Training Recap for the Week Ending 7/29/12

As I mentioned previously, this was vacation week!

Since I started this hobby a number of years ago, first with running, every day I take off from work, in my crazy little mind, created the opportunity to exercise longer or at least get to do something that usually isn't possible on a weekday (like an outdoor bike ride).  This thought even extends to things like going to the dentist (which is much closer to my house than my office) where I get the first available appointment and wake up at the same time and try to get a longer workout in since I can leave later and still get to the dentist on time.  To many, this is probably a weird thing to look forward to, but that's just how much satisfaction and relaxation I get out of this stuff.  So going on vacation for an entire week, beyond getting some recharging time away from the office, means getting to exercise...a lot (hopefully!).

Usually one of the nicest thing about this vacation is....the weather!  Like many Texans, we go to cooler climates during the dog days of summer if we go on vacation.  The grand irony is that we've had a relatively mild summer compared to what it's been the past couple of years (at least prior to leaving...upon coming back home, the temps were well into the mid-100s).  In Michigan, it happened to be unseasonably warm.  Now, it's all relative, but still (Michigan was in the mid/high 80s for highs).  If I recall correctly, the weather was actually about the same in both places within a week of us leaving.  Not quite what we all had in mind, but we're not going to complain :-).

Unfortunately, the weather didn't quite cooperate the week we were there...at least as much I'd like for it to have.  First, it started off hot for the first few days.  We stay pretty active on this vacation between playing golf, exercising, and now playing with our toddler.  Because the others are either more structured time-wise (golf) or demanding (toddler :-)), exercise is the one that has to be a little more flexible.  You see a window of time and have to go for it.  So while it would be nice to get to get up early and go on a run when it's in the low 60s (which again is somewhat warm for the mornings, but at least better than Dallas in the mid 70s in the mornings), it doesn't always work out that way.  For my long run for the week (done on Monday...the forecast didn't show it getting much cooler throughout the week), I made it out there about 4:30.  It was a bit toasty out there, but I guess the reality of this is that I shouldn't complain too much because this is exactly what I'm going to experience in Ironman Texas (if not hotter and more humid).  Later in the week, an unexpected cool front came through, but with it came a good amount of rain...

First, on Wednesday, when I planned to do my long ride of the week, I only got through 10 miles before the rain came.  Fortunately, I just completed a lap as it started to rain, so at least I was about as close to home as I could be.  I thought at first I would fight through it, but between it beginning to rain even harder, getting further away, and the fact that I knew they hadn't had rain in a while (and therefore oil had probably built up on the road), I decided to call it a day on the bike.  I was glad I did because by the time I got back to the cottage, it was raining REALLY hard...like sideways.  Once the rain stopped, I decided I would at least get a run in help save the day.

Then on Friday, we decided to make our annual pilgrimage to Baldy.  Baldy is a giant sand dune (something that this part of Michigan is famous for) and hiking it involves about a 1 mile hike up to the top (which being a sand dune does require some climbing in the sand) and then a 2 mile walk/hike back on the beach to where we stay.  At the top, you get an awesome view of Lake Michigan and then run down the very steep dune.  Because you're running down sand, you get to control how fast you're going...it's as much of a rush as you want to make it!  It may be hard to tell how steep it is from this picture, but it's the best I've got.

 

Looking down Baldy 

The rain continued on this day...unfortunately when we were about 2 miles away (basically right after we ran down Baldy).  The rain started slowly, but then, once again, the heavens opened up and became a torrential downpour...almost stinging rain (can anyone else hear Forrest Gump saying that?).  Those of us on the hike decided we'd jog back the 2 miles (in an effort to get to safety)...made it a bit more of a workout as we ran through the wet sand.  We were just glad the lightning didn't strike us!

 The highlight of the exercise portion of the trip was the one swim I did in Lake Michigan.  It was only about 20 minutes, but it was so different than most of my other swims (including my open water swims) that it was actually really fun.  The waves were slightly choppy (just to remind me I wasn't in some small man-made pond like most of my open water swims occur in), I could see the bottom where I was swimming, it was a great temperature, and it wasn't a pool that required turns every 25 meters!  I should have gone longer, but I thought that I was going to swim again later in the week.  Unfortunately, I didn't make that happen, but it was fun the time I did it. (sorry for the weird filter below that makes me even pastier than I really am :-))

Just before my swim

Fun training week!

Swim - 1000m (21min)
Bike - 33mi (1hr 45min)
Run - 11.74mi (2hr 17min)

Training Recap for the Week Ending 7/22/12

This week, just prior to going on vacation to Michigan (more on that in the next training recap post), is typically not a good one for training/exercise for a couple of reasons.

1)  Packing always takes precedence because we're packing up our life seemingly

2) We leave early on Friday and then drive all day Friday and Saturday to arrive at our destination so usually both of those days are also lost

I'm still in the "honeymoon" phase of feeling completely healthy for the first time in a while (i.e. really excited to put in the work) and I'm still a bit behind from where I should be in training for my Half Ironman, so what did I do?  The morning we began our trip (which involves driving by myself for about 12 hours), I decided to get up early and go for a quick swim at the gym.  I knew without this, I would lose two days of training and also figured it would get the blood flowing prior to sitting in a car all day.  I have to say that I felt good about this commitment and I also I felt quite awake the whole drive! Good choice me! :-)

Totals for the week (which included a Sunday ride in Michigan):

Swim: 2300m (52 min)
Bike: 42.8mi (2hr 30min)
Run: 4.4 mi (41min, 10sec) (kind of a sad running week where I only got one run in)

Still not very close to where I need to be, but inching closer and feeling good!

Training Recap for the Week Ending 7/15/12

Obviously some really big things occurred this week, so there was lots to post about (and it's the first week of the blog...I know the posts will not continue to be this frequent), but the reality is that this endeavor is going to require a lot of really hard work!  With that in mind, I plan to include at least periodic updates of the actual training I'm doing along the way.

This week is still a "working back into things" week after taking a number of weeks off due to injury (maybe more on that later).  I should really be at the 5-6 hours/week training load, but instead I did the following to make sure I don't overdue it and then REALLY hurt myself.

Swim: 2700 M (1h 02m)

Bike: 26.7 Mi (1h 27m)

Run: 3.77Mi (34m 24s)


Considering where I was just a 1.5 years ago, (at least in respect to the swim and bike) the thought of 3 hours of training being a "working back into things" week is kind of comical :-).  I'm looking forward (kind of) to finally getting back to a couple days a week where I have a two-workout day.  I'm not sure why, but.it's just satisfying and makes you feel like you're making progress.

The bummer part about today is that I was supposed to have a race this morning.  I'd signed up for the Disco Triathlon (Olympic Distance) back in December.  It was a really fun race last year when I did the Sprint and I had been looking forward to this until I realized after my time off that I just wasn't ready to go out there.  I had already shifted my registration to the Sprint distance because of missing the training I did (this was a few weeks ago in hopes that I might be good to go by then).  However, my training runs made it quite evident that missing the weather warmup in late May and June was probably the worst part about having to take time off from training.  Just to make missing it a little more painful the weather was unseasonably cool in Dallas today...booo.  This was the first race I've ever signed up for and wasn't able to complete (although I'm confident I could've done it...just wasn't the best idea considering the main objectives I have in front of me).  I made the wife tell me that I wasn't allowed to do it while I was looking at my packet info Saturday morning...she gave me a stern "no!" :-).

Looking forward to starting a new week (and putting some more miles on that new bike)!

Did I say I was "in"? I meant ALL IN.

I did something a little crazy this week (strangely, I'm not referencing the Ironman registration...apparently that has already sunk in).  My money tree in the backyard is having a nice crop yield this year, and I'm feeling the need to spend the money it's producing before it spoils.  Thank goodness for that money tree!  Sigh.

Introducing my new set of wheels...

Me and my bike right after I brought it home

 I think it's safe to say that when you're an engineer and your name

 is "Vroomen," you were meant to make something fast.

My cool new aerobars with bar-end shifters

(and my wife's artsy picture)

Specs:
Cervelo P2 2012

		ULTEGRA
Fork		Cervélo FK26
Headset		IS-3
Seatpost		Cervélo Aero TT
Shifters		Shimano Dura-Ace
Rear derailleur		Shimano Ultegra
Front derailleur		Shimano Ultegra
Brake calipers		FSA Gossamer Pro
Brake levers		TRP RL970 Carbon
Crankset		FSA Gossamer (50/34)
Bottom bracket		FSA Mega EXO
Aerobar/Extensions		3T AURA PRO with alloy extensions
Stem		3T ARX PRO
Saddle		fi'zi:k Arione Tri2
Cassette		Shimano Ultegra (12-25)
Chain		Shimano Ultegra
Wheels		Shimano R501
Tires		Vittoria Rubino Pro Slick

It should be noted that the information above doesn't mean much to most people.  It still doesn't mean a heck of a lot to me, but I'm getting there.  I've asked lots of questions at Bike Mart, and I've done tons of research online to get to the conclusion I came to on choosing this bike.  And always being one for a good sale, the current discount didn't hurt either.

It was not the easiest decision I've ever made...

First, it's a good chunk of money which leads me to (over) think and (over) analyze a lot.  In fact, I think my purchases (highest dollars spent) over the years where I end up with a tangible item at the end (meaning not remodeling a kitchen or something like that) go like this: House, New Car, New Bike....ouch.  It's possible I'm forgetting something (whatever it was, it probably wasn't something that was any fun :-)), but you get the point...this was a big deal.

Second, this wasn't the only option available at a similar price point.  A good problem to have, for sure, but it did put my mind in flux for a couple of days as I tried to make a final decision somewhat worrying about whether someone would come and snatch either bike up.  I mean, this other bike I was choosing between was NICE.  It was a 2011 model and the last one they had and marked down SUBSTANTIALLY (most bike sales are somewhere, I've seen, around 5-10% off...still a good amount of money off since the starting prices are usually so much, but this bike was marked down over 25%).  I tend to get a little guilty when I start spending money on myself (and it feels like that's all I've done this week and not with just small purchases as you're seeing, so guilt is mounting), but when the wife actually says that if I'm going to buy a bike, I should strongly consider the more expensive if it's really that much better, then I should really do that .  Both guys that helped me at Bike Mart, when they came across this better "spec"ed bike, did a triple take on the price and couldn't believe how unbelievable of a deal it is (and it happened to be a great fit for me, too).  I was trying to remain impartial and just wanted to leave with the bike that was the best for me.

What it finally came down to was that I actually found the Cervelo to be a slightly more comfortable bike for me, and they assured me that I wasn't giving up dependability through the lesser components on the bike (the difference is mostly weight, so they say), and this particular model of the Cervelo is universally considered in the Tri world to be some of the best bang for the buck available (even at full price).  Cervelo likes to point out that this bike has been ridden to 2 Ironman World Championship victories in Kona and has led the bike count at the World Championships each of the last number of years despite being even this company's bottom of the line carbon tri bike.  The point is that it's a good, proven machine that experienced and elite triathloners use.  I had told myself before I entered the store that if I had any reservations, I would go home and sleep on it.  However, I felt so confident in my decision (and I already had permission from the wife to take as much time as needed), though, that I didn't think this was necessary and went ahead and got it.

A few comments...

As an adult, this is the first bike I've actually purchased.  The bike I had been taking on my triathlon adventures was actually a gift/bonus from my bosses a few years back for my efforts in moving our team/business over from our previous firm to our current one.  A very nice gift indeed. The funny thing about this is, without this gift, I probably would've never gotten into triathlons in the first place.  First of all, it had never occurred to me to do triathlons because of the financial barrier to entry (I had all the running gear, but that's the cheap part).  I find it highly unlikely that I would have made the dive of buying a bike (even the Trek 1.1) and spending a good amount of money on something that I wasn't really sure I would like anyway.  But with this bike in hand, one barrier was eliminated (mostly :-)).  This coupled with the fact that I already belonged to a gym that has a lap pool, and all the components were present to give triathlons a go!

My Trek 1.1 treated me well.  We definitely had some good times (my last sprint triathlon, I broke the 20 avg. mph barrier which I was really excited about (and placed my 7th in my age group on the bike...I guarantee the other guys had tri bikes :-)) and some bad times (how about when my chain broke about 3 miles away from my car on a training ride at White Rock three days before my A race for the year and I had to walk, barefoot because cycling cleats aren't meant to be walked in, until a good Samaritan, probably a mile and a half away from the car still, was nice enough to pick me and my bike up and take me to my car).  However, this previous bike just wasn't designed to absorb the rigors of long rides from a comfort standpoint.  Does it get me from point A to point B?  Yes :-)  Is it a nice beginner's bike?  Yes, in fact, more than a couple have said it's more than a nice beginners bike (but a beginner's bike nonetheless).  With the amount of time I'm about to spend on my bike, it just seemed like now was the time to take the dive if I was ever going to with the price being probably about as "right" as it was ever going to be.  It's not as though I will do my half IM and IMTX and just call it quits with triathlons either.  I really enjoy them and expect to continue on with this for years to come (just not at the longest distance)...I might as well have some equipment in advance of these big races that I know will make the experience more enjoyable, improve my performance, and will be a great bike for any of my races in years to come.

A final note...I would like to point out that this post was drafted starting at about 4:30am (I woke up at 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep).  I think my brain is in overdrive mode with excitement from what has occurred this week.  I need to remind myself of this feeling during the dog-days of training...we'll see how well that works!

Registration Day!

I have signed up for many races before...a number of 5ks, half marathons (and relays), marathons (and relays), and more recently triathlons of various distances, but I don't recall having ever had this much anticipation going into and excitement following registering for a race (let alone one that is 10 months away).  Don't get me wrong, I think racing (especially triathlons) is fun, but registration is generally just seen as a means to an end (getting to participate).  Maybe it's the relative exclusivity of it (most, if not all, Ironman races sell out, but, granted, IMTX doesn't exactly sell out the first day (or minutes) of registration like some do), but this registration wasn't exactly like finding out that your name's been chosen in a lottery for the Ironman World Championships in Kona or the NYC Marathon.  Anyone that wanted to today could have signed up for it without a problem.  Then to top it all off I'm getting excited about something that will require months of preparation and training and then a single day of essentially torturing myself (not to mention the unbelievable registration fee of said event)?  For those of you that know me even sort of well, you'd know that "excited" is not a word that generally enters my vernacular when describing my own emotions.  Therefore, I've come to the conclusion that, after feeling this way today (and admittedly the past few days leading up to this one), there must be something at least slightly wrong with me.  Fortunately events like this were created for just such individuals.

As witnessed below...I'm in.

Ironman 2013 Registration

Ironman Beginnings

This blog is meant to be my journal from registration to completion (a man has to be confident, right?) of Ironman Texas 2013.   It will include my thoughts as I train and race, my successes, my failures, things I learn about the process, things I learn about myself, race reviews, etc.  Really, right now I'm not sure what I'll write (or if I'll have time to write it!)...will it be funny (or should I say "dry" since it's coming from me)?...will it be serious?...we'll see as we go.  This blog will primarily be for me to be able to look back on this experience months and years from now since I'm committing so much to it, but anyone's welcome to come along for the ride (figuratively OR literally :-)) over the next 10 months (holy cow, that's a long time from now).

Let's conclude with the details of the race:

When: May 18th, 2013
Where: The Woodlands, Texas
What is an Ironman: 2.4 mile swim; 112 mile bike; 26.2 mile run