Today's ride

34 degrees at game time. 15-20 mph wind. Flat tire. Four and a half hours with a 20 min transition run. Feeling the love!

IM Germany on the schedule!

OK--2010 schedule starting to shape up! Key races on the books so far include:

March: IM Oceanside 70.3
April: IM NOLA 70.3
June: Eagleman 70.3
July: IM European Championship--Frankfurt, GE
November: IM Florida

Additionally, I'd like to add a LC race in May and perhaps one in September (or in Hawaii in October!)

November in the books and on plan!

So November was what it was suppossed to be--a transitional month from the 2009 vibe towards my Long Course focus for 2010. Despite trips to Rome, The Bahamas, New York (3 times), and Boston I was able to put in 74 hours training in November. This included 22,000 yards of swimming, 638 miles of biking and 139 miles of running (as well as a healthy amount of weight training).

My main objective was to get back to IM mode on the run. I had been averaging just 60-80 miles a month but was able to jump right up and record 4 straight 30 mile weeks. November is the first month since August of 2008 where I put in more than 100 miles. I feel considerably fitter already and plan to push the December total up above 150 miles. I should then be well positioned to drive for the 3/27 race in Oceanside. I was also able to get back in the swing of things in the pool with a number of easy continuous swims of increasing distance. Today I did my first traditional pool w/o at 3000 yds that featured 15 100s all in the 1:26-1:29 range. This is way ahead of prior years and I'm optimistic I can hit my 1:12-1:16 target range by Oceanside. During
December I'll gradually get used to 4000-4500 yd w/os 3-4 times per week. My biking has a ways to go still, but given my focus on running and to a lesser extent swimming it's in a reasonable place for right now.

This week is penciled in for 28 hours and will represent a real test of my body's ability to quickly leap back up to IM training levels.

I find out tomorrow if I'm in at IM Germany which is being held on July 4th in Frankfurt....

back to the future!

so i once was an Ironman. Hope to be again in 2010. My training is definitely looking more like what an IM does. A good week this week. 23 hours/219 miles on the bike/34 miles running/6750 in the pool aqnd 3 hours of weights.

The principal goal of 2009 was to take a break so that I could recapture the drive and dedication I need to succeed at IM. At this point I'd say this was a success. I've got the bug again. with 3 straight weeks of over 30 miles running I feel like I've moved past an inflection point. I can feel my fitness progressing again. My weight is falling and I'm looking forward to some big weeks next month. I believe by January that I'll be consistently hitting IM class workout weeks....

I AM PUMPED!!!!

the plot thickens

so.....here is where it's at...

19 hours last week--not quite an IM week but pretty damn good for Nov!

in the pool twice--only other time in the water in Nov. in my career was IMFL in 2004 and 2007

70 miles in the first 15 days running this month--it has been a very long time since I've done that

I'm still pretty fat but heading in the right direction....

Have signed up fro 4 LC races so far (and am working on another IM!):

IMCALI70.3
IMNOLA70.3
EM70.3
IMFL

feeling the love now!

Tuning UP

Starting to turn my attention to 2010. November and December are transitional months with a strong focus on running. I did 35 miles in my first week of November which is definitely a m ove in the right direction. Back into the pool tomorrow and also starting to focus on bringing more discipline into my riding as well. Also will hit wieghts a couple of times a week for the next few months.

As for 2010, I may hook up with some Canadian crazies out in Tuscon again for either a March or April training camp. Race-wise the focus will be all Long Course next year. It's beginning to shape up as:

IMCali70.3 in March (registered)
White Lake in May
Eagleman70.3 in June (registered)
either IMCDA or IMGermany (June/July) with the XC program
IMFL in November (registered)

Plus I'll plan on 8 shorter tris and an assortment of other racing (runs, AV, swims, etc.)

Getting in the IM mindset again.....

Another First (of sorts) :)

Just returned from Concord, NC where I participated in the ITU World Duathlon Championship. In a season of firsts, I achieved another one--this was the first race I ever finished LAST in my AG--whooo-hooo!

I'll post a race report shortly but here are the main reasons:

1. The competition were way more talented duathletes than I (for the most part)
2. I was sicker than a dog (basically felt like I had 50% of my lung capacity)
3. The spring in my barrel adjuster in my rear deraileur crapped out and led to my chain jumping every stroke--this caused me to have to get off and adjust the tension somewhere between 20-30 times and caused me to lose 10-15 minutes on my bike ride. (Not to mention the resultant interval session that it forced). I felt lucky to just be able to get into T2!
4. Given the above my effort was certainly quite a ways below 100%--I didn't see any point in going for it.

That said, if everything had been perfect, I would have finished between 25 and 30th (as oppossed to 35th) as I was way out of my league for sure.

Check back for the race report.

rc