5 months till Coeur d'Alene

Well January is flying by and my training is continuing. My leg has been feeling pretty good although there is still some lingering discomfort especially after long or hard runs but it's not hampering my training much. I've decided to stay off the track and focus on tempo's and such as most of the track guys that I was running with this fall are all 5K to 10K distance runners and I don't need to have that kind of speed in the Ironman marathon. It should also reduce the chance of hurting myself or aggravating the tendon. Had a good run on Saturday 90 minutes at right around 7:20/mile and it felt really comfortable.

I've managed to get outside for a few rides between the snow, rain and wind and it's been great but the roads are covered with debris. You don't realize what kind of havoc that causes until you ride in it a bit. I've had several flats all attributed to debris. It's so nice in the spring and summer that the street sweepers are out and keep the bike lanes and shoulders clear of glass and other debris that will puncture a tire. I was starting to get a little worried about the amount of riding in particular long rides with my week long camp coming up in early March and whether or not I'd be up to the high volume and length of the rides. After thinking about it I guess I shouldn't worry about it. If I suffer during the camp that's all part of getting ready for the big race in Coeur d'Alene, the camp isn't the focus after all.

My swimming is really where I'm noticing lots of improvement (not surprising since there wasn't really anywhere to go but up from where I was). My coach added a third swim workout this week very short and sweet, warm up 300, 1000 yd tempo and 200 cool down. Most of my workouts are 3400-4000 yards. He wanted me at around 1:30 pace per 100 yards during the 1000. I finished the 1000 in 14:40 or right at 1:28/100yd and my splits were really consistent. The best part of all is that I felt like I could have easily kept swimming at that pace. Given that I've got 5 months till IMCDA I'm feeling really good about my opportunity to go sub 1 hour in the swim. Time to start thinking about swim race strategy - never thought I'd hear myself say that!!!!!

I've been averaging between 8.5 and 10.5 hours of training a week recently and next week my coach is cutting my training back significantly for a little more rest and recovery. Then I'll start of my 4 week rotations with build ups. The other thing we agreed on was that I'll definitely be training through IM 70.3 Hawaii, no big taper the week leading up to the race while I'm over in Kona. I'll be training every day getting a taste for the heat and humidity.

I'll post again in a couple weeks.

Reflections on 2007

As 2007 has come to an end I thought I'd reflect on last year with some observations, accomplishments and areas for improvement for making 2008 a great year for triathlon.

• I improved a lot this year. This was my second year of competing triathlons and I made huge improvements. I remember laughing at myself in August of 2006 in my first sprint triathlon at my transitions, pathetic swim, suffering ride and slow run. Last year I did my first half finishing in 5:35. This year I finished a half in 4:57, a 38 minutes improvement and finished my first full Ironman in a respectable 10:45.

• The swim in an Ironman is crowded, violent and maybe just a little scary. The Ironman Coeur d'Alene swim was rough this year which just added to how physical the swim was. It may have been the toughest swim in an Ironman in 2007 so it's all flatter water and faster swims from here on out.

• Last year was a big year for training. 104 miles of swimming. 4,400 miles of biking and 1,050 miles of running in 324 workouts. I can't wait to see what next year brings.

• The cause of the pain is not always what it appears. I spent lots of time with my physical therapist this year and the one thing I've learned this year is that just because the pain is in one spot the cause of that pain may be originating somewhere else.

• I need to swim more. While I always thought that I could get by on my biking and running in the endurance triathlon races but this year I learned that having a good swim may make the difference between meeting my goals in the Ironman or not.

2008 is getting off to a good start as my sore leg is feeling better, I finished the year with a big volume block of training and am excited about the prospects for the upcoming year. Happy New Year!!!