but the true effort eludes as it would most.  Holiday times are especially difficult as you try to maintain your training while being supportive and active in family events and traditions. 
Our holiday is rather similar year on year.For us its usually a rather calm Wednesday in preparation for the 5 day weekend.  A pleasant surprise was the unprecedented warm temperatures that invaded our area for the first half of the holiday.  There were temps in the low 60's.  It allowed for me to take my bike training outside again for a very pleasant ride on Wednesday.  20 miles over an hour's ride made for a pleasant gateway to the holiday.  I returned from the ride to gather the kids for "packet pickup".  We were going to participate in our family's 2nd annual Thanksgiving AM 5k race.  We really enjoy this opportunity to start the day of Thanksgiving with some physical activity that gives a bit of justification for those inevitable second helpings.  For me it carried an added bonus.  I was able to bridge that gap of training with family time.  So we donned our gear and ran in the 1st annual Fishers Gobbler jog.  For me, it allowed me to gauge my early training progress and set my seasons time standard for a 5k.  The temps were cool to begin with as they were in the low 40's but the sun was bright and the winds were very light.  It made for good running and fortunately my time showed it.  I PR'd (personal record) my 5k with a 23:50.  The whole family enjoyed the challenge and the chance to wish a happy thanksgiving to several friends and acquaintances who were participating as well.  I can not recommend enough to try one of these races even if its just walking the distance as it really enhances your well being  for the day not to mention that most of the entry fees go to charitable organizations such as ours going to a local food bank. The remainder of the day was spent enjoying a wonderful feast and the continued warm temperatures with family.
Friday was a scheduled recovery day(no training) for me but it provided a great opportunity for my son and I to continue our family's black Friday tradition of going hunting.  For us, it was a spectacular quail hunt in southern Illinois with a good friend and his family that share a similar tradition.  It was a truly a memorable time as my son got his first birds.  The day was long and the drive even longer (8 hours) but well worth it and fortunately, again, the training did not compromise tradition and time with family and friends.
Saturday was an early start with a 6AM swim workout.  I can honestly say I laid there thinking "skip it you can swim later today" numerous times before I finally rolled myself from my warm bed and headed for the pool.  Again, the fact that I knew I had told my coach I was coming and the expectation of being held accountable to others creates motivation in place of weakness.  The swim felt really good and it was good to work off some of the Turkey day consumption.   A majority of the day was also spent pool side as I was officiating my daughters swim meet.  Chlorine over load was peasant.
Sunday was a stark contrast to Wednesday as the temps were now in the mid 30's with 15 mph winds.  I was due a bike workout and I had set my mind to doing it outside as a bit of a trial run on some cool weather bike gear I had gotten.  So instead of settling into the recliner with some snacks to catch the Colts game I set the DVR and began to "layer" myself for the ride. Riding in cool weather is a real tug of war.  No doubt,  it is more cold when you ride.  When you couple air temp with the wind from the weather and then you put your self on a bike doing 18-30 it gets downright nippy especially on exposed skin.  Windchill is no joke during a two hour stint on a bike in depressed temperatures.  In addition too, you can not throw on a snowmobile suit and ski mask. You must be able to pedal the contraption below you and in doing so you will build up a fair amount of heat and perspiration with that get up to a point of overload.  Those items need to expelled to maintain compfortability and not have drast swings in core body temperatures.  Therefore, I tend for keeping about three thin layers between me and the elements with these garments using the latest technologies in wicking.  After some concern from the wife as she observed my layers. I explained the theory, my need, and my plan.  I was now ready for departure.  The ride was completed with success.  Well, about as comfortable as is possible for the conditions.  The good news was I had also gained insight to my "kit" for such conditions going forward. 
My weekend was closed out with one last tradition. The disembarking of decorations for the holiday season from the attic.  I guess you could call this workout; stretching.  In closing, I was able to catch the Colts win and get ready for a new week.  Thankfully, the "toll" ended up being negligible.  Traditions were maintained, quality time and memories were made with family, and at the end of the week I was a net zero on the scale and kept my training plan intact.  There is much to be thankful for this season. 

Time.....dark to dark

Getting all of your training done this time of year is difficult. Training for an Ironman this time of year is even more of challenge given the weather conditions and lack of daylight. I can not imagine how my friends who just finished IMFL and IMAZ did it. They were much closer to peak training hours in these conditions. The feeling of not enough hours in a day is ever present but this takes it to a new level. Currently, I am at about 6.5 hours training per week. That is not a huge number and rather inconsequential compared to when I will peak at about 17-20 hours about 3 weeks out from the race. Let's look at this in a little more detail to get a real feel for the predicament. First you must take into consideration of the pre and post times to get a more complete number. For ease of math we will use a half hour on each side of my workout. This time is used for things like a post workout shower, gear prep, getting to the workout site, etc. Therefore, my 6.5 hours actually becomes 12.5 hours based on my 6 days/ week schedule. The good news is that that 6 hours will never increase unlike the the other number that will climb in time. Anyway, that puts me at just over 2 hours of training 6 days a week. Here in Indiana, in the week prior to Thanksgiving we are currently down to less than 10 hours of daylight each day. That is roughly 30 days prior to the least "lit" day. Therefore we have about 100 days that are rather short in terms of day light. For me, my work day is usually on average 9-10 hours. Yes I know, the dreaded going and coming in the dark. Then let's tag 2 hours of training onto this. But how? I am learning you go subterranean and nocturnal. You also learn to focus your weekend time for longer workouts in the light of day. You learn to eat at your desk and do some treadmill rather than catching up,with coworkers over lunch. As for subterranean and nocturnal, I am now swimming at 5:30AM when it's dark, I hit my bike in the basement when it's dark, and I do some treadmill work early and late back in the basement. The cruddy part for me is that these are not short 30 mins workouts. These are 1 hour plus long as we discussed. That much time on trainers and treadmills again tests your mental persistence and are boring. Some more training huh for this event that is a real challenge mentally. The other aspect of this is the weather. It is very inconsistent this time of year. Its marginal on a good day and requires a degree in Eskimo dressing. Therefore, often time regardless of light, nocturnal and subterranean is your only chance because its 28 degrees with a 15 mph wind. Those conditions are often just more brutal than the treadmill in the basement. So, the next time you see that guy running in the dark, a woman loading a swim bag in their car at 5 AM, the guy carrying an impatient look on his face while waiting in line at the gym, ask them, "What ya training for?" You will probably get an initial quizzical look but then beware as one of things triathletes like to do as much as train is talk about training. Got to go.....I am burning daylight

Getting Started

To do anything you must first begin.

For me, my beginning is 284 days, 13 hours, 46 minutes, 9 seconds away from my goal of becoming an Ironman on August 25th 2013.

Perception of time is always relative and circumstantially dependent.  If I gave you this amount of time to get a present for someone it may seem to be more than enough and even enough time for some procrastination.  If I gave you this as the amount of time left to live well then a whole new panic sets in.  To train for a race of this magnitude it takes time.  It takes a substantial amount time ahead of the race and a substantial amount of time each week. The time per week is established by the plan and the plan is based on your training. Your training is based on your goals, circumstances, and condition. 
For me, the time to begin my training was now. As for this amount of time its somewhat substantial, its daunting, and its ever escaping.  Training for a race like this is one that some do in 16 weeks, 32, weeks, 1 year, or even 2 years ahead.  Again its based on the previous 3 criteria. For me, it seems right but I will update you in about 9 months. I chose now because the "timing" was good.  I am just coming off a season of tri's, running, biking, and general fitness shape like I have not been in for decades.  I had taken some time to refresh and rekindle my energy with a bit of "break". Yet, in this "break" I did maintain some baseline of endurance.  I took the break to educate myself as to the plan, process, and program that lies ahead so that I was mentally aware of the challenge.  I spoke to friends, confidants, coach's and my family about what lies ahead to gain their insight, support, and wisdom.
This time is set upon my condition.  My condition is one that is a novice. I have never swam farther than 1.2 miles, ran farther 13 miles, and I have never biked more than 90 miles let alone all of that together and then  nearly double it.  Holy wow.  However, that is why you train.  That is why for me I am starting over 9 months ahead of the race.  Now that nine months does not sound so long does it?
Last night I started: 1 hour on the bike trainer in my basement. This morning: 5:30 swimming for an hour with a coach.  For the next 40 weeks I am going to be spending time from 5-20 hours per week in preparation so that I may achieve my goal, within the circumstances of my life given my current condition.

Gotta go my "break" is over and I need to get home so I may make time to have time. 

Hello

Hello,

Let me get you up to speed………

My name is Mark and I reside in the Middle, or the Heartland, or the fly over, but to me, a place I was born and raised that I love and want to live- Indiana. In similarity to my surroundings, I find that I am quintessentially average or a rather nondescript person, with grounded ideals, conservative beliefs, and go about my life trying to make it a better place and trying to be a person others like and enjoy being around. I find reinforcement in being “non-descript” in that it is not uncommon to have to re-introduce myself to people that I have met on more than one occasion. Just the other night I was at a banquet when another couple approached and sat down at the table with my wife and me. We went through the proverbial stand and greet.  I guess to my surprise or demise again, I greeted them with my name as I could already tell they were not placing my face, of which the husband came back to me with the “nice to meet you”.  Really? It’s not like we have vacationed with them for the many years but we have had significant personal interaction during and after group bike rides at least 7 or 8 times.  Really? Oh well,it’s not like it’s the first time nor will it be the last. I digress.

I have always had many interests and hobbies and they have tended to change with my stages of life. I usually describe them as more numerous than time allows.  By nature I am a competitive person and enjoy sports and being outdoors. Whereas my birth certificate states 42, my mind dismisses it as a just anumber and that I am not quite as ripe as I see in some of my peers.

WhenI hit 40 I felt no obligation to bemoan the milestone and as with most my birthdays I took it as an opportunity to celebrate.  Another number came at a similar time and it was 228.  This was not a number to be proud of as an accomplishment.  The pictures from the get together reinforced the achievement.  I had let 20 years of consumption and complacency erode me to obesity. Needless to say the pictures are not my favorite part to reflect back on what was a great time of friends and fun. I had no on setting health issues or ailments I just found my aesthetics to be rather disturbing.  I don’t believe I am a shallow person but Iam one that does admire beauty in many shapes and forms.  This can be a classic car, impressionism art, a fine crafted shotgun, or the human body.  Form can be fine and form can be appalling

Around this time, I had tried to resolve myself to become more fit. Success was measurable but not drastic. My activity was up but my lifestyle was still not significantly changed. Then, a series of influences on my life created a level of clarity as to life’s priorities and choices.   

A significant reduction in the types of intake and consumption seemed to give way to results rather quickly.  20 pounds came off rather quickly.  With less girth my energy level grew thus so did my physical activity. I greatly increased my running, biking and continued to maintain lower intake.  The pounds continued to fall and over about a years time I was down 40 + pounds.  I was in a much better place metally and phyusically and the next challenge itch began.  On a bit of a whim I entered a sprint triathlon with my daughter.  I consider myself a classic sports athlete that thought runners and swimmers were all just nuts.  Therefore, shunning anything over a 40 yard sprint. I swallowed my stress and insecurities specifically about failure in the “swim”.  I have to say swimming is pure tough.  I not only survived but the bug had hit.

From there, I stepped itup by joining a local tri team and started this year competing regularly as an age grouper in sprint distance events, did an Olympic distance, ran a half marathon and took my biking(my real passion) to another level of intensity and regularity. I am by no means elite and probably at best a well versed mid packer but I love the results and the feeding of my competitive mind.

For me, even prior to my endeavors into triathlons I had always had an affinity for the competition called an Ironman. For those of you not familiar with such a race, they are considered to be one of if not the most grueling one-day endurance events a person can do.  It is a 2.4 mile open-water swim, followed by112 mile bike ride, and then you finish with a full marathon of 26.2miles.  All 140.6 miles must be completed in 17hours for you to be called an Ironman. It is supreme test of mind, body, and spirit.

An Ironman was always in the back of my mind but I was never very serious about it till recently. After a lot of back and forth I felt the only way to truly commit was to sign up. I am now a few dollars lighter and ready to begin the journey. I feel blessed to be at a point physically, mentally, personally, and professionally that I can commit to make this happen. I am ready to make the investment. I look forward to this path and process and gaining the knowledge and insight that this takes.  It is here where I plan to capture my journey.  Ironman Kentucky August 2013 here I come.

 Sincerely,

Mark in the Middle.