Sunday, September 30, 2007

9.28 Weekend Recap and Observations

Another weekend nearly in the bag. I did a 6 mi run on Sat morning over on the trails on the south side of Lake Grapevine. This was my weekly long run, although 6 miles is hardly a “long run.” In due time. This morning I rode 35 miles around the south east side of Lake Grapevine. It was the first ride I have done since my last Oly Tri 2 weeks ago. I felt sloppy, and my HR was pretty high given the wattage I was putting out. I guess riding once a week for the rest of the fall/winter is not going to remedy this problem, but I have to remind myself that riding is not the focus right now.

So I ran 16 miles this week, which will be the starting point for my slow climb up to 30+ miles per week. I’m trying to follow the “10% rule” and build it up gradually with every third week backing it down.

The lifting is going well. I’m already seeing benefits, particularly in my core. The good thing is that I’m stronger this time when compared to the last time I entered a strength training phase.

And now for my weekend observations:

- USC looked sloppy against Wash and will not beat Cal or Oregon on the road playing like that

- If FL beats LSU next weekend, the USC v Cal game on 11.10 could be a #1 v #2 matchup

- 2 year old lips bleed like stuck pigs when they bump them

- All is well in Big D with the Cowboys playing like this

- I still love guacamole

- I look strange running with an ipod, garmin 205 GPS wrist monitor, and helium fuel belt on. Especially for only 6 miles

Have a good week everyone.

Friday, September 28, 2007

IMNA Races Change Entry Process

After reading this, I have come to accept the fact, no matter how frustrating it is, that the only way to ensure yourself a spot in an IM North American race is to show up in person to register the day after.

Boulder, CO - Over the past few years, entry spots to North America Sports full Ironman Races have become highly sought after by the triathlon community. In response to this NA Sports will be instituting the following process for entry to their full Ironman Races going forward.

Athletes entered in the event for the current year will be allowed to register for the next year's event the DAY BEFORE the current event. Entries will be accepted, on-site at the race site, from 9:00 am - 11:00 am, athletes will be required to present photo ID and their athlete wristbands at the time of entry. Athletes will only be able to register themselves.

General entry for all others will be made available, on-site at the race, from 9:00 am - 11:00 am, the morning following the race. Participants may register themselves at that time, they will not be able to register another person at any North America Sports event. ID will be required at the time of entry.

Entry spots remaining for general entry will be available via Active.com beginning at 12:00 noon, local race time. Subaru Ironman Canada has not typically had ANY spots available on-line and it is expected that this may become the case at some of the other NA Sports events as well in the future.

It Burns so Good Today...

I've made it to my rest day after a week of running and strength training. I have to be honest, I am sore today. I did a 3 mile run last night with 5x15 secs of high knees. This is a great drill I did earlier this year and I felt it had some immediate results. It gets you landing on your toes and seems to add a bit of spring to my stride. After the run, I immediately went in for my lift.

The intent was to stagger these workouts, but I slept in, and didn't run during lunch, so they ended up being back to back. My own fault.

Today I'll rest, then I've got a 6 mile run on Sat, a 2 hour bike on Sunday, and another lifting session on Sunday night. I may also try to sneak in a swim since I had planned on swimming this past wed, but got stuck at the office late.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

How Did We Get Here?

I thought I'd put my current state in a bit of context. After all, if you are coming along on my journey, it might help to know how we got here.

As I write, I am one week into the triathlon off season. The 2007 season in my mind was a bit of a transitional season. I would consider my 2005 season to be the best of my short career. I was finishing up grad school, had some extra time on my hands, and no kids. I did several Olympic and Sprint races, and capped my season off with the Redman Full Iron Distance Triathlon in Oklahoma City. Ironically, the 3rd edition of that race is being held today.

I was so eager to get an Ironman under my belt in '05, that I rushed the training and did the race with a solid 6 months of training under my belt, but no real foundation for which that work was built on. The race was a great experience, but I was very glad to be done and back on the couch for a while after I finished.

Four weeks later, my daughter Reagan was born, and my priorities shifted to career and family.

As it happened, 2006 was a lost year from an athletic perspective, so 2007 was a year when I got back into the swing of training and racing.

This year, I did the Houston Half Marathon in Jan, the Lone Star Quarter Ironman in Galveston, TX in April, the MS150 Houston-Austin charity ride in April, and the Old College Tri at the beginning of May. My son Jake was born on May 25th, so I took a few weeks to spend time with him before getting back into the swing of things. I did the Disco Duathlon (the swim was canceled) in July, and my "A" race for the season, Timberman 70.3 in New Hampshire in August. I finished up the season last Sunday, Sept. 16th with the Dave Scott's Texas Man Olympic Distance Triathlon.

None of my races resulted in earth shattering performances. I had some good races and some bad races, and for the most part was happy with my effort, but I finished the season up more motivated to improve than I was proud of my results.

So that brings me to where I am today. I really wound things down after Timberman, hung on to enough fitness to do the Texas Man, and am coming off a week of R&R.

My focus now is on building my leg strength back up, dropping this gut I have developed and slowly adding on some running miles. You learn that I am the world's worst runner in no time, so I'm really going to try to get the mileage up this fall and winter to see if it helps. We'll see.

The plan going forward is to run 4 days a week, lift 3 days a week, cycle once, and swim once for a while. I'm going to keep the runs slow while I build up the miles over the next 4 weeks, then will drop 1 weekly trip to the gym and start using one of my 4 weekly runs to do some speed/tempo work. I have a history of running injuries (shin splints, IT Band, and most recently Plantar Fasciitis) so I'll really have to be careful here.

Yesterday I ran 6 miles down around Town Lake in Austin, TX while there visiting my parents. Town Lake in my mind is the best place in the US to run. Today, I hit the gym for a weight training session focusing on legs and core.

I'm ready to be sore tomorrow, but so be it.

One Small Step for Man

After a few years of reading and enjoying a handful of great blogs on all sorts of topics, I've finally made the leap into the blogging world myself, and have set up this page.

A little about me. I'm a 30 year old husband and father of two. Reagan who is 23 months and Jake who is 4 months. I work for an airline so I travel more than the average joe, and at one time, was a collegiate swimmmer who now still thinks like a competitive athlete, but rarely am I confused for one. Still I tri!

Come with me while I parent, travel, and train for triathlons and other endurance races and adventures.

Dinger