12.17.2007

Holiday Greetings and leg update

Happy Holidays!!! The holiday season is upon us and I'm way behind on my gift shopping which is not my style, usually I'm on top of the gift buying but this year it hasn't happened. The tree is up, wreaths hung and garland strung about the house however.

Training has been going as well as can be expected given the continuing saga of my tendinitis. The good news is that it's getting better. I'm getting physical therapy treatments at least once a week which involves deep tissue massage and ultrasound and am doing many stretches and strength exercises daily. At this point the pain and stiffness is mostly after my run workouts so I've cut back the distance, intensity and am not running two days in a row for now (still logging about 20 miles a week). It's on the mend as the pain and discomfort isn't as great and subsides quicker after my workouts so all in all things are improving.

On the swim front things are going very well as I'm still in the pool twice a week (6000 - 7000 yds)focusing on drills. This past week however I did 8 X 100 yds averaging around 1:28 which is a vast improvement from where I was two months ago (at about 1:37 for 100 yds).

Next week will be a bike focus week so I'm expecting longer miles on the bike next week during the week off from work. I'll be stocking up on tubes as I had two flats on my ride yesterday which was a bummer.

I'm also got confirmed for the training camp in Tucson in early March which should be a good push into the big mileage and intensity months leading up to Hawaii 70.3 in May and Ironman CDA in June.

I'll be posting my year in review before the end of the year so you have to look forward to. For now however I hope you have a very happy and safe holiday season.

12.02.2007

Sore Leg

After the good run last Sunday this week was tough. My tendonitis continued to bother me and a sore shin got much worse. I recovered pretty well from the 1/2 marathon but during my recovery run on Monday my tendonitis got really bad. I decided to cut back on the swimming and running the rest of the week to rest the tendonitis.

I swam Friday and and the leg felt pretty good during and after the swim. Saturday was supposed to be a long run (1 hour and 50 minutes) but in discussions with my coach we cut it back. I ended up running 1:10 during which my sore shin got much worse. I actually think I tore or strained the shin muscle but it got to the point where I was limping pretty severely at the end of my run and could hardly walk afterwards. The run was fun as it was in a snowstorm, yep it's cold and snowy in Seattle. I got acupuncture later in the day which reduced the swelling but the shin was still really sore, I'm now on a regiment of rest and ice for a few days in hopes of it healing. This will also hopefully give my tendonitis a chance to heal as well.

Funny enough it was this weekend last year that I crashed on my bike and broke my hand so it's a bit of deja vu. Better to rest now and get to the race though. It's always tougher mentally than physically to not workout but I'm sure it will be the best in the long run as I actually need to be healthy enough to train to actually get to the race.

My previous post about the Ironman World Championships I noted the great performances of a few of the pro's who despite not having good days still finished the race no matter how long it took in the spirit of the Ironman. The NBC coverage of the race was on yesterday and they highlighted these performances was great to see.

Here's to rest and icing this week. Hopefully I'm on the mend.

11.25.2007

Seattle Half Marathon - Good Day

Today was a long hard training run at the Seattle Half Marathon. It ended up being a good day.

This race is notorious for it's bad weather but today was clear, windless and cold which was a blessing. The plan with my coach was to focus today on effort and running negative splits.

I got to the race 40 minutes before the start and got stretched and headed out for a little 20 minute warm up run. I ran into a guy I used to run with in high school during my warm up which was fun he was hoping to run low 1:20's so that would be the last I'd see of him for the day as he would be ahead of me all day. I got to the start about 5 minutes before the gun and worked my way towards the front.

I got started out at a pace which felt very comfortable but I knew it would be a little faster than I'd like as it always is. I hit the first mile in 6:25 and backed off to the mid 6:40's. I focused on really holding back a bit through the next couple of miles and continued to roll along with mile splits in the 6:40's.

At mile 7 I started to increase the effort level a bit and started moving up on some of the other runners just ahead of me. This is also where we hit the tough hills on the course. After a 7:10 mile in mile 8 which included a steep long hill, I got into a pace pushing sub 6:40's which included a 6:27 in mile 12. I finished strong with a good sprint in the final 300 meters to finish in 1:28:00.

I was happy with the performance as I ran negative splits as planned which is tough on this course with some serious hills in the second half of the race. First half split was 44:09 and the second half split was 43:50 with an average of 6:43 per mile. Best of all my tendinitis didn't bother me too much and I felt like I could have kept going at this pace. All in all a good day.

Overall things are progressing nicely with training. It looks like I'll be headed to Tucson in March for a 5 day training camp with Peter Reid and Peter Cross. This will be a bike focused camp so I'm expecting some serious ride mileage over those couple of days and a planned long ride weekend in April in Coeur d'Alene.

11.18.2007

November Update

It's been a busy month and a half since beginning to work with Shawn Skene. The focus has been on swimming and running. My running is going pretty well and I'm feeling good while running despite a little resurgence in my hip and back pain which I'm managing day to day. We'll get a test of where I really am this next weekend as I'm planning on running in the Seattle 1/2 Marathon next Sunday. The more troublesome thing lately is tendonitis in my hamstring tendon. I've got the go ahead to train through it from my PT but it's still painful particularly when I swim.

My swim is really improving with the drills and workouts that Shawn has me doing. I feel much more comfortable in the pool water and I might just turn that swim leg from a "lets just get through this" to "let's set the tone for the rest of this race". A few weeks ago I would have been ecstatic with doing 100 yard intervals comfortably in around 1:40. This week I was comfortably completing my 100 yard intervals in 1:28 - 1:30 which is very encouraging given that we still have 7 1/2 months until Coeur d'Alene.

Looking at heading south this spring for a camp with Peter Reid in Tuscon which will kick off the serious bike training. More to come....

10.30.2007

Kona Ironman: Spirit of the race

I mentioned in my previous post about several pro athlete who didn't have a great day in Kona but continued on and finished the race despite the adversity of the day.

Rutger is a top 5 finisher each of the last 4 years in Kona and this year he had to walk most of the marathon and finished in 898th place.

Here is a great article about Rutger Beke's day in Kona which embodies the spirit of the Ironman.

10.15.2007

Thoughts on Ironman World Championships

Well it was quite a day on Saturday in Kona. No I wasn't there but I was glued to my computer watching the streaming coverage of the race, I was going to go and watch but decided to save my money for my trip to Kona in May for the Ironman 70.3 race and hopefully a trip to Kona next October. Here are my thoughts on the race.


First they are amazing both on the Men's and Women's side. There was something like 140 pro's starting the race, that's quite a few very fast humans and there was endless evidence on the day that they are human. The pro's aren't the only fast ones my time at IM CDA this year (10:45) would have placed me 650th in Kona.


Macca finally got his win which was great. I've been a fan of his for a few years now and it was great that he finally won. I wish that some of the pre race favorites had been able to start or not be knocked out due to illness, but even with Faris Al-Satan and Normann Stadler out of the race with illness I don't know that they could have beaten Chris on Saturday. His bike wasn't amazing but I think it was a carefully measured effort knowing that the big pre race threats were out. What can you say about a 2:42 marathon after the swim and the bike in all of that heat and humidity. Simply amazing. I loved the fact that he looked back with 100 meters to go as if to say "seriously no ones going to pass me, I'm really going to win."


Chrissie Wellington was simply awe inspiring. Only her second Ironman (the first was just 8 weeks before in Korea where the temps were stifling hot and humid). She literally looked like she was out for a training run during the marathon. Taking the lead on the bike and never looking back on the run. Posting a sub 3:00 marathon. I think it was a bit of nothing fear but fear itself and she didn't know what fear is. I loved the high fives with some of the age groupers at about mile 20..... c'mon that just not fair I could barely crack a smile at mile 20.


The pro's are human. Yep.... pros get sick like everyone else (Normann Stadler, Faris Al-Satan, Michellie Jones). Yep.... pros crash like everyone else (Natasha Badman). Finally and thankfully pros blow up like everyone else (highlights.... Desiree Ficker, Rutger Beke). Desiree dropped a 4+ hr marathon to finish in 10:40 after finishing 2nd last year and Rutger suffered home to a 5:35 marathon to finish in 11:13 and I think he was 6th last year.


This last category leads to another topic.....spirit of the race. Despite absolutely self destructing in the marathon the pro's that didn't have a great day truly embodied the race by continuing on to the finish despite imploding. They could have just as easily said I'm out of contention and things are not going well but they continued on to the finish and that is cool. It's a demoralizing and mentally difficult thing to have people passing you that you should handily finish ahead of but they didn't quit. I highlighted the pros but there were probably hundreds of these stories out there on Saturday.


I first saw Scott Rigsby in Coeur d'Alene this year a couple days before the race walking around town and thought that was nice that this guy is out here supporting a friend or family member competing. It was only at the Welcome Banquet that I really felt like a jackass. You see Scott Rigsby is a double amputee. Scott didn't finish the race in Coeur D'Alene but he did finish on Saturday in 16:42. Enough said.

Watching the race got me excited at the potential of getting a chance to race at Kona next year. I have a much better idea of what it takes to get there now. For now I'm going to just keep focus on my training through the fall and winter. Beginning to work with my coach has already been good my swim workouts are already harder than I did all of last year and I'm starting to get some more consistent run mileage in. It's good to have someone watching to keep me honest.

On to Coeur d'Alene and then hopefully on to Kona!!!



9.24.2007

High Pass Challenge

So after a tough half iron race last weekend I was signed up for a nice casual ride with some buddies a week later. Yeah right.

The High Pass Challenge is billed as a challenging and beautiful ride up to Windy ridge through the blast zone adjacent to Mount St. Helens. The description should just be "A cold, windy, hellish survival fest".

I arrived at the Packwood starting line at 6:45am for the 7am start, got my bike prepped and found my buddies. Now this is late September which is normally a beautiful time of year in western Washington. Not this year. It was overcast and cold with the tempeature in the low 40's at the start. Our goal was to get the gold medallion which required that you finish the 114 mile ride by 3pm.

Our group of 7 headed out from the start in a casual paceline for the first 22 miles or so at around a 20mph average. The first climb wasn't long but it was telling as our group imploded within the first minute of the first climb. We regrouped at the first rest area at around 27 miles and fueled up and headed out.

The ride continues to climb from here for several miles and it was evident that this was not going to be a fun group ride with buddies as our group was already spreadout all over the climb and it was quickly becoming every man for himself.

I climbed well not pushing the pace much slowing moving up through the riders ahead of me. The ride rolls steadily over the next 19 miles or so to the next rest stop with a lot more uphill sections that averaged about 5% grade. I waited a few minutes for others in the group and realized I may be there a while so I continued on alone. It still hadn't warmed up.

This is where the fun really starts. The ride is pretty much a steady climb from here to Windy ridge. Now I know why they call it Windy ridge, as you climb out of the trees into the blast zone the wind was howling and swirling and it was cold. This section seems to go on forever. I finally made it to the top of Windy ridge to the rest stop but there was no stopping as there was no shelter, the wind was blowing around 30mph and the temp was in the mid 30's so I refilled my bottle grab some food to go and headed back down.

On the way back down I saw several of my buddies that I had started with still climbing and was glad I hadn't waited for them as they were anywhere between 15 and 30 minutes behind me. The decent back down was a screaming fast descent. Just after the mini stop I caught a group of 7 riders and we got into a tight group decending back to the last major rest stop. This was touch and go at times with 8 riders bombing down hill on tight roads going at an average speed in the mid 40's topping out at 52 mph. It made it interesting as there were spots in the road that were torn up and gravel and dirt. We'd come around a corner at 40 mph and everyone would hit their brakes to slow and negotiate the unpaved road surface. I'm surprised no one went down.

I though things were going to no problem at the last major food stop so I headed back to the finish line over the last 34 miles on the "nice country roads". This was the roughest part of the ride. It was hilly and the roughest chip seal road surface I've ever ridden. I rode with one of the others from my group of 7 that I had started with who I had caught at this last stop. We rode together until I finally bonked with about 8 miles to go. I struggled to the finish about 5 minutes behind him at just after 2pm to take home the gold.

It was a long tough day. I'll be better prepared for the weather next year.

9.17.2007

Grand Columbian Half Ironman Race Report

I survived the Grand Columbian Half Ironman on Saturday.

I arrived at Grand Coulee mid-day on Friday and quickly noticed the smell of smoke from the nearby forest fire. I went for a quick dip in the lake before heading off to drive the bike course. As I drove the second half of the course it felt like I was heading directly into the fire with the dark grey sky and horizon.

As it turned out given the proximity of the fire to the Grand Coulee Dam and prevailing winds the race director make the decision to change the course of both the bike and the run. So instead of finishing the bike by the dam and running on the jeep trail below the dam along the river, T2 was changed back to Banks Lake where T1 was and the run was an out and back on Highway 155. My initial thoughts were great the bike will be easier as we don't have that long 10 mile climb, unfortunately I hadn't really thought much about the run (but it was much more difficult with several hills).

Now I was making the race time decision on whether or not I'd complete due to my strained calf. I decided on Friday night that it felt good enough to at least start the race.

I awoke about 6am (9:30 am start time) and choked down some food and got ready to go. I got the start just before the full Ironman distance competitors started and prepped my bike and then headed down along the lake to watch the swimmers head along the shore. It was pretty surreal as the smoke had drifted back over Banks Lake and the sun was heavily filtered by the smoke.

The start was a deep water start with the men starting 5 minutes before the women. I swam in my sleeveless suit and the water felt great. I had promised myself to go out harder than normal to try and better position myself in the pack. I pretty much did what I had planned and things worked out well as I finished the swim in 34:30 in 66th place which was 2 minutes faster than last year. My swim time was probably also aided (probably more so than my swim speed) by the fact that I pretty much swam a straight line the whole way around the course which made me feel good about my swim.

Transition from the swim to the bike was uneventful and I completed the transition quickly. Now this is a tough bike course. The first tough part comes just about 2 miles or so into the ride where you hit Almira Grade. This is a roughly 2.2 mile climb with approximately a 1000 foot elevation gain. For me this is a grind....grind...grind and the real bike leg starts when I get to the top. I was passed by about 10 riders up the grade all flyweight bike riders.

Once I got to the top I started to get into my rhythm over the next few miles of gentle rollers. Now on the original course there is an out and back before heading to a few more rollers then a nice descent into the town of Almira. With the course change we continued on the out and back road to what I will now affectionately refer to as the "uphill" rollers.
This is pretty much about 10 miles of stair step climbing which I think was harder than the long sustained climb on the original course.
Finally we hit a short downhill where we descended to Hwy 2. This is really where I started to feel good on the bike as I was finally in my element. This section along the hwy flat and smooth and I was flying along at near 30 miles an hour average picking off lots of riders ahead of me in a hurry.

At the end of hwy 2 we turned onto hwy 155 which takes you back along Banks Lake to Grand Coulee. Right about here my computer stopped working so I had no clue how fast I was going or what my cadence was. I think I eased up on the intensity. About 5 miles into this section another rider came up from behind and low and behold it was the lead woman. I took up the challenge and we traded places back and forth all the way back to T2 picking off about 6 more riders. I ended up finishing the ride (57 miles) in 2:47:02 with a 20.5 mph average in with the 26th fastest bike split.

T2 was uneventful and I headed out onto the run course. I was feeling good except for my calf which was now very painful with each stride. As a result I was compensating for the pain and about mile 2 my quad started to cramp from the change in stride to the point I was brought to the ground. At this point I was pretty much thinking my day was over. I spent a few minutes massaging the quad to stop the cramp and spasm and began running again. I kept rolling along and the cramp hit again around mile 4 so I was forced to stop and work out the cramp before continuing on. I kept moving but was frustrated as I felt great except for the pain in my calf which was significantly hampering my stride. As I headed back into Grand Coulee I knew I was going to make it and started to catch a few other runners in my age group and I pushed past them to the finish. I ended up finishing the run in 1:42:00 with the 27th fastest run split on the day which was both a positive and a disappointment. Positive as it was by far my fastest run leg in a half ironman which means I'm starting to get the nutrition and hydration figured out. It was a disappointment as I felt so great, that if I hadn't been bothered by the calf I felt I could have probably run 1:30 or so which would have probably put me under 5 hours overall.

In the end I finished up the race in 5:08:18. I was 26th overall and 7th in my age group. Overall I was very pleased given the very tough course and my sore calf. In comparison that time would have placed me 16th in this race last year which I think is a testament to increasing popularity of this race and the fact that it's attracting some really good athletes from around the country and other countries. Despite being a small race it had competitors from many states and Canada.


9.13.2007

Grand Columbian Half Prep

Just two days out from the Grand Columbia 1/2 Ironman. This wil be my second go at this race. This was my first 1/2 ironman a year ago when I finished in 5:35 with an ok swim, strong bike and a complete meltdown on the run.

I've been feeling pretty good until this week when I strained my calf. I've been off the leg since Tuesday. It's feeling better but I still don't know if I'll be good to go on Saturday. The swim and bike should be fine but the run is in question, it'll be a game time decision, I figure I'll start and see how if feels after the bike.

The weather is looking good with forecasted sunny skies, relatively light winds and highs around 80 degrees. It may be a little surreal as there are several forest fires in the area which has a the sky looking a little hazy. Early reports from Grand Coulee is that while you can smell a little smoke but it isn't affecting anyones breathing.

On a separate note I've signed up a coach to help me reach my goal of qualifying for Kona next year. So I'm looking forward to having Shawn Skene from Alberta, Canada. Shawn has lots of experience and coaches with Peter Reid and he's got an old school training methodology which is basically swim, bike and run long and hard. I think we'll get along just fine.
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I'll be posting my results from this weekend which I'm hoping is a top 10 finish.

8.31.2007

Ironman Coeur d'Alene on the schedule for 2008

After lots of trying to get registered for a 2008 Ironman I've finally secured a spot in an IM for 2008. I'll be making a return trip to Coeur d'Alene next June to take another shot at a Kona slot. Make your reservations now for a trip to Coeur d'Alene to experience all the excitment of an Ironman.

Also tentatively on the calendar is a trip to Kona in May for hte 70.3 race.

One more race this season at the Grand Columbian. I'm feeling pretty beat up with a sore knee, and the leg and back soreness that I struggled with most of this year is back so training has been pretty limited but we'll see how things go. I'm still pretty positive about my potential performance in the race and I know the course and would like to improve on last years performance of 5:35 which should be no problem.

8.07.2007

Troika 1/2 Ironman - Pretty Good Day

I did the Troika 1/2 Ironman this weekend in Spokane, Washington. This was my first time at this race and first race since IMCDA and I haven’t done much training since the IM so I didn’t have particularly high expectations for this race.

The swim is in Medical Lake a few miles west of Spokane. The water was warm in the low 70’s and clean and the air temp was in the low 60’s at the start. I’ve apparently got one speed in the water no matter how far I’m swimming so it was a typical swim for me and I was done in 36:03 in 77th place.


I was pretty disappointed by what I would consider to be a significant amount of course cutting on the swim. At the far turn buoy there was an aerator machine which was inside the turn buoy by about 15-20 yards. As I went around the buoy I looked right and there was a train of people going around the aerator machine instead of the big orange buoy. With this being a modified triangle course we’re talking a 1-2 minute advantage. Pretty disappointing that there was no boat or referee in the area. In the end it probably didn't sigificantly impact my time or overall place in the race.

It took me about 5 miles to get into my rhythm on the bike which is normal but then I started picking people off at a pretty good rate. There are some nice long flat sections in the first half of the race with some very gentle rolling hills which you can power up and over. In the second half of the race there are a few small steeper hills (not my strength), then some short descents before back to some rolling terrain as you come into downtown Spokane.

I've been training and racing with a strained quad for several months and it hadn’t gotten any better or worse with racing and physical therapy but it finally gave at about mile 45 so the last 10 miles or so were not what I was hoping for as I wasn't able to generate any power from the quad and really slowed down. I finished the bike in 2:31:23 with a 22.2 mph average and had moved up to 26th place.

I took my sweet time in transition to the run as I was trying to decide if I could run with the quad or not. I decided to give it a shot and just take it easy. I headed out at a very easy pace and just kept rolling through the run. The temperature really jumped up a bit in the second half of the run for me into the mid 80’s but with no wind it felt warmer (however it could have been much hotter). I gave up one place on the run in the last mile but ran pretty much consistent splits the whole way to finish the run in 1:47:17 which is very pedestrian ½ marathon for me. I don’t think I did any more serious damage to my quad on the run which probably would have been the result had I pushed it.


I finished in 27th place overall in 4:57:56 which was only disappointing because had I been up to my normal self on the run I should have been 15-20 minutes faster but you take what the day gives you.

I've got to figure out if I'm going to be able to complete in the Grand Columbian in mid September or not given my leg but I'm planning on it.


On the Ironman front I'm probably going to do Ironman Coeur d'Alene again next summer via the Charity Fund spot as Canada isn't a possibility, Lake Placid is totally sold out, Wisconsin is too close to Hawaii to allow for adequate recovery and Arizona is too early in the season. More to come as I get signed up.

7.29.2007

No IM in 2008?

So I had planned to do IM Canada in 2008 but found you can only register in person. No big deal, I'll just register for Coeur d'Alene again. Five days after the race and the race is sold out for next year??? Ok next plan is to do IM Kona 70.3 next May and then IM Lake Placid (IMLP). Great plan, right? I managed to get registered for Kona and went to register for IMLP the day registration opened only to find registration has closed (it sold out in minutes!!!!). Next plan to was pay extra money and register via the Community Fund (registration fee and and charity donation for local charity) only to find this appears to already be sold out. Aaarrrgggghhhh!!!! I'm still verifying whether it really is sold out but it looks grim.

Now I'm looking to look at community fund for Canada or possibly IM Wisconsin. I'm not sure what will come for next year. I'm going to need to go all out in Kona in May to try and get slot for Kona even though there are only 20 slots.

More to come........

6.25.2007

"Michael you are an Ironman".......







.....oh those sweet words.









This will be a lengthy race report.

I didn't sleep well the night before the race which is pretty typical for me after big races (marathons and such). I was awake at about 3:30 on race morning having my final solid meal before a very long day.

I arrived at the start area to 20mph winds coming directly in to the beach with 1-2 foot waves and whitecaps.......oh my! I got my race number marked on me and then went to do final prep on my bike. I then found a nice sheltered spot to stay out of the wind as it was still an hour and half till the starting gun. At this point I was beginning to rethink the whole thing.

6:30 and time got get suited up after wiggling myself into my suit I joined the throng of athletes shuffling towards the start line on the beach. As I was in line the shuffling an important announcement came across the PA system. Due to the conditions on the water and concerns by the life safety team they were giving people the options of doing a duathlon instead of the triathlon and skipping the swim although you wouldn't contend for the Kona slots or placement in your age group...... hell no!!!

I was well positioned about three rows back when the cannon went off signaling the start of mass chaos. The only way I can describe the swim is as the most violent sporting event I've ever experienced. Constantly getting kicked, hit, swam over and in the same turn doing all of this to others as well. As I approached the first turn bouy (which by the way is a long way from the beach) I found myself in what can only be described as a major traffic jam. I was 30 yards from the bouy which I had to make a left had turn around and I was treading water, moving forward a yard and treading water it was completely crazy. After the first turn things were a little better but still pretty violent. After the first lap of the swim (1.2 miles) you have to exit the water and run around some markers before heading back out for the second loop. All I could think is do I really have to go back in? I did and it wasn't so bad. I finished the swim in 1:15:24 in 589th place. My goal of completing the race in 9:30 were pretty much gone at this point.

I had a good transition from the swim to the bike in 4:03 and was glad to be on the bike. I had a lot of ground to make up and I didn't waste any time as I got out hot and started making up ground on all those good swimmers who frankly suck on the bike. I figure I passed 300 people in the first 15 miles and was flying up a long 3% grade hill at 25 mph. We came back through downtown Coeur d'Alene (CDA) and headed out towards Hayden lake and the "hills". Now I rode the course in late April but I don't remember the hills being so tough. They were tough. By my count there were 10 hills not necessarily long but there were steep and we got to do them all twice. They were made tougher by the fact that my cleat had come loose from my shoe and despite getting the bike wired earlier in the week I was having rear derailuer shifting problems in the low gears which made climbing even tougher. The good news was that after the last hill it's flat and slightly downhill back to CDA which was my strength although it was into that stiff 20mph headwind. I felt great after the first loop and headed out for the second loop still feeling good. The second loop on the hills were tough and I slowed a bit but finished strong. I ended the bike leg in 127th place in 5:27:35. I felt great making the transition to the run as I had done a great job of taking in fluids, electrolytes and calories during the bike. I had done such a good job I had to make a pit stop which slowed my transition from the bike to the run to 4:45.

Finally I was on to the run and feeling pretty good (well as good as your going to feel after 6:45 of violent swimming and hammering on the bike). I headed out on the course and began to get in my rhythm at this point I was really just hoping to finish around 10 hours and thought I still might have a shot at a Kona slot. The first few miles were great I was averaging 7:20/mile and rolling, things began to slow a little as I headed back towards CDA but I was still on pace for a 3:30 marathon at the halfway point. It was around mile 15 that the wheels began to come off and I began walking through the aid stations at every mile pretty much drinking and eating anything they would hand me gatorade, orange slices, gel, cookies, cola, water. I was a good customer at the all you can consume buffet. I would walk for a minute or two then begin the Ironman shuffle to the next aide station. Somewhere around mile 22 I got a second wind and began running at around 7:20 per mile again and running through the aid stations grabbing a cup of cola or gatorade.

As I passed the mile 25 marker I knew I was going to make it and I just dug down deep and the crowds really helped motivate me to keep going. As I came down the main drag I was pretty much by myself and I would raise my arms to get the crowd fired up it was great. Finally I crossed under the Ford archway with 100 yards to go to the finish line and began high fiving spectators as I ran down the chute and across the line to the announcement "Michael....you are an Ironman". I finished the run in 3:53:26 and finished in 174th place overall in a time of 10:45:13.

I was very happy to be done, satisfied with my time and proud of my accomplishment. Ironman pictues have been posted here.

Thanks to everyone for their support, well wishes and good vibes on race day it definitely helped me keep up my spirits while out on the course and complete the Ironman.




6.17.2007

7 Days......and counting

We're down to the last week and as expected the last week was difficult mentally. I cut back on workouts to one a day and of a shorter duration. I'm feeling great heading into this last week.

My body feels good and I'm getting there mentally. In addition the weather looks like it's going to cooperate. The current forecast is for tempeatures in the low 70's which is a relief after the past two years with tempeatures in the mid to upper 90's.

I got my bike tuned this week and spent part of today taking few of a few minor improvements; ensuring my rear bottle holder was locked down tight as I it had been loose and rattling, I replaced the grip tape on the drop bars and added non skid to the brake bars. The bike is ready.

I spent part of the day beginning to go through my checklist of items I need for race day. Triathlon pretty simple right you swim, bike and run well think again;

  • Bike Shoes
  • Bike Helment
  • Arm Warmers
  • CO2 cartridges (air for tires)
  • CO2 inflator
  • Spare tires
  • Spare tire tubes
  • Valve extenders
  • Tire levers
  • Water Bottles
  • Electrolyte mix and tablets
  • Salt pills
  • Energy Gel
  • Powerbars
  • Wetsuit
  • Swim Cap
  • Goggles
  • Anti fog spray
  • towel
  • Socks
  • Timing chip strap
  • Advil
  • Sunscreen
  • Body Glide
  • Baby powder
  • Running Shoes
  • Sun Glasses
  • Race number belt
  • Hydration belt
  • Hat and Visor
  • Race clothes

.......did I forget anything? I'm sure I'll be double checking my list this week. A couple more short workouts this week to keep the body loose and my muscles firing. I'm hoping I'll have more posts this week from Coeur d'Alene.

6.10.2007

Final Hard Week...Taper to race day begins





I finished off my last week of hard training this week and am feeling good heading into my final two weeks of taper before the race. Tapering is effectively reducing the amount and intensity of training to rest your body before the big day. I posted a picture from the Issaquah Tri last weekend.

This week I spent more time running and swimming than riding. I had some good swims and for the first time this year I had company for my morning swim with a number of other triathletes who were all getting ready for the Lake Stevens 1/2 Ironman in my private pool. It was nice to have company and see others training hard. I ended the week with roughly 45 miles of running and had a good 15 mile run on Saturday (although it was very wet) with a very comfortable 7:00 min/mile average.

I headed out Sunday morning with expectations to ride about 70 miles but got two flat tires in the first 12 miles so I decided that my biking mojo wasn't happening and headed for home (not too mention that I had no more spare tires). Both flats came when riding over broken glass. I'm not sure why people feel compelled to throw their empty bottles out the windows of the cars but judging by the amount of glass on the roadway there are either a lot of inconsiderate people out there or a lot of people drinking and driving. In the end it's really disappointing and a major bummer for cyclists.
I debated heading out for a late afternoon ride but decided to start my taper early.
I'm sure the next two weeks are going to be very tough mentally trying to fight the urge to train. I'm sure there will be some posts which will probably focus more on the mental aspects and look forward to photo's posted from Coeur D'Alene the week after next.






6.03.2007

Decent Performance at the Issaquah Triathlon

I competed in the Issaquah Triathlon this weekend to get my competitive fire going. There were about 850 competitors in the race. The sprint tri's aren't really my thing as they are too short for me to even get warmed up in any of the events.

The race is 1/4 mile swim, 15 mile bike and 3 mile cross country style run. The race was sold out with 850 participants. I opted to start in the elite wave which was the right choice. I ended up finishing 17th overall in 1:07:37 and 3rd in my age group.

The swim was the typical chaos but overall it went really well I started to feel like I was getting in a rhythm in the last 50 yards (alot of good that was). There was a long transition (about 100 yards) from the water to the mat which marks the end of the swim. I had the 23rd fastest swim split on the day which wasn't too bad considering the only other sprint tri I've done I was the Beaver Lake Triathlon last summer for comparison I had the 175th fastest swim and there was half the number of competitors in that race so I've made significant strides in my swimming. It's still my weak event in my mind but I have a lot more confidence in my swimming than I did a year ago.

I had a quick transition from the swim to the bike and got out and rolling. My bike split wasn't as fast as I had hoped but it was still really good. I had the 10th fastest bike split on the day for the 15 mile ride with a time of 37:30 which as best I can tell is about a 24 mph average. This was slower than I had expected but I really didn't begin to fell comfortable until the last 2 miles. I was a bit ticked as the race was supposed to be a non drafting race (means you can't ride in a group which is more efficient and much faster). There was a group of 6 riders that were a minute back at the turnaround and they caught me in the next 3 miles which they wouldn't have had they not been drafting. I put them in their place by going to the front of the group and then putting about 10 seconds on them in the last 3 miles.

My transition from the bike to the run was a little rough. I had thought about taking my feet out of my shoes while they were still attached to the pedals so I could just run barefoot with my bike to the rack. I ended up not doing this because of the single file lane and speed bumps in the last 1/4 mile in the park. I ended up turning my ankle running across the uneven grass with my bike shoes. The rest of the transition went well.

I headed out on the run and quickly got into my running rhythm without a hitch. I passed a few runners early in the run but was tentative in the run as it was a cross country style course and every so often I'd come down funny on my twisted ankle and this hurt. Needless to say I didn't feel like I ran as fast as I could due to being tentative due to the ankle. I had two runners pass me in the final mile but overall it went well. I finished the 3 mile run with the 31st fastest time on the day in 18:44 which was 6:15 per mile. I felt fine at the finish and wasn't exhausted so I don't think I ran as hard as I could have.

I finished up the weekend with a 70 mile ride with lots of climbing and it was hot so that was good news. Three weeks to go till race day. One more week of hard training then I start my taper. I think I'm ready and now I start hoping for a cool day. The forecast for the next two weeks in CDA is mild tempeatures with highs in the 60's and low 70's which is just perfect but what that probably means is that it's going to heat up for race week. Till next week.........



5.28.2007

Another tough weekend of training in the Gorge





It was another great of training and having fun in the Gorge this past Memorial Day weekend. After a long trip down on Friday evening I kicked things off Saturday morning with a 95 mile ride (picture is of the old Highway - one of my favorite stretches of road in the Gorge to ride). My bike riding is great as I had a 20+ average with lots of climbing on the day. After the ride, lunch and a quick nap I headed out for a quick 8 mile run which also felt great.


Saturday evening was a very late one by my recent standards stretching late into the evening at the River City Saloon with some friends (new and old). Sunday morning was a rough one but I got up got breakfast and headed to the Syncline for a trail run up the Coyote Trail. It was a great run since it's not too steep but it was challenging trying to avoid the poison oak.


After the run and a quick bite to eat I headed east to Rowena to get a little windsurfing session in. This was despite my intent not to do anything stupid with only 4 weeks until the race and windsurfing is a good way to do something stupid. I headed out for a session in what I can only describe as wild wind. It was seriously some of the strongest wind I've ever sailed in. At one point I was literally pinned down in the middle of the river just holding my rig as the wind was too strong to waterstart. So after a few minutes it subsided just enough for me to get started and make a run for the beach. The gusts ended up being into the mid 50's. I survived without getting hurt.
Next weekend is the Issaquah Sprint Triathlon so I'm ready looking forward to a fairly mellow week of training. I'll post how it goes.

5.20.2007

Tough week for training but great 1/2 Marathon result

It ended up being a tough week for training. Work was exceedingly busy and this cut into my training time this week which was frustrating but the week ended well.

I managed to get a few swims, rides and runs in this week which culminated with the Capitol City Half Marathon today as planned. I had planned to test the legs today and see just what kind of run shape I'm really in under a controlled pace. Things went much better than I had expected. Going into the race I had expected to be able to run in the low 1:30's around 7:00/mile. I got out quicker than expected and felt great so I just went with it.

I ended up finishing in 1:27:51 with a 6:42/mile average and I still felt really good at the end which is really a positive heading into the Ironman in just 5 weeks!!! I ended up in 20th place overall and really felt great from miles 3 through 10 where I was picking off a large number of runners who went out a little too fast. I ended up giving back a couple spots in the last three miles. Mile 10 is a long uphill and this was my slowest mile at 7:04. I regrouped after this mile and closed out with a couple good miles including a final mile of 6:47.

Given my performance today I feel like I have a very good shot at averaging between 7:10 and 7:20/mile during the marathon in Ironman to be in the 3:10 to 3:15 range.

5.12.2007

HR Weekend.....good for windsurfing not for biking

Headed to Hood River this weekend for a change of scenery for my long ride and training.

Awoke to filtered sunshine, mid 50's and west winds gusting to about 20mph. I headed east on the old Columbia Gorge Highway. Plan was to cross the river at The Dalles and continue east on Highway 14. After crossing the bridge the wind was blowing me 4-5 feet to the left and right and at that point I decided to abandon my trip on highway 14 due to the exposure to the wind and sketchy situation with the number of semi's that frequent the highway. I rerouted and rode a road that heads east from the The Dalles called 8 mile road which winds through this canyon and ends at Highway 197 and is great fun for riding as it's pretty sheltered from the wind, I did the out and back on this road twice which was about 50 miles (it's not actually 8 miles). It's really deceiving as you head east it looks like the road is going downhill but in reality your going uphill which just messes with you mind. The good news is that the return trip is really fast. Heading east I average about 18 mph heading west my average was around 26 mph.

As I headed back through The Dalles towards Hood River I knew it was going to be a white knuckled sufferfest. I was riding into a head/side wind that was blowing 30 mph gusting into the low 40's. Where I would normally be averaging in the low 20's for mph I was only managing 15 or 16. Things got really intersting after climbing up the Rowena butte as I was now riding completely unprotected downhill at 30 mph with swirling 40mph gusts getting tossed around the road a couple of times I got whipped 8-10 feet across the road and it was all I could do to keep the bike upright. This riding sucks physically and more unexpected mentally because your concentrating so hard to keep the bike upright and trying to predict and repsond to the gusts. It was a true white knuckle ride. Ended up riding 126 miles in just 6 1/2 hours.

Closed out the weekend with a nice 50 mile recovery ride (still a lot of wind) and followed that up with a 12 mile run with a 7:15 avg/mile on Sunday before heading back to Seattle.

Overall a good week of training 250 miles on the bike, 38 miles of running and 7 miles of swimming. Just 6 weeks to race weekend and about 4 1/2 weeks till I begin my serious taper. Next weekend the Capital City 1/2 marathon.

5.06.2007

Rest Weekend (well sort of)......and Cold Water

On my run Friday night I ws feeling tired and went back and looked at the last few weeks of training and despite having planned a long ride and run this weekend I decided to take the weekend off (well mostly......) and recharge.

Being so active all the time I feel like I have to continue to be working out and I actually feel sore and stiff if I take a day off but I know that my body needs it.

I decided to hit the lake again this evening and I swam like a madman!!! I think the water tempeature dropped five degrees since earlier this week with all the rain we'd had this week. Needless to say I wanted to get out of the water as my fingers and toes began to get a little numb. Still a good swim and I'm looking forward to a good week of training.

4.30.2007

First Open Water Swim of Season

I had my first dip in the lake of the year this evening. I was a little nervous as I jumped in but the water wasn't bad. I figure it was in the mid 50's and quite comfortable with the wetsuit and skull cap.

All the swimming this winter has paid off. I did the same loop around Beaver Lake that I was doing last summer in the mid 50 minute range in 42 minutes.

Really enjoyed being in the open water again now to try Lake Sammamish at the end of the week. I suspect it will be a bit cooler.

4.29.2007

Coeur D'Alene Training Weekend

I headed over to Coeur D'Alene (CDA) this weekend to ride the course and get a lay of the land.

Saturday I headed out to ride the bike course armed with food, drink and a very small map of the course. It was supposed to be 70 degrees on Saturday but as I headed out it was overcast, cool and breezy.

The bike course is a two loop course so my only challenge was figuring out the first loop then it would be smooth sailing. As I headed out I passed a couple organized group of riders on their way back from the short out and back along the lake. The first part of the course was easy as I headed back through CDA I headed towards Hayden Lake and managed to follow the tight series of turns to stay on track. I missed a turn and ended up going about 2 miles on the wrong road before back tracking to find the missed turn. After another 20 minutes I caught one of the slower groups and got some general directions but it didn't help as I continued to make wrong turns lots of back tracking to get back on course. Finally after a few more miles I caught another group of faster riders who I rode with for about 15 miles despite a very pedestrian pace. I was riding next to a woman and realized it was Paula Newby-Fraser former IM world champion and also in the group was Michael Lovato who is one of the top US IM triathletes who were providing coaching for this organized camp. It was with this group that I found out that they had put tape down on the road to mark the course as I moved ahead of them I managed to stay on course the rest of the day. I was also plagued by a temperamental rear derailleur when in the small chain ring but I ended up riding in the big chain ring the whole day which made things challenging and really worked my quads.

With all of my wrong turns however my version of the course was 118 miles instead of 112 so at this point I decided to just keep riding and make it a long ride day. I ended up riding 132 miles for the day in just over 7 hours. Not all that fast in my mind but based on the way my legs felt Sunday it was a pretty tough workout.

I had planned to ride and run on Sunday but I opted to just do half the marathon course given my tired legs. It turned out to be a good plan and I had an enjoyable sunny albeit cool 1/2 marathon in 1:35.

Overall I'm feeling good about the progression of my training to date just 8 more weeks till race day!!!