Sunday, June 02, 2013

Throwing down some miles! (Training Update)

Sunday, June 02, 2013  at 4:37 PM
With Ironman Louisville looming and only 83 days left till race day, I decided that I would give you an update on my training.  So here she goes!

SWIM:
Nothing to report here.  No, I'm serious!  I haven't been in the pool in a LONG time.  I HAVE to go swim, and it's going to happen THIS week!  To be honest, I'm not super worried about the swim portion of IM Louisville.  I know I'm not a ridiculously fast swimmer, and I know it isn't going to ruin my day if I'm not the first out of the water.  So, I'm planning on taking my time out there and not over exerting myself.

Bike:
Here's where I'm proud to report some serious mileage!  I have been spending quite a bit of time with Clifford, and I'm really feeling comfortable.

A couple weeks ago, my good buddy, Josh, had his 28th birthday.  We have a tradition of doing a pretty big ride on or near his birthday.  So, in honor of turing 28, we decided to ride 128 mile!  It was AWESOME!

Birthday Boy!
We decided to ride the Silver Comet and just do an out and back of 64 miles each way.  At mile 60, we crossed the Alabama state line and started riding on the Chief Ladiga trail.


We certainly weren't fast, but we finished it strong.  My plan was to eat, drink and SPIN!  With the last 20 miles to go, I couldn't believe how great I was feeling!  Sure, my legs were tired and sore, but I felt like "time trialing" it the rest of the way!  After 8+ hours of riding, we finished and went to eat an incredible birthday dinner with our amazing wives.  Jenn's birthday is just the day before Josh's.
The Silver Comet was a tad bit dirty!
It may be a long time till I see THAT big of a number again!
Although I'm feeling like my endurance is pretty good for some long mileage, I haven't been impressed with my speed.  In training for Steelhead 70.3 a couple years ago, I was SO much faster!  So, I decided to go out and do 55 miles last week and add some speed to it.  I was really pleased to grab an 18.3mph average.  That was a serious confidence booster for the biking.

This morning, Jennifer, who is training for Augusta 70.3 in September, and I decided to do another ride on the Silver Comet.  We loaded Caffrey in the trailer behind my road bike and started pedaling.  I was super proud of how strong Jenn road, and I was really surprised with how hard it is to pull a kiddo!  I definitely could feel the tiredness of IM training in my legs.  It was a good 30 mile ride to start the week.  Here are some foggy pictures of today's ride.
All 3 of us out for a ride

Caffrey's feet poking out from his carseat.
Run:
My running is kind of a roller coaster right now.  For several weeks, I felt fantastic and was cranking out some pretty good time on some decently long runs (10-12 miles).  A couple weeks ago, on a 12-miler, I had some sharp pain from my IT Band.  I have NEVER had trouble with that, so I decided to rest it a week.  I haven't had any pain since then, but now it's another issue.  My legs are TIRED!  This makes me super nervous about Louisville, because I know that my legs will be toasted after the swim and the bike.  If I'm struggling now with mild heat and moderate miles, how will I ever run a marathon on race day?  I will say that Brooks has really hooked me up with great gear to motivate me to train as well as keep me on good running shoes.  My current pair are the Ravenna 4's, and I really like them!  I thought I would have a hard transition from my Asics that I've worn for many years, but I haven't noticed much difference at all!
Any advice on training with tired legs?  I bet you'll say, "Keep running!"  That's the plan right now, so we'll see how that goes.

Bonus...
As I'm writing this, I'm watching Jimmie Johnson dominate in the Nascar race for the day, and it reminded me of where I was last weekend.  I took one of my elders, Todd, to a race in Charlotte, NC.  We had a blast!

Although the race wasn't the most amazing race I'd ever watched, we did enjoy watching the guy next to us that started the race absolutely smashed!  But he didn't stop there and kept downing another beer every few laps.  He struggled to find his seat several time, kept stumbling over the old guys in front of us every time he had to go to the bathroom, and fell asleep for half the race.  Another interesting race fan was this guy...
Yes, he shaved his head into a 55 for his favorite driver, Mark Martin.  That's a true fan!  Even if you hate auto racing or think it's ridiculous, you should at least go to one race in your life just to see the people there!  It's hilarious!

Thank you for reading and your encouraging comments.  They really motivate me in my training.  I'm excited, nervous, and can't wait to finally become an IRONMAN!

10 comments:

Kacie Darden

You are suppose to be tired right now. In fact, you should feel tired for at least another 65 days :-) You can always chat with George about running! He's got some great insight! Keep it up!

Anonymous

Praying for successful training!
Suggestion: I think you need to add another name to the "passion(s)and Loves of your life" list ~ AND maybe the picture of Caffrey on your shoulders. Just a suggestion...

Ann Siepman

Jford

Very jealous of your biking! SOunds like you are definitely bike ready and are going to have a great race!

Unknown

Dude you are doing awesome, I need to get more Miles on my bike. And that is super cool the Jenn is doing a 70.3. You guys are great. We are definitely going to have to meet up and do some rides together when I get back down to the carolinas. 128 miles, nice.

Unknown

Oh and your new Bike looks amazing!

Beth

WOW - 128 miles is totally impressive!! I'm a little jealous that you live so close to the Silver Comet I love coming down there to ride on it....it goes forever and ever and ever..

Also - way to go Jenn for signing up for Augusta!

Happy Training....Now go get in THE POOL! :)

Johann

Impressive training, well done! Nascar! I watch it on TV sometimes. Here in our country motor sport is very small with not much money going into it.

Meghann

Woah, 128 miles! That's awesome! Can't imagine why your legs would be tired :) Keep running!

Cory Reese

I love your pictures and write-up.

And a 128 MILE ride?!?!? What? Like, for fun? You are a beast. Well done!

Caratunk Girl

Sorry I haven't commented in so long!!! I have been stalking you but not commenting.

First - the swim - if it makes you feel any better, my race is in less than 50 days and I JUST started swimming regularly.

Second - the bike - WOW!!! You are rocking it!! THAT is where you DO NOT want to skimp, and you are freaking busting out 128 milers?? 112 is going to be cake for you!!!

Third - THE RUN! OK. My advice is going to be different than what you would think. My advice? SWIM. Your legs take the most beating in IM training. If your legs are that tired and you are having ITB issues (even if it is getting better), foam roll and listen to your body - REST the legs if they are tired. DON'T force yourself to stick to a schedule if your body is telling you something different.

If you can get a massage on the legs only. Recovery!!!

You do not want an injury now - work on the other two diciplines for a week or so (with some lighter, easy, short runs mixed in) and then give it a go.

OK. I wrote a book. Sorry. You are ROCKING the training though!! I am so excited for you!

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