Ironman Florida 2013 Race Report

BEFORE THE RACE

140.6 miles. That is a long way. Going into this I expected it to be extremely difficult but it was even harder. It is difficult to explain what happens to you during a 140.6 mile race and all the things that you go through but I will do my best. My race really started the night before. I had the best support crew of anyone in this race. That is not hyperbole. A total of eleven friends and family drove all the way to Panama City Beach Florida for the single purpose of cheering and supporting me. I can not express how much this meant to me and how much it helped me throughout the longest day of my life. The night before, I wanted to say "thank you" to everyone so I took everyone out to dinner. An early dinner of course. It was a great time with lots of laughs and discussion of strategy for how they would keep track of me during the race. There were a few comments that I looked nervous and I guess I was. It was difficult to not think about what I was about to attempt. At eight o'clock I finally said good night. I got back to my room by 8:15 and by 8:30 I was in bed. I had checked my bike and transition bags at bike check-in earlier that day so there was nothing left to do but get a good nights sleep. 

Pre-Race Dinner with Family and Friends

MORNING OF THE RACE

I was actually able to sleep much better than I expected. I'm not sure the exact time I finally fell asleep but I believe I was able to get 5-6 hours of sleep. The alarm was set for 4:30 but I woke before that, some time around 4.  I used this time to gather my thoughts, say a prayer, reminded myself to stay in the moment for the rest of the day and enjoy it. Breakfast was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a banana and 2 zebra cakes. I know, breakfast of champions right? Lacie, part of that all-star support crew, showed up right at 4:30 to help me gather a few things that I hadn't checked the day before. I grabbed my wetsuit and goggles and headed out. I should mention the goggles were American flag goggles. I had the great fortune of being assigned race number 1776 so the American flag/Capt. America motif would be a theme throughout the day. The condo where I was staying was right next to the start of the race, which made race morning much less stressful. I even forgot safety pins for my timing chip and was able to quickly run back to the room without any problems. Race site was crazy. People were everywhere. Most people seemed frantic but I was able to stay pretty calm. I dropped off special needs bags and made my way to body marking. I was worried there would be a huge line but I was able to walk right up, get marked and keep going. The volunteer did a great gob. Big numbers. All straight. After body marking I still needed to top off the air in my tires and get my bike set up and ready to ride. Transition was a mad house. It was a bit surreal to be as calm as I was while everyone else seemed to be losing their minds. I just went through my mental checklist and ignored everyone else. I made one last check of my gear bags and made my way to the beach for the swim start.

THE SWIM

Once I got to the beach, Lacie and I met up with David, Karen, Everett an Audra. It was awesome getting to see them before the start. I think chatting with them helped my nerves as it got closer to race start. 

Calming the nerves before IMFL start

When the pro men started I knew that I had ten minutes before it was my turn. I told everyone I would see them as soon as I could, said good bye and walked to the swim start. I waded in among the other racers until I found a nice spot close to the front and near the center as we spread out along the beach. 

Walking to swim start

National anthem then, BOOM! The canon fired and the race started. An Ironman swim start actually starts slower than you may think. Most people walked slowly into the water and carefully tried to make their way past the breakers. Not me. I was ready to get started. I jogged into the water and at the first breaker I dove headfirst. 

The swim start to Ironman Florida 2013

IMFL 2013 swim start

As the water rolled over me I thought, "OK. Here I am. I'm swimming in and Ironman!" I was quickly reminded that I was swimming with 3000+ of my closest friends. Imagine standing in a 10x10 room with 20 other people all blindfolded and flailing their arms and legs. It really was that bad. I was kicked, punched, swam over, you name it. At one point someone actually grabbed my ankle and pulled me backward so they could get a little momentum. That person was kicked in their face. Hard. The water wasn't too rough but there was a bit of chop, which made sighting a little tough. I basically gave up trying to sight and just followed the crowd. I felt I was swimming strong. I was passing more than I was being passed. After the first turn buoy we were swimming east straight into the rising sun. It was now practically impossible to site. I decided the best thing to do was to swim to the left of the big flaming yellow ball rising in the distance. This worked out surprisingly well. On the way back to shore I was able to site using the hotel that was being used for the race site and transition. About a quarter mile from shore I began to feel a hot spot on my neck where my wet suit was rubbing. I had anticipated this and applied copious amounts of body glide that morning but apparently it wasn’t enough. As I got out of the water I saw the time said 48 minutes. I was a little bummed about this because I wanted to at least do 45 minutes for the first lap. I quickly grabbed a water from the aid station to rinse the salt out of my mouth and ran through the crowd to get back in the water for my second loop of the swim. As I settled into the second lap I realized that the time I saw when I finished the first lap was for the pros, which meant that my time was actually 38 min. This meant that I was on pace for a 1:16 swim. Much better than I expected. I wrongly assumed that the mass of people and all the fighting would die down on the second lap but it was more of the same. By this point I was used to it and kind of enjoying the hand-to-hand combat. As I exited the water for the last time I thought to myself, "You just finished the swim of an Ironman and you're still going. So far so good." Final swim time was 1:21. This means I slowed down on the second lap but only a bit and that is to be expected. Coming into the race I was expecting a 1:25 at best so I was very excited at this point.

Swim exit, headed to T1

TRANSITION 1

I ran out of the water and past the wetsuit strippers. I did not want to deal with having to wash sand off after lying on the ground. Besides, I can get my wetsuit off just as fast. I took a few seconds to stand under the showers to rinse the salt of the water off then hurried into T1 (Transition 1). The wetsuit came off easily. I had lubed my ankles that morning to make sure the suit would slide off easily. Ironman transitions are much longer than other triathlon transitions. It is a long day and you want to make sure you are as comfortable as possible. I took the time to dry off as best I could. I had a bit of a problem getting into my bike jersey because I was still a little wet and the jersey fits tight. Socks, bike shoes, helmet, Capt. America arm warmers and off I went. Coming out of transition I let a volunteer apply sunscreen to my arms and neck. OUCH! That hot spot where the wetsuit rubbed my neck did not like the sunscreen. I ran through transition, grabbed my bike and headed out. Most of the racers seemed to stop right at the bike mount line to get on their bikes but I ran a little farther to get out of all the congestion.

THE BIKE

Once I got on my bike I really started settling down. I knew I would be out there for a while and just wanted to take my time and settle into the ride. The first thing I did was say a little prayer for my bike and that I would have no mechanical issues or flats. This was a reoccurring theme for the entire ride. The bike course is pretty flat with the exception of a large bridge on HWY 79 and a few hills on HWY 20. I started out slightly faster than I wanted and had to remind myself to take it easy for the first 30 miles or so then see how I feel. At this point I was really having a good time. I was working hard but didn’t want to cook my legs. I started my nutrition around mile 20 and averaged around 270 calories per hour for the ride. This is a little higher than I wanted but not by a lot. I would rather have too much than too little. There was a slight headwind going out but not enough to make a big difference at the beginning. I did not look at my speed (well, I tried not to). I really wanted to keep my heart rate in a range that I knew I could ride 112 miles with. A heart rate of 125 was my goal and based on my data I was able to maintain an average HR of 127. I am very pleased with this although my average speed was much higher at that heart rate than I was expecting. At mile 30 I started getting the urge to pee. By mile 40 I was ready to pop. I was seriously considering just peeing on the bike when I finally came to an aid station with port-a-johns. I lost a lot of time during this break but my average speed was up to 17.4 MPH at this point so I knew I had a little in the bank. By the time I hit the halfway point at mile 56, I was averaging 17 MPH and this was becoming a bit of a concern. I had expected to average between 16 and 16.25 and was worried that I was cooking my legs. I kept telling myself that I felt good and my heart rate was where I wanted it. Things didn’t get bad until mile 65 when the course took us back to HWY 20 and we headed west, straight into a headwind. This was also the first time we ran into hills of any consequence. With this combination of wind and hills, my speed dropped significantly and I was getting frustrated for the first time all day. I knew I had to fight through this and told myself that I had been expecting and was prepared for it. I knew that I just had to make it to mile 80 and we would turn back onto HWY 79 and head back into PCB with a tailwind the whole way.

I started having to pee again around mile 70 but really did not want to have to wait in another line at an aid station. I stopped at a small bridge so I could use the rail to prop my bike and peed on the side of the road. The rules say this is a violation but I just didn’t care.

I was extremely excited to make it to mile 80 and turn back south. My speed had dropped over the last 20 miles but I was still able to keep my average above my expected range. Once I was back on HWY 79 and the wind was at my back, my speed started to pick back up again. Nutrition was going well and I was feeling good once again. I started comparing the distances remaining to what I would ride at home. “Only 30 miles to go. No big deal, I do that on my lunch break.” With about 5 miles to go I passed my brother Davy and my niece and nephew, Dusty and Garrett. It was great to see them and got me excited about seeing the rest of my support crew during the run. The best thing I can say about the bike was that I never got to the point that I was sick and tired of being on the bike. By the end I was definitely ready to get off but not as bad as I was expecting. I had planned to take my feet out of my bike shoes and the leave the shoes clipped onto the bike but decided there really was no advantage to this considering that the time saved was minimal and the risk of falling on my face was high. One of the great things about a race of this size is there is a volunteer to help you at every stage. Once I dismounted the bike I simply handed it off to a volunteer to re-rack for me.

I look pretty good for having just ridden 112 miles.

TRANSITION 2

After handing off my bike I ran to grab my T2 (Transition 2) bag and quickly made my way into the men’s changing area. I found an empty chair and called for a volunteer to give me a hand. It was a little odd. I was still in a hurry but there were a lot guys sitting around and talking while changing gear. They had no sense of urgency at all. They were just having a nice Saturday afternoon chat. It was a bit comical and I couldn’t help but laugh. I quickly stripped out of my bike gear and handed it to the volunteer that was helping me. He asked if that was all and I told it was. He left with my bag before I realized that I still had my tri shorts and heart rate monitor. At that point there was nothing to do but take them on the run with me and hope that I saw one of my support crew early in the run. I pulled on my running clothes, including my Capt. America run shirt and headed out of T2.

THE RUN

I was very excited about getting to see my friends and family and began looking for them immediately as I ran out of T2. I made it about 200 yards and saw my mom and dad. It was fantastic. They were both cheering and holding signs. I was so happy to see them and I really wanted to stop but my quads had already started to cramp a little and I knew I needed to keep running. I tossed my tri shorts and heart rate monitor into their chairs, waved and kept going. I was very worried about my legs cramping. This was not something I wanted to deal with for the next 26 miles. Not far after passing mom and dad, I saw Lacie, Everett and Audra. They ran along side me and chatted a little but were worried about getting me in trouble since we weren’t supposed have outside runners with us. This worry was short lived, but more on that later. They told me I should see Dave and Karen around mile 5. The quads stayed pretty tight and teetered on the verge of cramping through the whole first mile but by mile 1.5 my legs started to loosen up and by mile 2 all cramping was completely gone. My run plan was to run to each aid station and walk through while drinking water and eating whatever they had. This planned lasted until mile 3 when my stomach decided it had had enough. At this point I couldn’t even take a sip of water without it wanting to come back up. I decided to walk more often until my stomach settled and I could start taking in hydration and calories again. I had been hoping to see Dave and Karen sooner and was on the lookout for their matching Capt. America t-shirts. I finally saw them as I rounded the corner just after mile 5. Dave ran with me for a few minutes and left me to run the park by myself and said he would wait for me at that spot. Running through the park was bitter sweet. I was grateful to be at the turnaround point but it is lonely and desolate out there. This is where things began to get mentally dark and low. I was able to continue walking and running because while I was exhausted, my body had not reached its stopping point yet. Looking back I feel like this is a good justification that my training had me physically prepared for the race. Mentally however, I was in a very bad place. I was exhausted, I couldn’t eat and I knew I still had 20 miles to go.

Midway point of the first loop

As I exited the state park I knew I would get to see Dave and was looking forward to some company. I picked him out about 200 yards ahead and told myself I would run until I got to where he was. About 100 yards before reaching him he spotted me and started walking away as if he were going to walk until I caught him then start running alongside me. This was incredibly frustrating. I wanted to shout, “Just stop! I’ll be there in a second if you would just stop!” I finally gave up and just started walking within about 30 yards of reaching him. I told Dave that I was not doing well and while my stomach was starting to feel a small bit better, it still had not settled. Dave was great. He just kept telling me that I was doing great and looked good and that I had this and to trust my training. At the moment I thought he didn’t get it and didn’t understand but come to find out later, as soon as I left him he called Everett and Lacie to tell them that I was in a bad way and would need as much help as they could provide. 

Running with Dave on the first loop

I was alone again for the next 2 miles and I’m not sure what happened but I have no recollection of this 2 mile stretch. Maybe I was on autopilot and just wanted to forget where I was and what I was doing. Maybe I’m repressing this traumatic moment in my life. I truly don’t know. I do remember being miserable and confused once I left Dave and Karen. Beyond that, it’s a blur. Somewhere around mile 10 I came upon Lacie. She was standing beside a belly dancer who was entertaining the racers at an aid station. It was great to see her (Lacie, not the belly dancer). I should take a moment here to express once again that my support crew was the best in the world. They got me through some very dark moments. From this moment at mile 10, I would not be alone for the rest of the entire race. That is 16 miles for those of you keeping track at home. My spirits definitely picked up at this point but I was still pretty exhausted. Because the course is an out and back, the road was divided in half with traffic cones. Once Lacie started running with me I began to use the cones to pace my run. The cones were spaced about 50 yards apart and I ran 3 cones then walked 1 then repeated. My stomach had started to settle at this time too. I was able to now start taking in water and chicken broth. The combination of Lacie joining me, my new run walk strategy and my stomach settling gave me new life. I can’t remember what we talked about but it was great having Lacie run with me and keep me company. She, like Dave, was incredibly supportive and positive. She continually told me how proud she was and that I was running strong. By the time we made it back to the main stretch on Thomas Dr. it had started getting dark and there were tons of crowd support. This was a lot of fun running through this area with everyone cheering and calling out Capt. America because of the shirt I was wearing. Just before the turnaround we saw Everett and Audra. Lacie dropped off here and Everett jumped in with me. Having this support system really helped and meant the world to me. Everett said he was ready to run with me as long I needed him to. We rounded the area for special needs and I saw Mom and Dad again. I waved and ran over and gave Mom a hug. Dad was taking video so I waved for the camera. When we made it back to Lacie, she picked back up with us. I had assumed Everett would drop off but he stayed with us. I was really glad he did. My spirits were as high at this point as they had been all day. I was still only able to maintain a run walk but I was mentally in a much better place than I had been just an hour and a half earlier. I was doing a run 2 cones, walk 1 at this point but Everett was able to get me to run 3, walk 1. I had started trying to tell Lacie and Everett how much it meant to me to have them out there with me but I don’t think I was ever really able to express just how important they were. They talked to me a lot and I answered back as best I could. Mostly I just listened. Around mile 16 I began to really feel the effects of the day. I had read that ironman gets the hardest during the last 10 miles and that is exactly what was happening to me. Mentally I was in an ok place because of my support crew but my body was reaching the point that it had had enough. Lacie told me that we would meet Dave and Karen at mile 18 so that was giving me something to look forward to. Even though Dave jumped in with me, Lacie and Everett stayed as well. Now I had 3 of my support crew running (it was more of a shuffle) with me. 

Dave, Everett and Lacie running with me (That's me behind Everett)

Shortly after picking up Dave I actually stopped for the first time all day. I bent over with my hands on my knees and just stood in the middle of the road. After 132 miles I just needed a small break even if it was only for a few seconds. Dave didn’t want me to stop. He talked to me and got me going again by encouraging me and telling me to keep my momentum going forward. I think he knew that I was getting close to a wall. I was still keeping my run walk going although I was gradually running a little less. Once we made it to the state park I knew that I just needed to get to the turn around and at that point I would be headed back in to the finish. I walked a lot of the state park. I hoped that maybe if I walk a bit more through the park that maybe I would have enough in the tank to keep running on the way back to the finish. Just a few yards after the turn around I had to stop once again. Again Dave was there to keep me moving. At one point I looked over at a sand dune and said that I want to lay down there. I think they all thought I was kidding but I was not. Lacie made a joke about sand mites and we kept going. We met back up with Karen as we came out of the park. At this point Everett left with Karen so they would have time to make it to the finish line and Dave and Lacie stayed with me. Nutrition and hydration had been going well for the whole second loop and I was taking chicken broth and water at every aid station. The next 3 miles were much of the same, a run walk using the cones to help pace. I could tell Lacie was starting to struggle she had never come close to running or walking a distance like this yet there she was helping me get to the finish line. Things started to pick up at mile 24. I remember Lacie and Dave mentioning the 24 mile marker sign. This is when I knew I had it and it started to sink in that I was going to finish a 140.6 mile race. Its hard to describe how I was feeling. I could hear the announcer calling peoples names as they crossed the finish line and I new I would have my turn in a few minutes. I started trying to run faster but that wasn’t happening but I was able to run a little more and walking a little less. I was starting to get a little emotion with the end so close in sight. With less than a mile to go we round a curve and I see John Chandler and Jeanetta Bennett. They were all smiles and cheering for me. I mentioned to Lacie and Dave after we passed them that I was really glad that I was running and not walking when I passed them. With about a half mile to go I walked for the last time. I wanted to make sure that I was able to run all the way to the finish once I got into the finish shoot. Dave and Lacie peeled off and I was left alone for the first time since mile 10. Like I said, I had the best support crew in the entire race. Running down the finish shoot was incredible. I everyone was cheering and yelling and encouraging me. I wanted to go faster but I just wasn’t able to. As I got close to the finish line I saw my dad towering over everyone with his video camera on the left side of the shoot. I ran over and gave everyone high-fives as I ran past. Then I heard it. From Hattiesburg, Mississippi, JOHN MARK LAWLER, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!

JML, YOU. ARE. AN IRONMAN!

THE RECOVERY

I had done it. In 2 years I went from not being able to run 2 miles to finishing a full ironman. When I crossed the finish line a volunteer put is arms around me and asked if I was ok. I remember as I was running down the shoot thinking that I felt better than I had been expecting. I told the volunteer that I was fine and he relaxed his grip. I’m not sure what happens when you finally stop after doing something like that but you go from running to barely being able to stand. When he relaxed his grip I could feel myself start to slide a little. The volunteer noticed as well and quickly tightened his grip to keep me from falling. He walked me to get my medal and my finishers cap and t-shirt. 

After a few moments I was able to get control of myself and made my way out of the finishers area where my family and friends were waiting for me. They got me chocolate milk and blanket. They were very concerned about me and rightfully so. I was fine but physically spent and I wasn’t thinking exactly straight. I was getting very cold and needed to sit down. We went inside the host hotel and I stretched out on the floor and let my friends pile space blankets on top of me. 

E'Ray making sure I don't fall fall out

Dad checking out the hardware

Once I finally started feeling better I took advantage of a free massage. Everett collected my bike and transition gear and walked back to my condo. I did not sleep very well that night. My legs cramped all night and I woke several times dreaming I was still in the race.

The next morning I met my family and friends for breakfast along with a few other ironman racers that I know from the Hattiesburg area. We swapped war stories from the race and generally had a great time while trying to refuel on the breakfast buffet.

I can’t say enough how much it meant to me to have my friends and family come support me during this race. I was so happy to have them there with me and to share one of the most special moments of my life with them. 

I'm Back

OK, so as I'm sure you have noticed (or not as the case may be) I have been away for a while. Let me explain. After my last post I started a recovery week. This was a little boring because nothing exciting was going on. I was just taking it easy letting my body recover from all the training so I didn't think anyone cared to read about all that. Then I got really busy at work and one thing led to another and before you know it I had not made a post in two weeks. Hopefully I can get everyone caught back up and I can get back on my normal schedule.

The last few weeks I have been all over the place with my schedule. I was doing good until last Sunday when I went for a 12 mile run. I ran this at a 9min 30sec pace. At the time this felt great but by Monday morning I realized that I had made a mistake. I woke up early Monday with plans to go to the pool for my normal swim but after waking up I realized I just didn't have the energy. The run the day before really kicked my butt. That was the longest I had ran since the half marathon in early January. This 12 mile run followed a 10 mile run from the week before. I decided to take Monday and Tuesday off and get back on the horse Wednesday. Wednesday morning I did 45 minutes of a planned hour on the bike trainer and I was done. I knew I still had a 6 mile run at lunch that I needed to run. I met a running buddy at noon for our run and it became obvious very quickly that I was going to struggle. I was struggling so much in fact that I had to call it a day at 4 miles and I actually had to walk some of that. It was bad. 

Now this is where it just gets silly. After Wednesday I decided to take it very easy through the weekend, get completely rested and start hitting it hard again on monday morning (yesterday). Well you know what they say (whoever they are) about best laid plans and all. Friday night I get a text from Mary and she is busting at the seams excited about the Carl Touchtone MS50 the next day. Apparently they had some cancelations and there were spots available for anyone who wanted to run. Most of you know me. If some one asks if I want to do something my reaction is almost alway to say yes. So when Mary asked if I wanted to do the 20K I immediately said yes without thinking of the consequences, and the consequences were vast. As a side note, I do think it is pretty awesome that someone can call me out of the blue to ask if I will run a half marathon with then the next day and without training for it or anything I can just go out and do it. Wether I should or not is a different story. The run was A LOT of fun. It was tough but it was fun. I was covered in mud by the end. We had to wade through creeks that were sometimes almost waist deep. The entire course was little more than a mud track. It was great. After the run I made the decision to again rest for a few days and try to recover before starting my training again on Wednesday (tomorrow).

That should get you caught up for the time being. I'm a little nervous about the workout tomorrow but I will make sure to let you know how it goes. 

Wish me luck! 

A long week but getting better

I know last week I pledged to stay on top of my posts and here it is one full week later and I am just now making a post. What can I say, I've been busy.

It's been are good week of training. I'm tired. Very tired. That being said, I am very pleased with my performances this week. Now lets get you caught up.

Saturday was my second 30 mile bike ride in a row. This time I road out by my house. This was a VERY hilly route. It started off great. I was initially just trying to keep my average speed above 15mph. By the time I made the turn around at mile 16 my average speed was just below 17mph. I was very exacted about this but this is also when things started going wrong. Besides the fact that I had put a lot of effort into that first 16 miles the wind was blowing directly into my face the entire way back. My average speed was decreasing at a fairly regular rate. This was incredibly frustrating to watch as the number just kept ticking backwards. No matter how hard I rode it seemed I wasn't going to be able to stop the slide. I was becoming incredibly demoralized. When my speed finally dropped to 15.2mph I began to imagine my friends Gary, Brad, Donny, Ryan, Ricky, Joe, Everette and Dave all making fun of me for slowing down. I list their names because I would picture each of their faces pointing and laughing at me. Needless to say this kind of pissed me off. Not only was I able to stop the decline, I was actually able to get my average speed back up to 15.35mph. I know that small increase may not seem like much but you have to remember that that is the "average" speed and this was at the end of the 30 miles. I wasn't just increasing my "current" speed. For that I say thanks for the help guys!

I was a little worried about sundays run after the bike ride the day before. As it turned out my legs didn't feel too bad. I did, however, run a bit too soon after eating lunch. I was Super Bowl Sunday and I wanted to get to Ryan + Julie's by 4:30 so I had to run when I could. I did 6 miles on the trace. Going out it was fine but my side started spitting a bit on the way back. I knew this was because I had just eaten. It crossed my mind to just walk it out but I started thinking that I'm not always going to be perfectly comfortable when I'm racing so this was a good chance to get a little used to it. I decided to suck it up and just get it done. I ended up with an 8min 40sec pace which is about average for me hear lately.

Monday was my typical swim. Like I said before, my progress with the swim has been pretty steady. I started like usual, with a 2 lap warmup, rested 90 seconds then swam 7 continuous laps. That was the goal this week. I ended with 21 total laps when all was said and done. Nothing spectacular but I stayed with my plan.

Wednesday turned out to be tough. My performances were right on target, it's just that I was starting to get tired even though I didn't workout on Tuesday because I teach all day. I started out Wednesday with 1 hour on the bike trainer first thing in the morning. Although the trainer is a tough workout because there is no inertia and momentum to help you, it is incredibly convenient to just wake up and jump on the trainer and get that workout out of the way first thing in the morning. Plus I can watch ESPN for an hour. My legs were tired, but I still had a lunchtime run. It was actually really enjoyable run. I planned to run it with James so we met at the Payne Center. Before we got started we ran into Jim, another runner, and asked him to join us. It was a pretty easy run and we kept a comfortable pace where we could maintain an easy conversation. We ended with 6.48 miles at an 8min 55sec pace. At this point, my Wednesday workouts were done but I have been trying to get an Art Department running group started and Wednesday was the first day for that run. I met 5 students at 5pm for a small 1.5 mile run. We kept it pretty slow and easy. I went to bed that night very happy that I was not working out the next day.

Friday morning I was back in the pool by 6am. This was to be another day exactly like Monday's swim. I started with my typical 2 lap warmup but as I was finishing the second lap I decided to make it a 4 lap warmup. I then took a 90 sec rest and started my 7 continuous laps. I you remember from previous posts, my goal has been to work up to 12 continuous laps before the race on March 31. Well, just like my warmup laps, as I was finishing lap 7 I decided to just keep going. I felt good and just figured why stop. I finally stopped for a break after 12 laps. So there it is. I know I can swim 600 yards (over 1/3 mile) without having to stop. I swam 4 more laps for a cool down for a total of 20 laps. Needless to say, I was very happy with this mornings swim.

This weekend is going to be a bit of a recovery weekend for me. I'll still workout but my distances will be shorter. I will crank it back up again next week. I have really come to appreciate how important recovery weeks are. It goes against my nature a little ( well, actually, a lot) to not go full speed, pedal to the metal all the time. I've learned you don't get better or faster like that though.

Just chuggin' along

My swim workouts on Monday and Friday have been going great. It is a slow process but the progress is very steady. This week my goal was to swim 16 laps with 5 of those continuous. That is exactly what I did Monday but today I felt pretty good so I did 18 laps instead of the 16. It felt so good in fact that I plan to jump straight to 20 laps next week with 7 continuous. I know mentioned it before but I LOVE SWIMMING.

I have done a pretty good job of falling into my routine although I have been struggling with my Wednesday workouts. I am supposed to work out twice on Wednesday: bike and run. I don't teach class until 10 a.m. so it has been pretty easy to get a run in before class. However, after class I always get lunch then start working on lectures for Thursday. This ALWAYS takes longer than expected and I end up skipping the ride. Add to that that it has been raining all week and this workout becomes even more difficult. I HAD to fix this. Like I said, it rained all day Wednesday so I decided to bite the bullet and get a trainer for my bike. I had been planning to get one anyway and this just gave me an excuse. For those who don't know, a trainer is just a stand that you can put your bike on and it becomes a stationary bike, complete with resistance and everything. I rode in the comfort of my home for an hour while watching TV Wednesday night. I am sort of a numbers/data geek in respect to my workouts because it's an easy way to gauge my effort level. With the trainer though I just had to ride hard enough to where I felt like I was putting out the effort. I plan to get a bike computer to help with this.

This weekend will be another long bike ride and a mid distance run.

Am I doing enough?

I mentioned to a my friend Mary a few days ago that even as much as I am working out right now, I just don't feel like I am doing enough. I don't know if that is a good way to think or not. I am following my program almost to the letter so I know I am working out enough but I just feel like I could do more. She gave me some good advice saying that I have to remember that I am training for a sprint and not a full Ironman. She is completely right. I have to remember that this is a process. That being said, I definitely feel like I did plenty this weekend.

Friday was a swim day. Not much new to report here. I am holding true to my plan. Last week was a four consecutive lap week. I swam 16 laps (800 yards) with 4 of those being consecutive. Next week I will kick that up to five consecutive laps and so on.

Saturday is when it got a little interesting. My plan was to go for a long bike ride Saturday. I wanted to get at least two plus hours in. This should give me about 30 miles. However, you know what they say about best laid plans and all. I was planning to ride Saturday afternoon after it warmed up quite a bit. As I was just laying around being lazy that morning, Mary calls and asks if I wanted to run with her. I figured I could just switch my ride til Sunday and run Saturday so I told her sure. Now, there are few things you should know: 1) she's a lot faster than me and 2) I haven't ran more than 4 miles since the half marathon on Jan 8. My plan hasn't called for it (this is part of why I had been feeling like I wasn't doing enough). We were planning to run 5 or 6 miles which I knew meant 7 or 8. I knew that I had the big ride the next day so I told myself that I was only going to run the first six then take it easy on whatever was left. I actually learned a little about myself. Since I wasn't planning to run 6-8 miles that day, I had not prepared myself mentally for it. I did not realize how important that was to me. After about 5 miles I was ready to shut it down. It just wasn't there for me. I also remembered later that I had not eaten much the night before or for breakfast and I really feel that hurt me too. Or maybe I'm just making excuses and it was just a bad day. I wasn't very pleased with my pace for the 6 miles. I ran it at a 9 min 19 sec pace. WAY SLOWER than what I'm capable of. After that it was basically a run walk cool down. I was pretty frustrated with myself but at least I got a solid 55 min workout in. 

Sunday's ride was much better. I got plenty to eat after church so I had no excuses. My plan was the same as before. Thirty miles which should take about two hours or so. I say "so" because I just wasted to get the miles in. I wasn't riding for speed. This was to be my longest ride to date and I just wanted to concentrate on the distance. Going out was good although I may have ridden it a little faster than I should have. I'm still learning what's fast and what's slow for me on the bike. My average pace was 14.5 mph when I made the turn around and although I was planning to not pay attention to my speed, I made it my objective to get my average speed up to 15 mph before I finished the 30 miles. I just can't help myself. If I'm not competing with someone it's like I have to make something up. Maybe it's a sickness. I finished with 32 miles at 15 mph with a 3 mile cool down. I was beat but it felt great all at the same time.

Email Notifications

I've had a few people ask if there was a way to get email notifications whenever I post a new update. I have added a link on the right side of this page to allow readers to sign-up to receive an email for new posts. You will have to put in your email, submit it, then you will get a confirmation email. This is simply to fight spam email.

I also think I had my comments restricted to only readers with an account. I now have it set to allow anyone to post comments so please feel free to make comments. The purpose of this blog is to get encouragement and support. This comes in many forms, so feel free to call me out when I slack as well. That is probably what will motive me more than anything.

So that is it for now. I hope you all sign up!!

Slowly but surely

Man, time management is a killer!

I am really going to try to update this blog more often. My goal is to post an update after every workout which is five days a week. That is a tough goal. If I am not working out, I am either teaching class or prepping for class. I know I have to find the time though.

Enough of that. I made a statement in my last post that I had my best run last Friday. That felt really good to be the one doing the butt kicking for once. So far so good. I don't think I jinxed myself (so far).

Sunday was another brick workout where I rode my bike then immediately ran afterwards. I was supposed to do this with Mary but we couldn't get out schedules to match up so I tackled it alone. The bike ride was good. Nothing to write home about but I was pleased with my effort and performance. I rode 14 miles and averaged about 16.25 mph. I think that is solid for a rookie beginner. The run was a little strange. Mainly I was really pleased that my legs didn't cramp like they did before. I guess they are getting used to the bike. The purpose of a brick is to get your legs used to running coming off the bike. My legs had a bit of the "noodle" feel at the beginning of the run but that quickly worked itself out. I was trying really hard to run slow. I was only running two miles and wanted to keep a 9.5 min pace. I couldn't do it. My legs were still in the rhythm I had on the bike and I was running a bit faster than I wanted. I eventually just accepted it and finished the two miles at an 8 min 50 sec pace.

WINNERS WAKE UP AT 5:30! That is my new montra. Monday morning I was back in the pool at 6:30. I love swimming first thing in the morning. I made the statement a few days ago that I'm not currently a fast swimmer but I'm going to be. Actually that's not exactly true. I am a fast swimmer, I just can't do it for very long yet. I think this is going to be the best part of my race. This sort of sucks because you really don't make-up much time in the swim. It would be much better if the bike were my best sport. Oh well. I swam 15 laps (750 yards). Just like before, I would rest after avery 2 laps or so. After a two lap warm-up, I swam the next four continuously without stopping. My plan is to add a lap to the continuous laps each week until I am swimming half a mile (880 yards) without stopping.

I had a fairly tough run Wednesday morning but only because I made it tough on myself. I had a four mile run planned. I decided to run it as an interval. This is were you run at an average pace for a portion of the run then increase your pace for a portion and so on. Since this was a four mile run I planned to run the first mile at a comfortable easy pace of 9 minutes. I would then increase my pace for the middle two miles before reducing my pace back to 9 minutes for the final mile. I started a bit two fast. After a half mile I realized I was running at an 8.5 min pace. Its getting harder to run slower but I forced myself to slow up a bit. The middle two miles I ran at an 8 min pace. That is fairly fast for me but not crazy. It was tough but I didn't kill myself. I finished the 4 miles at an 8 min 20 sec. pace and I was very pleased with that. I'm not sure if this is the correct way to run intervals but it seemed logical to me. If any experts want to chime in with suggestions please do.