Another Week Closer...

Week 8 of my training is complete!  This week was a recovery week, a welcome sight for me.  It is a time of less time training but still with sustained effort.

I need to get a photographer to go out and take pictures of when I am training, so I can post something other than words to my blog.  Here's a picture of something I have spent considerable time looking at lately, whether it be on my bike or on the run.  It has become an invaluable tool for me to track how I am doing. 

[I saved the picture the way it should look...for some reason, it did not come over that way]

I am going to have my daughter Katie put together a poster for me to put on my door, so that I can look at it to remind myself of the goal.  I had a poster on my door for Ironman Steelhead 70.3 last year that I looked at every day.  A good reminder, especially on days when I don't necessarily feel like getting up early or go do the second training session of the day.  I am going to put things on it to motivate and inspire me.

I recently moved my gym membership from the Y to LA Fitness.  It is less expensive, but, more importantly, it is closer to home.  Also, I rarely have to share a lane for swimming and they open early on Sunday.  It's all about timing and finding some of it to get a workout in.

I have enjoyed being able to ride a bike on a trainer this winter, as it is helping me get used to being on my bike and to get stronger.  I need to work on working the lactic acid out of my legs from running and biking.  I did a cool bath yesterday after my 10-mile run; it helped somewhat....can't do an ice bath...too cold for me and my heart.  I am considering getting compression tights to help me do this.  ...man, what an expensive sport! 

For those of you who want to see where and what I/we will be doing on August 26, here is a link to the IM Louisville website.

http://ironman.com/louisville#axzz1nWRXCbnL

While it is a long training period, I am glad for it, as it gives me time to get better and develop my endurance that I will need to successfully complete the race.

I am working on developing a calendar of races that I am going to do in preparation for the Ironman event.  Here's what I have so far:

April 15 Carmel Sprint Triathlon
May 5    500 Festival Mini Marathon
May 19  Geist Half Marathon
June 9    Muncie Man Triathlon - Olympic Distance
July 7    Muncie Ironman 70.3 - Half Ironman
Aug 26  Ironman Louisville

There are a few other events that I am considering, and will be working with Coach Sean to determine which ones are best to do.

One day at a time, one training session at a time, one week at a time...

Building The Base

Joe, Raj, and I ran 13 miles today.  13...already?!  It's only February 18th!  Don't question, just do it!  Trust the process.  I am glad to have people to train with, especially when we get to the long bike rides and bricks.  Good to have Ginger, Lu, and Shawn out running with us for a few today.

I do ask a lot of questions and get good feedback from coach Sean, which is good for me, as I want to learn.

It was a great day to run. 

This is the portion of the training where we are building our base of endurance so that we can be ready to hit the major training that is coming. 

My learning curve continues to be steep...lots to learn. 

This is the first time that I have ever done a bike trainer.  It's a great workout and not as easy as one would think. 

I am learning that I need to recover so that I can do the next day's workout.  That includes food and drink, stretching, and rest.  Also, I am thinking I need to do cool baths or get recovery tights so that I can work out the lactic acid out of my legs to reduce soreness the next day. 

I am finding that I am hungry more often now, so I need to eat more than I am used to.  

Tomorrow ends week 7 of training.  Next week is a step down week, to let my body recover from all of the training.  Intensity is still there; the duration of the workouts decrease. 

With having 16- and 12-year old daughters with active lifestyles, my wife, mother-in-law, and I are shuttling them to tennis and soccer and the rest of the things they are involved with.  Each day is full of activity, as well as figuring out when to get my workouts in...and work.

By the way, welcome to the IM Louisville team to Chad Sperry!...yes, Chad, I did mention you in a previous post...I wanted you to break the news to your wife, not me.  btw...get training, mister!