Half way There

Well I'm half way to my goal of 30 in 30. Well sort of, I have run my 15th run but it has taken me 19 days. Since I already got my run done for today, and it's still early I will make up one of the runs today. So it will actually be 16 runs in 19 days.
14/ 5.06/47:42/145/9:25
15/ 5.32/45:31/152/8:33

Back from Vacation

I will write about the trip later for the family and friends and post some pictures Jayne took as well. But on to the more important matter at hand. The 30 in 30 challenge. Tony and I both did great in Cancun as far as consistent running. I ran 8 out of 9 days and Tony I think was 7/7. This included 1 day following a binge of tequila that would have made Jose Quervo proud. All but one run was done on the sidewalks of Cancun. Each of us tried running on the beach, once! Man that is brutal.
All in all at this point I have run 13 times in 17 days. I lost 2 days to travel and 2 to my work schedule. But I am off for the next 11 days and intend on making them all up.
run/dist/time/avg hr/pace
5 /4.23/48:36/155/11:29 this was in the sand
6 /5.05/46:05/152/9:07
7 /5.15/46:15/143/9:07
8 /5 /43:26/157/8:41
9 /4.94/46:15/151/9:21
10/5.3 /46:07/145/8:42
11/5 /43:29/161/8:41
12/4.99/45:32/141/9:07
13/5.04/45:05/154/8:56

what's interesting is that run 10 was with the hangover, run 11 was in the afternoon and it was quite a bit hotter. This was after a morning of deep sea fishing. And no we did not catch a thing, 1st time we have been skunked. As for the hangover I did not feel bad....I was lights out at 8:30 pm and slept until 0800. Maybe the extra rest helped????
B

30 IN 30 UPDATE

Well here are the numbers so far. I did miss monday do to this crappy work schedule of mine. But I will make it up.

run#/dist/time/avg hr

1/30/5.1/46:41/157
2/30/5.13/45:05/155
3/30/5/49:37/????forgot my gaget
4/30/5.1/45:27/158
so far so good, legs feel fine. I actually swam today too....wow It does not take long to loose that. My shoulders got tired pretty fast.
With regaurds to the hr's being so high for such a slow pace....This is what happens when you don't run for 5 days, then run a 1/2 marathon, then don't run again for another week. We ran the Colbert Classic Half on 10/6. I ran a pr 1:41 with avg HR 176 and max of 186 it was a very hard course, big hills. And my legs were sore for about 4 days. But hopefully by the end of the week the HR's will begin to come down again.

We leave for Mexico on Friday. Can't wait to dive Cozumel. I will post some dive pics when I can.

ANOTHER YEAR OLDER

Well as the title points out I had another birthday. And by the way I have not gotten your present yet, but I'm a patient man. It's one of the many facets of my character that I've been working on lately. It seems, much to my chagrin, that you can't get everything you want right when you want it. This has become evident to me as my 1st year as an "Ironman" is coming to a close. After all the hard work I've put in it turns out that I still suck. Not as bad as I used to suck but suck nonetheless. As I have been reading some other blogs I see some of things that I think I have always known. 1st and foremost no matter how hard you think have it someone else has it worse. This has multiple meanings too. No matter how are you are working, your competition is working harder. No matter the size of your obstacle, someone elses is greater. And no matter what your gifts, or lack thereof someone has it better or worse. But bottom line it's never easy and not all paths are the same even if the destination seems to be. So what does all this mean, probably not much to alot of people. For me it means I need to quit my whining and bitching and work harder. This requires patience this is a slow process. I spent most of my younger life as a power/speed type of athlete ie: wrestling,skiing, football etc. I did not even begin this endurance stuff until I was 35. And didn't really start getting serious about it until 2 years ago. And by serious I mean ran 1 marathon and then decided an Ironman would be a good idea. Bla bla I know it is was it is and I am were I am. So from here I enter the next phase, a concerted effort to improve as an endurance athlete. Beginning with consistent training. And by consistent I mean I am going to step up to a challenge posed by an athlete who's stuff I read, Dr.J. His challenge is 30 runs in 30 days. Each run 30-45 min depending on your beginning fitness and goals. For me it's 45 min/run. Gordo then upped the ante by suggesting swimming twice a week as well lifting once a week. Which with respect to time and job and all the other things that are life he states "just do it". I love that. bottom line there is no easy way, just like he always says. I will keep you posted on my progress.

The New Boat

Here are a few more pics of the new boat. There is also a picture of one of the coolest houses over in Post Falls. Enjoy!

Kellen's Band

Check out Kellen's band's myspace page. Click on the link Drawing Two on the right hand side of the blog. You listen to 5 songs I think. Let me or them know what you think.

SUNDAE SUNDAY

This past weekend was the Sundae Sunday, a 10 mile race here in Spokane. Jayne and I both did it. Tony tried to poke his own eye out with a stick on Saturday, so he could not run. I had a good run 1:13:54 which is over 6 minutes fasted than I've ever done this race. And man I was sore on Monday. There are some pretty good hills on this course and on the long downhill I was doing about 6:17/mile. I have to take advantage of my long legs.
Jayne ran with her friend Amy. And they had a good run as well 1:32. probably would have been a little fast if Amy had not trip and fallen down at about the 4 mile mark. Scraped her leg up pretty good.
The remander of this month is going to be dedicated to increasing my run milage. I am going to run the Colbert 1/2 marathon on Oct. 6th. That will probably be my last race for this year. Then it's base building time to get ready for next years Ironman.

END OF SUMMER

Well, as the end of summer approaches and I reflect on the year so far I'm amazed at how fast it's gone. With all the prep for Ironman and then the recovery. It was the middle of July before summer actually started for me. With the old boat gone and new one not here yet lake time has been sparse. I skied more when we went to Moses Lake than I think I have the rest of the summer. The trip to Indiana was busy more than relaxing. It was good to see some of the family and as with family there were a few that I could have done without. It was great to see an old friend from way back in 8th grade. Nice to see that his life is going well and he has a nice family.
It was nice to stay with Mike and Patty. Only 1 real hangover to deal with but it was a good one. Barefooting on the river was fun. But it had been a couple of years since I last footed and my feet hurt for a few days. All in all glad we went, glad Jayne got to see where I came from.
As we head into fall the training is started to pick up again. We are going to watch IM Canada this weekend. We are taking the bikes and wetsuits and plan on trying out parts of the course. I really hope Gordo has a great race, he is a pro that has a blog that I follow, www.coachgordo.com. He and his training partners have become my inspiration. And I hope to get to meet a couple of them in Penticton.
Next month we go get the boat. Tony and Lo are going with us and we are going to make a Montana exploration trip out of it. Hopefully the whole place won't burn down before we get to see it.

More IM pics

Some action pics

pre race pics

All of us the day after the race.

Jayne and I with Victor, the guy that won the race in 8 hr 33 min.

More IM Pics

Jayne and I found this truck parked on the street a couple of days before the race.



Jayne running through the woods near our house

Me on my last ride prior to ironman.

IM CDA

Well we did it!!! here are my stats. Not exactly what I was hoping for but I'm still proud of the accomplishment. I will write up a full race report in the next day or two along with some pics from the race.


SWIM BIKE RUN OVERALL POSITION
1:24:01 6:39:31 5:08:04 13:34:25 1225

RACE LEG DISTANCE PACE POSITION
TOTAL SWIM 2.4 mi. (1:24:01) 2:12/100m 1154


FIRST BIKE SEGMENT: 34 mi 34 mi. (1:52:25) 18.15 mph
SECOND BIKE SEGMENT: 90 mi 56 mi. (3:22:56) 16.56 mph
FINAL BIKE SEGMENT: 112 mi 22 mi. (1:24:10) 15.68 mph
TOTAL BIKE: 112 mi 112 mi. (6:39:31) 16.82 mph 1252


TOTAL RUN 26.2 mi. (5:08:04) 11:45/mile 1225

TRANSITION TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE 15:34
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN 7:15

These are Jayne's Stats for the race. She had a great bike leg.

SWIM BIKE RUN OVERALL POSITION
1:20:26 6:53:00 5:56:20 14:26:09 1529

RACE LEG DISTANCE PACE POSITION
TOTAL SWIM 2.4 mi. (1:20:26) 2:07/100m 922


FIRST BIKE SEGMENT: 34 mi 34 mi. (2:00:20) 16.95 mph
SECOND BIKE SEGMENT: 90 mi 56 mi. (3:29:06) 16.07 mph
FINAL BIKE SEGMENT: 112 mi 22 mi. (1:23:34) 15.80 mph
TOTAL BIKE: 112 mi 112 mi. (6:53:00) 16.27 mph 1288


TOTAL RUN 26.2 mi. (5:56:20) 13:36/mile 1529

TRANSITION TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE 8:20
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN 8:03

Ironman swim

Well yesterday prior to registraion we were able to swim the official swim course. Let me tell you 1.2 miles is a long way. And in white caps it's even tougher. The waves were relenetless. A swim that should have taken about 35 min. took 47. Hopefully race morning will bring calm water. The water temp was 63 degrees which is up a little from Sunday when we swam. And the air temp is going to be in the 80's for the next couple of days so the water may warm up a little more.

New Boat

Here is a picture of the new boat. We don't get until sept. but we are still excited. And we will get to go ski behind her the week after Ironman.

IRONMAN REGISTRATION

This is Jayne and I getting ready to pick up our race packets.....When they put Jayne's id bracelet on her wrist she almost cried. It has been quite the emotional journey.

SOLD MY BOAT

Well today I am a little sad, and excited at the same time. I sold my boat today. I love my boat. She was my 2nd boat but I had a real bond with her, way more than with my 1st boat. I bought her brand new in 1994. I have had some great times in that boat. I taught my kids to ski behind her and to barefoot on her boom. I broke my 1st bone, my elbow, doing a 360 behind her. I have romanced a lady or two in her. It's funny before Jayne and I met she saw my boat sitting at my dock and thought she was beutiful. Little did she know that a few years later she would spend her summers in that boat. Jayne and I actually spent our 1 st together in that boat. It was a drizzily day and we went skiing, Jayne didn't whine at all. How cool is that. But now it's time for a new chapter. And the people that are buying her are great folks a father and son that I know will take care of her. Maybe not as well as I did but they will love her too. And the son is a good wakeboarder and he will be able to go big on her wake, better than I ever did. I will never forget the day we had 4 of us long line barefoot behind her. wish I had a picture of that. But now I get to but a new boat. I think I may already have found it but we shall see if the deal comes together. With 11 days until Ironman and 4 days until Kellen graduates, this just seems a fitting close to this particular chapter of my life.

TAPERING IS FUN

Well 2 weeks from today and we will find out if I'm an Ironman or not. I feel pretty good this week kind of sucked for biking, due to weather. Last sunday Jayne and I did a charity bike ride. Jayne did a 50 mile rIde and I did 100 miles. Jayne only did 50 because she had done 112 miles 2 days prior. Anyway it was about 95 degrees that sunday. On monday it had dropped to 60 and was raining. Tuesday was a little colder and raining again. Then it was back to work on thursday. I was able to get enough running in though as well as swimming. We actually got some open water swimming in as well. But the bike did suffer this week a little. So the plan for this week is to ride the bike more frequently but not as long on each ride maybe 75 miles total for the week. We will see if this works out. I'm also going to get in some more open water swimming this week. Jayne swam in cda lake yesterday and I guess it was very windy and the water was real rough. Our friend Jess was with her and I guess Jess freaked out a little when just as she tried to take a breath a wave hit her in the face. A little disconcerting I'm sure.
So the next 13 days are mostly about rest and recovery. Eating well staying superhydrated and as little stress as can be managed....Next weekend Kellen graduates from high school......wow!!! that could really freak me out if I let it.... But with Ironman a week later i'm kind of preocupied with my own little thing. I will try to make Kellen feel like the focus on his big day. I know it's a big deal. Eventhough right now I have tunnel vision.

BIGGEST WEEK EVER

Well this was a very tough week. I say tough beacuse the volume was huge for me but I actually feel really good. Totals for the week swim 3.3 miles, bike 202 miles, run 30 miles. Thursday was a huge breakthrough day for me a did a 7 1/2 hr brick. For those of you that don't know what a brick is, it's a workout with multiple parts. ie: swim then bike or bike then run. So what I did was a 100 mile bike ride, which by the way is a long way, then ran for an hour. The ride was pretty tough too I had 7200 feet of elevation. The Ironman course only has ~6300 ft. So it was a little tougher than the race course. I still don't have my nutrition dialed in though,but it's getting better. I need about 500 kcals/hr on the bike and at least that much if not more on the run. This ride I had about 900 kcals total for the whole brick. But I really am getting better. Last week When Jayne and I did our mock half IM I only had about 900 for the whole day. The brick was longer from a time standpoint but the mock half had twice the running, and a 1.2 mile swim.
We have 1 more hard week then we begin our taper. I'm taking the taper very seriously, I think my old ass will benefit greatly. The nerves have started as well. when I start thinking about race day the old stomach starts getting all queasy. But all in all I think I'm ready.....ready or not here it comes. My time goals have wained a little 12 hrs would require everthing to go perfectly for me 13 is a safer bet but I'm not ruling out 14. Hell I just want to finish it on my feet.

BEEN BUSY

Well it's been a long time since my last post. That's because I've working my ass off trying to get ready for Ironman. I have been train 12-20 hours a week for the past 3 months. With 6 weeks until d-day I'm getting nervous. The other day I was figuring out my training plan for the last 3 weeks prior to the race. When I was entering the worouts for the last week, race week, I thought i was going to throw up. This has most definitly been a test of my self discipline. It's real easy to come up with 4-5 good reasons to skip a workout. And I do admit to change a few mainly cutting some of the long bricks down, do to weather or feeling very tired. But for the most part I've been doing it all. Last week I road my bike 148 miles, ran 27 miles and swam 3.5 miles. This week is a recovery week. Which I kind of need but I really don't feel that tired. Jayne has been doing great as well, She is a little tired though. I'm real proud of her, and she is very proud of herself. A couple of weeks ago she and Janine road the whole Ironman course, all 112 miles, then ran for 30 min. That made for about an 8 hr 15 min day...
Starting next week we begin our last build before we start to taper for the race. Jayne just took her bike in for it's final check up and change out her rear cassette to give her an extra low end gear for all of the hills, and I take mine in on monday. Having 1 more gear will be nice I have been having a tough time spinning up the hills. I tend to want to hammer them, and even when I stay in the saddle I try to power up the hill. Which will make for a great bike split but a real shitty marathon. Swimming is getting better I still suck but I'm not getting passed by old fat women anymore. Today I was actually the fast one in the pool....but believe me I'm not bragging.....I still have a firm crasp on reality when it come to swimming. I predict Jayne will beat me out of the water by 20 min. I may try to draft off of her for a while but I don't think I will be able maintain her pace. In the pool I can stay with her for maybe 600 but that is side by side not sure how would do drafting....we will see. Hopefully we will test that in the lake pretty soon. Bike is coming along I just need a lot of saddle time aerobic work. my running is going quite well, I think. 2 weeks ago we ran this 12 k race here in Spokane called Bloomsday. It's a very big race this year 41000 finishers. And it draws world class runners for some reason. It is a very tough course with several minor hills and 1 big hill at 5 miles that will hurt you.
Jayne and I each posted pr's Jayne at 1:03:53 and me at 52:57. Tony beat me by 12 seconds, little bastard. And of course we still hate Bob 48 min.
Well I'll try to write more later.

Snake River Half Marathon
pics of Tony and Jayne and the scenery. No pics of me though maybe next time.