Back in the saddle again!!

Love that song from Aerosmith.....I felt good enough to ride 40 miles followed by a 3 mile brick. My legs felt strong but my energy was lacking a bit as I rode with the Core group to Waimanalo and solo'd it back. All in all, I was pretty satisfied with the workout after 4 straight days of hanging on the couch!!

I also tried my new aerobottle - Torhans and it worked pretty well. It spilled some water out when I hit bumps so going to try to add my Profile Design sponge inside the cap to see if that insulates it better. I also tried out a new saddle, but put it too high so it wasn't comfortable. I fixed it when I got home so will try again this week. I have 3 rides planned 50/40/30 miles respectively to cram it all in before I leave Thursday for VEGAS BABY!!! Can't wait to celebrate my 40th in style!!!

My new Parlee TT is due in when I return so looking forward to that Birthday Present!! Pics to come when I get it!!!

Recovery Week - great time to get the flu

Well, I was looking forward to some rest and a little more relaxation this week, but had no idea it would be from the FLU!!! It hit me hard Monday night and I've been on the couch ever since. Just starting to feel good enough to eat a little on Wednesday and hoping to be able to do some training over the weekend!!

I'm just going to try and relax and hope my muscles and stomach recover....

Peak Week

Last week was my first true Peak Week of training: 115 miles cycling, 27 miles running, 5,500 yards swimming....and boy am I tired!!! Looking forward to the recovery week coming up.....The swimming is coming around slowly, the run feels good as always, and the bike is definitely starting to shape up. I rode a very wet and muddy 60 miles on Saturday....My hands and shoulder were really sore after because I was holding on for dear life....it's been awhile since I've pedaled in the rain and in a pace line (line of cyclists wheel to wheel drafting off of each other) no doubt....it was nerve racking but I made it through without incident and was able to stay with the group a little longer this time then last. My legs are starting to come around!!!

True Ironman Training

Thought I would share with you all a little picture that describes my Ironman Training to a "T"

1st Month's Training in the Books

Wow - time flies when you are having fun. With the first month finished, I'm starting to get used to my training schedule and this quasi-work thing that I have going on. I'm enjoying my time and the training. Each aspect (Swim, Bike, Run) is starting to come around even though I have alot of work ahead. The last 2 weeks, I've put together 60+ mile rides spanning from 3 - 3:30 hours. I've taken 2 - 3 hour naps after each ride which tells you how tired I was. I have a long way to go to build up my endurance and fortunately 5 more months to do it in!!

There were also a ton of changes in this month: Listed and Sold my House, had my going away parties with my staff, adjusted from 15 years of working 40+ hour weeks to more of a focus on training, moved and unpacked, and now getting used to living with Ann. It's been a great month all in all and I'm really excited about the future!

Week 3 - And the Wheels came off

Ok, so I'm really pretty excited about swimming again. I've been back on the bike for a couple of weeks now and don't really hate it at this point like I did back in 2009, and my run seems to be in pretty good shape following a lengthy layoff....Just when I was getting comfortable, I pulled a complete rookie move and BLEW UP MY LEGS!!!

I added a Tuesday ride of 35 miles after the morning swim with my friend Emily! Nice, steady pace just to get the distance in. Then, for some reason, on Thursday, I decided to follow my coach up Tantalus 2.5x. Now, if you recall from my 1st week's post, I could barely climb Tantalus once. Now, here I am trying to follow Eric up and down the mountain like I had been riding for awhile. Well, my legs were pretty spent, but it was a Thursday and I had 36 hours to recover before my next ride, so I thought no big deal. Yeah, well come Saturday, my 40 mile ride was quite interesting. I had absolutely no leg strength. I kept looking at my heart rate, my speed, and I couldn't figure out why I was going so SLOW!! I was quickly dropped from the group we rode with and was really tired at 20 miles. I could barely get up climbs that shouldn't take that much effort. I was very frustrated and left that day not wanting to ride again....cursed my old bike up and down all the way back for 20 miles while I was thinking....Why am I doing this again!!

Needless to say, after the week finished, I had increased my mileage by 25% from 75 to 100 miles and added seriously quality with the Tantalus rides.....Big ERROR.....It's okay to either add mileage or increase quality training, but to do both (and so early in the season) is a recipe for FRUSTRATION!!! I have since discussed with my coach and we have a new plan being developed to build up my endurance first, then focus on the speed and quality!! I feel alot better about my new schedule AND my new bike should be here in a week!!!!

House is SOLD!!

I was so fortunate to get a contract on my townhouse in the first week at just under list price AND it was a cash deal that closed today 2/2/11!!! I even made some money on the deal....the universe obviously wanted me to get out of there and move in with Ann....HA! HA!

It is such a relief to be rid of that Big mortgage payment and have the money in my account to live off of after severance!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!

Week 2 - Getting my Water Wings

The second week of training was much more organized as I finally started to get a rhythm going...I felt pretty good on the bike and run (of course). The best decision I ever made was to finally buck up and get a swim coach!! Individualized attention is what I definitely need as I really, really hate to swim. I love being in the water, but it's so damn frustrating flopping around while others just cruise right through the water. On top of it all, the coaches give you all these drills to do, which are really hard and never made much sense or I just couldn't do them. My new swim coach, Chad, was awesome!! He watched me swim for about 5 minutes and gave me a quick understanding of what he saw and why we need to work on it. That 5 minutes connected 3 years of dots in the swim stroke. I liken a swim stroke to a golf swing....there are about 6 different things that have to go right to get a good swing on the ball and the same goes for swimming. You have to relax your arms, yet pull through with your muscles, shift your hips, and timing is critical. I knew that I was doing things wrong, I just didn't know how to fix them....I left with 3 new drills, a few dozen mouthfuls of salty sea water, and a newly revitalized outlook on swimming. Maybe it won't be so damn boring and I won't get pummeled in the race after all....If only I could be this lucky

IM Rookie - 1st Week Bike

I can't believe how different my triathlon bike rides after such a long layoff. It feels so foreign to be riding in aero position again. Everything hurts (butt, shoulders, neck) and 20 miles seems really, really long. In fact, I was commenting to a friend that I think a 20 mile run would be easier at this point!! I also rode Tantalus for the first time this week and it was BRUTAL. Tantalus is a nasty, switch-back, filled GOLIATH of a climb that lasts about 5 miles. It's right outside of downtown and has amazing views of the entire South Side of the island. Unfortunately, I was so focused on breathing that I didn't get much of a chance to enjoy it. Fortunately, there were some fellow triathletes that rode with me and helped me get up this climb. My balance feels off too as I had to descend much slower then usual....I was on the brakes so much that my forearms were locked by the time I finished the ride....On top of this, I almost fell over with the first pedal stroke as I couldn't click into my new pedals on the left side....Total IM ROOKIE!!!

IM Rookie - 1st Week Swim

My first week of training was quite the spectacle. It's the first time I've been on the bike or swam in about 18 months, and WOW it felt that way. My first swim was at Kaimana Beach with a triathlete group, BOCA, that I used to train with. One of the coaches hosts a free swim 2x a week and its a great way to get back into swim shape in a group setting! This may sound funny to those that live in cold weather, but it was freezing that first morning and I did not want to get in the water!! I showed up at 6:45 in a long sleeve shirt and sweat pants...The water was very cold and it took me a good 5 - 6 strokes to gain my breath back! Once I settled in, I swam out to the Wind Sock that denotes the channel. The waves were up that day and I had quite a ride getting out to the channel. At one point, I felt a little sea sick as I kept bobbing up and down with each wave that came in. This feeling turned into a bit of fear as I turned and swam back towards the beach and was swept up by the waves. I was body surfing all the way back and it turned out to be fun (when there wasn't a rock in the way)....We finished the swim with some drills and I was so out of breath that I thought about swimming back in to shore...After I figured out that I wouldn't drown, I man'd up and stayed out there to finish the workout. By the time I got back to shore, I was dizzy and tired.....Welcome Back to Triathlon, ROOKIE!!