GETTING THERE!!

Greetings,
A lot has gone on since my last post. The training hours are mounting up and thankfully I am feeling good. During the month of May I covered 15.5 miles swimming, 435 bike miles, and 85 running miles. I can feel my body gaining fitness with each passing week.
Couple of highlights from the last few weeks. Saturday May 30th, I drove up the Ironman bike course loop in Verona and completed it twice, just as I will have to do on race day! It was fantastic. Rolling hills, crazy fast descents, and some seemingly endless climbs. I got a little bit of everything weather wise. The day started off wet, then cloudy, then windy, and finally sunny.
Some of the highlights:
1. Rolling hills that never seem to end
2. Witte Rd, 3 straight up and down hills, hit a max speed of 48mph!!
3. Garfoot Road. A steep descent with two hair pin turns
4. The 3 climbs on Old Sauk Pass and Midtown Road. The first on Old Sauk Pass never seems to end as it turns back and forth through a canopy of trees. When you do see the top it is a welcome sight. That relief only last for about 1000 yards and the second climb begins.
I was so pleased to have had the chance to ride the exact course. I feel the benefit will be almost immeasurable come race day. Look forward to riding the course 2 -3 more times before 9/13!!
The total distant I rode that day was 84 miles. A personal best!

This past Sunday I rode the Udder 100 bicycle ride out of Union, Il. It was a relatively flat course that was well marked and supported superbly! At about mile 10 it started to rain. Right before that I caught up with two other riders from Naperville, Mike and Scott. We rode together until about mile 70. I was very conscience of not drafting as that is a sure fire penalty on race day. I saw first hand how drafting can be an advantage . I was up front most of the time. When one the there riders wanted to lead I let him but then I rode behind him and out to the side, almost to the middle of the road. My thought process was, I can't draft on race day, why do it now. I would only be compromising my training! Then at mile 70 the course took on some gradual hills and modest descents. This is where i, for the first time, really believe that I can actually pull off this Ironman thing!!. I distanced my self from the 3 rides (we picked up another rider along the way, Todd, who ironically has done IM Wis twice and lives 4 blocks from me!!! )The slow up slopes seemed relatively easy for me. As I made my way to mile 100 and thought to myself. "100 miles, I could do 12 more!!!"
When I pulled into the parking lot and got off my bike, I hit my bike computer and it said my average speed was 20.6 and I had rode for 4:53!! My heart rate never got above 144 and for the most part was in the low 130s. Very pleased indeed!!!
It's coming along!!! Thanks again for checking out my blog!!

V

Half way there

Hi Everyone,
I know it has been a quite some time since I have posted. Training is progressing very well. I have remained healthy (knock on wood) and my fitness level is rising weekly.
The weather has finally come around!!! My long rides are now outside versus the sheer boredom of the indoor bike at my health club. In the past 4 weeks I have gone on 60,45,50, and 70 mile rides. Each ride has then been followed by a short run of 4 to 6 miles.
Today was my biggest challenge to date. I awoke this morning to the sound of howling wind. Howling to the tune of 25 mph with gust exceeding 30 mph. the going out portion of my ride was right into the teeth of the WNW. The 35 mile trip out was, plain and simple, the hardest ride I ever done so far. There were times when the wind would just about bring me to a complete halt. As I labored to get to my turn around I kept saying to myself " soon I get to turn around!!!" Then I looked at my odometer and I hit the 35mile mark, I checked my watch 1:59!! I knew I was going slow, but had no idea that slow.
WOW!!!! I have made the turn back.... It was an immediate relief to my legs, breathing and heart rate!!!! It was almost effortless to go 25mph on the bike. On one descent I hit 42 mph on the bike. As I backtracked home I started to focus on the run that I had coming up. A two mile fartlek run, and then a 4 mile steady run.
Once off my bike, I quickly peeled out of my cycling tights, put on fuel belt, running shoes and visor. Never knowing how my legs are going to exactly feel, I was worried that the first half of the bike might have taken its toll. Not so! I start off and run about a half mile at a casual pace, then pick up pace for 30 seconds, lower for 60 seconds, then increase to a faster pace fo 30. Then slow down for another minute, up the pace greater, slow for 60 then repeat 3 times. Once that is done a ran 4 miles at what I hope to be marathon pace of 8:40 per minute.
Looking back on todays workout I realized that one major thing I need to improve on is my food consumption on the bike. I am not taking in enough calories. This will be my focus for next week's long ride.
That is all for now.... thanks for checking in... I am really loving whole Ironman thing!!!

V

Will Spring ever get here???

Hard to believe it has been over a month since my last post. Its April 6th and I have started week #15 on my journey to become an Ironman. Over the past month I have broken some personal records with my workouts. I have had a 3000 yard swim session. A brick workout of 3 hours on the bike followed by a 10 mile run.
I am becoming more frustrated with the weather as of late. The cold 20-30s justs don't want to break!! I know it will get here, but patience is not one of my better virtues.
Happy Spring, once it gets here!!!

Thanks for checking in!

V

TIME IS FLYING........

Its March already!!!! Time is flying by along with the training weeks. So far I am really pleased with my training. However there is a part of me that questions the hours per week that my is calling for. I keep telling myself..."hang on V, the people that came up with my plan know a heck of a lot more about the IM stuff than I do." This is where my patience gets tested. I have completed a few 3 hour rides on the stationary bike, completed some brick work and I have not felt that taxed. I know I should be careful for what I asked for because I have paged through my program and there are quite a few instances where I will have to ask myself if I really want to go into the training "Pain Cave." I do welcome these upcoming days. I know they will test my fitness and increase my mental strength in my preparation for September 13,2009.
So far in my training I have come up with the opinion that there really are 5 disclipines in an Ironman. Swimming, biking, running, nutrition, and mental toughness. The first 4 you can work at, experiment with, tweak, and get pretty close to what you need to do. The mental side is the "unknown". How will my nerves be? How will handle the certain adversity? Will I am be able to keep my focus? For me, this is a big part of my journey.
Spring is coming!!!!
Thanks for checking in!!

5 Weeks down, 32 more to go!

Greetings,
Today was a new exiting training day! This morning I broke through into new territory. I had a swim of 1600 yards which consisted of intervals and then followed up by riding the bike for 2 hours. That is the longest time I have every been on a bike. (to date).
As I look back on the workout, I got a glimpse of how nailing down nutrition will be come race day. I maintained my cadence of 90-95 rpm throughout the ride. I did have to decrease the tension one level at the 95 minute mark as I noticed a jump of 5 heart beats per minute. That was about the same time ran out of Gatorade. Lesson learned!
Looking ahead to my training program, next weekend hands out the first Bike/Run brick workout. The first of many in the coming weeks!!
Well, its Super Bowl Sunday. I don't really care who wins just hopeful for a close,exciting game. Couple funny commercials wouldn't hurt either.
Thanks again to my family for allowing to chase this 140.6 mile dream!
Keep checking in!! (224 days and counting)

Steve

3 Weeks in.......

Well, I have started my 4th week of training for Ironman Wisconsin 2009. Everything is going along quite nicely. I really enjoy the lay out of the training program. The weekend workouts, as one might expect, are where a great deal of time is dedicated. The longest workout has been a 1100 yard swim followed by a 90 minute bike ride.

Today I had my first Cooper Swim Test. It basically is test to see how far you can swim in 12 minutes. So my first benchmark is 663 yards in 12 minutes. I am not exactly sure how I feel about my results. Of the 3 events, swimming presents me with the biggest mental barricade. I am striving to become more comfortable in the water. I will have another test in 4 weeks to check my progress. Thursday, January 22, I have my Cooper Run Test. Running distance covered in 12 minutes. I will be very interested to see how I do.

Another nice thing about my training program is that it has incorporated weight training. I have gotten away from the weights over the past couple years which I now regret to a certain degree.

I find myself looking ahead to future weeks and how I will get my workouts completed without too much additional time away from my family. My boys, Jackson 7, and Cole 4, are growing and learning everyday. That is one of the reasons I feel so compelled to train and run this race this year. They are only going to get busier and more involved in extra curricular activites of which I want to be apart of. One of my fondest memories as a kid growing up was seeing my dad in the stands or in the dugout at all my games. It gave me great pride knowing he was there.

Well, that is it for now. Grateful for my family's understanding and how they continue to allow me to chase this 140.6 mile dream.

Thanks for checking in!!

V