As I sit to write this post I am less than a week away from Ironman Cozumel and the anxiety of this big event is starting to hit me. I can't wait to get this race over with. My shoulder is still sore but I think I will be okay on race day even though I don't expect a fast swim time. Yesterday I did a 32 mile bike in the morning and then a 9 mile run in the evening. I know it was more than I should have done but it made me feel better. I did not swim over the weekend in order to give my shoulder extra time to rest. I do plan on swimming after work this afternoon.
When I started this whole endurance sport thing one thing was apparent to me early on. I thought runners were a respectful but intense group and I thought the triathletes were an easy going group that just wanted to see how far they could push themselves. Cyclists on the other hand have typically been very arrogant in my opinion. (Sorry to lump all cyclists together) I have seen so many cyclists who feel they are so much better than runners and triathletes. They think they are better than you because they have a $5000 bike who make a lot of money and that gives them an excuse to be a bunch of jerks. For example, I did a century ride earlier this year where a group oh U of H cyclists were riding 5 wide and nearly running cyclists going the other direction off the road. My favorite is the group of cyclists who get red with anger if a person on a tri bike comes within a mile of their draft line but would gladly draft of a person on a tri bike. I think you get the point. The last few times I have been running at Memorial Park I have noticed a growing trend. Runners are becoming jerks as well. I notice a lot of runners who run on the wrong side of the trail and then look at you as if you are the crazy person. My favorite is the group of runners who run anywhere from 3 to 5 people wide and will just not move in to let you get by. It doesn't matter if you are running towards them or trying to pass them. Last night as I was running there was a group of 3 runners moving towards me and they would not move over. One of the runners actually hit me and didn't even stop, slow down or apologize. I was as far to the right as I could be on the running loop and this guy still hit me. I have always seen people like this at the park but it seems there are more and more each time I go. I hope any runner that reads this thinks about the rules and general courtesy the next time they go running.
Sorry to ramble. I think this race is affecting my already angry mood. I'll be providing more frequent updates as I get closer to race day.
Later Dudes.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
T-minus 8 Days
I am 8 days from Ironman Cozumel and I'm getting excited and nervous. I took 3 days off from training and it seems to have to done me some good. I just finished a slow 10 mile bike ride and a 3 mile run at Memorial Park. It's the first time I have been pain free in my back, hip and legs in weeks. It felt great. Unfortunately my shoulder is still bothering me. I am going to try and get a swim in tomorrow and then another short training on Sunday. The shoulder is not going to keep me from racing but I know it will slow me down in the water. At this point I just want to make it out of the water and onto my bike. I'm sure I'll be fine.
On another note I am starting my 3 season as a Triathlon Coach for Team in Training. I am looking forward to getting started again and I know it will be a fun season. We have 37 participants and I know we will get them all to race day!
Bye for now.
On another note I am starting my 3 season as a Triathlon Coach for Team in Training. I am looking forward to getting started again and I know it will be a fun season. We have 37 participants and I know we will get them all to race day!
Bye for now.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Iron Star Triathlon
Last Sunday I did the Iron Star Half-Ironman Triathlon in Conroe as a final tune-up prior to IM Cozumel. Overall it was a good race and I had a time 5:47:36. Not too bad considering the injuries I am dealing with.
I'm not going to bore you to death with same old race report so here is the condensed version. The swim was slow for me due to a shoulder injury that I am still nursing. It was very painful and it was difficult to swim. The bike course was challenging. There were a lot of hills and the headwind made it tough to keep top speed. I finished with an average of 19.8 mph on the bike. Not bad considering the back, hip and knee issues I have. Lastly, the run was pretty tough. My legs did not want cooperate. They pain was worse than anything that I could have imagined. I somehow made it through and only missed my PR by 6 minutes.
I feel ready for IM Cozumel despite my numerous injuries. My back feels a little better but my hip, knee and shoulder are still hurting very bad. My run last night was painful and slow but I made it. My shoulder has prevented me from swimming much since the race but I should be okay. I'm starting my taper and I am looking forward to this race being over.
Later Dudes
I'm not going to bore you to death with same old race report so here is the condensed version. The swim was slow for me due to a shoulder injury that I am still nursing. It was very painful and it was difficult to swim. The bike course was challenging. There were a lot of hills and the headwind made it tough to keep top speed. I finished with an average of 19.8 mph on the bike. Not bad considering the back, hip and knee issues I have. Lastly, the run was pretty tough. My legs did not want cooperate. They pain was worse than anything that I could have imagined. I somehow made it through and only missed my PR by 6 minutes.
I feel ready for IM Cozumel despite my numerous injuries. My back feels a little better but my hip, knee and shoulder are still hurting very bad. My run last night was painful and slow but I made it. My shoulder has prevented me from swimming much since the race but I should be okay. I'm starting my taper and I am looking forward to this race being over.
Later Dudes
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Reports of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
I have not felt much like writing lately. I have been very busy at work and of course with the training. I will be brief with this posting as well.
As I write this IM Cozumel is 34 days away and I do feel ready for the most part. My last triathlon was 2 weeks ago in Dallas and it was a very tough event. I won't go through all my normal race reporting but I will say it was very rainy and cold and I did not have my best day. The one neat thing about the even t was the fact that it was part of the Toyota Cup series and there were a lot of pros there.
This weekend was very productive from the training perspective. Saturday I put down an 86 mile ride on my bike followed by an 1800 meter open water swim at Twin Lakes. It was not my fastest ride but it was great to get out on a beautiful day. The swim was good as well. I have not put much open water time lately and so it was a much needed training. Earlier today I did the Houston Half Marathon and I set a PR with a time of 1:46:00. I felt good despite a little pain in my left Achilles tendon. This is the same injury I have been dealing with most of the year. The pain comes and goes but I seem to able to deal with it. After the race I was able to get back on the course and run 4 more miles with Norma as she finished her race.
The one disappointing thing about today was the fact that I did not do Longhorn. It is a race I love and one I have done the last two years. It was my first Half-Ironman and it is very special to me. I felt that I needed a longer training than Longhorn could give me and I wanted to save my money with IM Cozumel coming up. I do plan on racing Ironstar in a few weeks for my last tune-up.
I'll be providing more updates with the big race coming soon.
As I write this IM Cozumel is 34 days away and I do feel ready for the most part. My last triathlon was 2 weeks ago in Dallas and it was a very tough event. I won't go through all my normal race reporting but I will say it was very rainy and cold and I did not have my best day. The one neat thing about the even t was the fact that it was part of the Toyota Cup series and there were a lot of pros there.
This weekend was very productive from the training perspective. Saturday I put down an 86 mile ride on my bike followed by an 1800 meter open water swim at Twin Lakes. It was not my fastest ride but it was great to get out on a beautiful day. The swim was good as well. I have not put much open water time lately and so it was a much needed training. Earlier today I did the Houston Half Marathon and I set a PR with a time of 1:46:00. I felt good despite a little pain in my left Achilles tendon. This is the same injury I have been dealing with most of the year. The pain comes and goes but I seem to able to deal with it. After the race I was able to get back on the course and run 4 more miles with Norma as she finished her race.
The one disappointing thing about today was the fact that I did not do Longhorn. It is a race I love and one I have done the last two years. It was my first Half-Ironman and it is very special to me. I felt that I needed a longer training than Longhorn could give me and I wanted to save my money with IM Cozumel coming up. I do plan on racing Ironstar in a few weeks for my last tune-up.
I'll be providing more updates with the big race coming soon.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Prairieman Triathlon
Last Sunday was supposed to be my 2 Half-Iron of 2009. Due to the rain in Dallas that I decided to drop out of the race. I didn't feel it would be safe and I just felt it would be too much to risk with IM Cozumel coming up and with my other races this year. I was surprised that Jack Weiss kept the race going. He had to shorten the bike course because of the conditions and there was a lot of road construction to deal with. I hated to miss out on the race but I think it was the right thing to do. I did however get a 13 mile run in after we got back home.
The rest of the week sucked for training. I had a long week at work that included a day trip to Madisonville and a trip San Antonio for 2 days. This really didn't help. To make matters worse I have been fighting some stomach bug for the last few days. I did get a short swim in on Friday and a 10 mile run on Saturday but I seem to be paying for that now. If I feel up to it I am going to ride the spinning bike later today. I don't want to be too far away from the bathroom.
The rest of the week sucked for training. I had a long week at work that included a day trip to Madisonville and a trip San Antonio for 2 days. This really didn't help. To make matters worse I have been fighting some stomach bug for the last few days. I did get a short swim in on Friday and a 10 mile run on Saturday but I seem to be paying for that now. If I feel up to it I am going to ride the spinning bike later today. I don't want to be too far away from the bathroom.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Yes, I am Crazy
This past week has been pretty light with the exception of swimming. I have been careful not to over do it. My training plan has spots where I pull back the mileage to allow my body to heal. With that said I have slow ride of 30 -40 miles followed by a short run and swim on Monday. I want to make sure I'm feeling good for Prairieman on the September 13th.
On the injury front my back is feeling much better but I still have a sore left calf. It only seems to affect me on my runs and its really more of an annoyance than anything else.
Lastly, As far the race schedule goes I am adding one more race to the schedule. I have decided to do the Las Vegas Triathlon September 27th. There are 3 distances at this event but I will be doing the Half-Iron. This will be cutting it close on recovery but I feel I need this for my IM Cozumel training. When I saw Ryan Taylor today I told him that I was going all in on the events and I want to see how far I can push my body. This may not be the most sane thinking but its what I want. I'll keep you posted. Hopefully I live through this.
On the injury front my back is feeling much better but I still have a sore left calf. It only seems to affect me on my runs and its really more of an annoyance than anything else.
Lastly, As far the race schedule goes I am adding one more race to the schedule. I have decided to do the Las Vegas Triathlon September 27th. There are 3 distances at this event but I will be doing the Half-Iron. This will be cutting it close on recovery but I feel I need this for my IM Cozumel training. When I saw Ryan Taylor today I told him that I was going all in on the events and I want to see how far I can push my body. This may not be the most sane thinking but its what I want. I'll keep you posted. Hopefully I live through this.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Clear Lake International Triathlon and Other Training Notes
Saturday August 22nd I did my 2nd Olympic Triathlon of 2009. This was a pretty flat and fast race and I had a good day.
Norms and I just got to the race site right before transition closed. It was tough to get parked and we had to rush to get set up. As I made my way to the swim start I was still nervous but I knew I would be OK. When I was entering the water I kicked a rock with my left foot which put a small cut on my big toe but it didn't hurt too bad. A few minutes later I hit my left elbow on a rock which did hurt. As the swim started another racer grabbed my left leg and pulled my timing chip off. I put it back on but it fell off again which pissed me off. It was not the start that I was looking for. I ultimately swam with chip in my left hand which didn't help my already slow swimming. Despite swimming with the chip in my hand I had an OK swim time of 34:43. I'm sure I would have done much better if I had not had the chip in my hand.
As I got on my bike I felt pretty good. I got on the bike course only to find my computer not working. I didn't let it bother me but I would like to have had it. There was one big hill at the beginning of the ride but it was primarily flat. The ride was good until the Olympic riders merged with the Sprint group and then it got a little crowded. All in all it was a good bike course and I had great time of1:07:28 which was 22.1 mph average.
As I left transition on the run I was feeling good but I didn't know how I would finish. The temperature was starting to rise and as I reached mile 2 I was fading. I kept pressing and as I made the turnaround at mile 3 I saw Audree and I thought it was just a matter of time until she caught me. I kept going and and as I hit mile 4 I realized I was going to have a decent time. I knew that if I could pick up the pace I might actually set a PR. I was running the last 2 miles as fast as I could. I had nothing left but I pressed on. As I came down the home stretch I knew it was going to be close. My run time was 52:40 and I left it all on the course.
The final tally was 2:38:57 which was 43 seconds slower than my PR. That was tough to swallow but I'm still very happy with my time. I was looking to PR so it all worked out well.
Overall, my training is going well. I had a long run on Saturday and long ride on Sunday. I do have a couple of nagging injuries. I have a very sore calf and I have sore back but it has not stopped me from training. I feel like I'm on track for Cozumel.
My next race is the Prairieman Half Ironman in Dallas on September 13th. I may have an announcement on another race I might do in September. I will let you all know soon.
Sorry for the brief update but I have been super busy at work and I have not had much time to update this Blog. As a matter of fact I have to hurry because I have to go back to work. Later!
Norms and I just got to the race site right before transition closed. It was tough to get parked and we had to rush to get set up. As I made my way to the swim start I was still nervous but I knew I would be OK. When I was entering the water I kicked a rock with my left foot which put a small cut on my big toe but it didn't hurt too bad. A few minutes later I hit my left elbow on a rock which did hurt. As the swim started another racer grabbed my left leg and pulled my timing chip off. I put it back on but it fell off again which pissed me off. It was not the start that I was looking for. I ultimately swam with chip in my left hand which didn't help my already slow swimming. Despite swimming with the chip in my hand I had an OK swim time of 34:43. I'm sure I would have done much better if I had not had the chip in my hand.
As I got on my bike I felt pretty good. I got on the bike course only to find my computer not working. I didn't let it bother me but I would like to have had it. There was one big hill at the beginning of the ride but it was primarily flat. The ride was good until the Olympic riders merged with the Sprint group and then it got a little crowded. All in all it was a good bike course and I had great time of1:07:28 which was 22.1 mph average.
As I left transition on the run I was feeling good but I didn't know how I would finish. The temperature was starting to rise and as I reached mile 2 I was fading. I kept pressing and as I made the turnaround at mile 3 I saw Audree and I thought it was just a matter of time until she caught me. I kept going and and as I hit mile 4 I realized I was going to have a decent time. I knew that if I could pick up the pace I might actually set a PR. I was running the last 2 miles as fast as I could. I had nothing left but I pressed on. As I came down the home stretch I knew it was going to be close. My run time was 52:40 and I left it all on the course.
The final tally was 2:38:57 which was 43 seconds slower than my PR. That was tough to swallow but I'm still very happy with my time. I was looking to PR so it all worked out well.
Overall, my training is going well. I had a long run on Saturday and long ride on Sunday. I do have a couple of nagging injuries. I have a very sore calf and I have sore back but it has not stopped me from training. I feel like I'm on track for Cozumel.
My next race is the Prairieman Half Ironman in Dallas on September 13th. I may have an announcement on another race I might do in September. I will let you all know soon.
Sorry for the brief update but I have been super busy at work and I have not had much time to update this Blog. As a matter of fact I have to hurry because I have to go back to work. Later!
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