Well now that I have not blogged for a while, I think that it is time to start again. New year new goals. 2011 will not be a year for Ironman but there will be events and this year will be a year to get stronger and faster. I am convinced that the key for me is to improve nutritionally and strengthen my core. I will publish my winter workout calendar during the next week.
Since Ironman I really have not maintained any strict training regiment. I have done more running, some spin classes and did a masters swim with Derek. One of my goals for the coming year will be to find balance in my training. One of the things that I learned is that I do need to find balance with training. Training and fitness has been and continues to be something of an addiction for me. I more than the enjoy the rush when I get to push my body to the limit and beyond.
My training in earnest will begin this coming week. Just before the rush begins at Harbor. My favorite is to enjoy activities outdoors but for now I will focus my workouts inside at Harbor.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Ironman Day (T1…Transition 1)
As I came into the building was this big room that had rows of transition bags. Each row was marked with a range of numbers. I found my bag half way down the row that started 1800 – 1850. Realize that this room contained 2400+ transition bags and each bag contained our whole outfit change from swimming to bike. My bag contained my helmet, bike shoes, jersey, bibs and food. I had been determined before I started the race that I was going to take in as much as I could, so when I got to the transition room (a ball room converted to a men’s locker room) I just sat down and took it in before changing. Modesty rules with me so when I put on my compression shorts on in the morning it was with the intention of wearing them for the swim, bike and run.
I had packed two Cliff bars with the intention of eating them before the ride started as I knew my body would be out of breakfast calories soon enough. Nutrition has been a big part of my training and I have studied quite a bit on when and how to consume fuel. This is one reason for many and for myself triathlons become a lifestyle.
While sitting in the chair, eating my Cliff bar and feeling good about the swim I realized that I was dawdling and wasting time. I put on my jersey realizing after it was on that my bib shorts needed to go on first. I stripped off my shirt and put the shorts and got my shirt back on but I could not find my Butt Butter. I sat down to put my shoes and socks on and the BB packets had fallen into my shoes. After I finished getting my shoes on I tore open the packets of BB and liberally applied in the appropriate areas, for a gentler silky smooth ride. Yea. I grabbed two more glasses of water on the way out to the bike
Here I have to put a plug in for the volunteers; Bill helped me in the first transition, he did everything, opened my bag, got me water, tried to calm me down. I can not say enough about the volunteers and how much they encouraged us along the way. I know that from my perspective they played a big role in making the day special. I had volunteered in the transition area last year so I could register for this year’s event. It was a great time but until you have been on both sides, I did not realize how much they meant to the athletes.
Making my way to the bike, I walked deliberately trying to remain calm. I slid my riding gloves on found my bike. Walking my bike to the bike mount line my son Matt and his best friend Chris (my other son) were waving and shouting at me trying to get my picture. Those guys were nuts but why should they be different from the rest of the crowd. By the time I made my way to the line, I had become focused on the ride and did not see or hear much around me.
I had packed two Cliff bars with the intention of eating them before the ride started as I knew my body would be out of breakfast calories soon enough. Nutrition has been a big part of my training and I have studied quite a bit on when and how to consume fuel. This is one reason for many and for myself triathlons become a lifestyle.
While sitting in the chair, eating my Cliff bar and feeling good about the swim I realized that I was dawdling and wasting time. I put on my jersey realizing after it was on that my bib shorts needed to go on first. I stripped off my shirt and put the shorts and got my shirt back on but I could not find my Butt Butter. I sat down to put my shoes and socks on and the BB packets had fallen into my shoes. After I finished getting my shoes on I tore open the packets of BB and liberally applied in the appropriate areas, for a gentler silky smooth ride. Yea. I grabbed two more glasses of water on the way out to the bike
Here I have to put a plug in for the volunteers; Bill helped me in the first transition, he did everything, opened my bag, got me water, tried to calm me down. I can not say enough about the volunteers and how much they encouraged us along the way. I know that from my perspective they played a big role in making the day special. I had volunteered in the transition area last year so I could register for this year’s event. It was a great time but until you have been on both sides, I did not realize how much they meant to the athletes.
Making my way to the bike, I walked deliberately trying to remain calm. I slid my riding gloves on found my bike. Walking my bike to the bike mount line my son Matt and his best friend Chris (my other son) were waving and shouting at me trying to get my picture. Those guys were nuts but why should they be different from the rest of the crowd. By the time I made my way to the line, I had become focused on the ride and did not see or hear much around me.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Ironman Day (The Swim)
After going to bed a little after 9:00 PM, I did not have an especially great night of sleep. I was waking up every hour or so checking my watch. 12:14, 2:01, finally 3:37, it’s time! I got up just before 4:00 AM. I walked to the bathroom with a dull pain in my stomach. I am not sure what compelled me to take a shower this morning since I was going to be in the lake in just over 2 hours but it felt good. I went downstairs to the kitchen and heated water on the stove got out a small frying pan and filled my water bottles. My plan was to eat breakfast as close to 5:00 as possible. I had decided earlier that breakfast was pretty much going to be the usual routine that I have used for most every other triathlon I have done. Two scrambled eggs, oatmeal with a little sugar and a piece of toast. As I was eating I remembered that I needed to put my timing chip on my ankle. I adjusted it a couple of more times through breakfast. I also decided to add a little coffee which I believe now to have been a mistake. At 5:00 we hopped into the car with my special needs bags and wetsuit.
I don’t remember the ride downtown too much; I know that I was intensely focused on what I was going to do throughout the race. We parked at the DPI building and then walked over to the marking area on the east entrance of Monona Terrace. It was a mass of humanity athletes and spectators alike. My marker asked me for my number, he marked 1882 on my arms. What’s your age. 49 went on the back of my left leg. I handed Chris my special needs bags and went into the bike transition area to put my water bottles on my bike and check my tires. I had decided that unless my tires felt soft I was not going to try and pump them up. We walked up to the Starbuck’s to drop off my special needs bags and meet my friend Diane.
We all headed down to Monona Terrace and outside the building, changed into my wetsuit. The announcement came, it was time all athletes to get into the water. We headed into the building and went down the east helix to the lake. As we walked to the water we chatted a little and I got last minute encouragement as I headed toward the lake entry . I gave Chris a kiss and checked my timing chip zipped up my suit then went into the water.
The water was cold near the shore and took my breath away a bit, most people were standing near the shore waiting until the last minute to take the plunge. I swam about fifty yards out to the Ford sign and back, it felt good and I was beginning to warm up. By this time the coffee had also kicked in and for the first time since I purchased my wetsuit I peed in it. I swam out about a hundred or so yards from shore where the start was to take place. I arrived 8 minutes before the pros were to start at 6:50. While waiting for the start I laid on my back in the water just trying to focus and keep my heart rate down. The cannon for the pros went off right at 6:50 according to my watch. Good, now I know my watch is on the same time as the race clock. People crowded to the start area and I found myself in the middle of the pack. At about three minutes to 7:00 they sang the National Anthem and tears poured down my face for what would be the first of many times during the race.
Just before the cannon went off I had one last pee in the wetsuit. I had violated my own rule twice in the last half hour. Boom! Derek had advised me earlier in the week to start near the front outside. I forgot. The course is a rectangle marked on each corner by a large orange buoy with numbered yellow buoys in between. People were all over me and I them as we started on the swim. Bodies, arms and legs were everywhere. It was at about buoy #2 where I recalled Derek’s advice. Damn! I attempted to swim to the outside but quickly realized that was not happening so I waited for the group to spread out a little. At buoy #6 someone kicked me in the goggles and the suction caused me to lose vision in my right eye momentarily. I stopped, adjusted my goggles and everything was fine again. When we hit the first orange corner buoy everything came to a halt again, everyone was mooing as we turned the corner to the next orange buoy. It really did remind me of cows going through the chute. As we rounded the second large orange buoy I was able to keep Monona Terrace in my field of view during the swim until I was perpendicular to the large steel grain bin apartment building. I was pretty much free from hitting others so I kept myself occupied by looking and counting the smaller buoys as they passed until we reached the next corner. When I reach the final corner buoy I was at the half way point and had the urge to check my watch to check my spilt, I resisted and just kept on going. Finally, I had hit the last long stretch back and I had plenty of room to swim. I thought I must be doing ok as there seemed to be a fair number of swimmers behind me. Then I get kicked in the right hip. I spent the rest of the swim in something of a protective mode wondering if I was going to get it right in the (you know where I mean). As I swam by Monona Terrace for one last time I thought about how my swim had improved since June, all be it at the expense of my swimming over classmates. When I turned down that last buoy toward the steel building and shore I was wondering about my time; just how far off was I from the 1:30 goal? I went by the ski jump and kept moving toward shore finally touching the launch with my hand as I swam. Derek would have been proud that I hadn’t stood up yet. When I did stand I looked at the clock 1:24….big smile, very cool, five minutes faster than I had planned.
The crowd was cheering and I was taking my wetsuit off. The wetsuit strippers helped me remove it from the bottom half of my body. It was pretty cool, my legs cramped a little but all was good. As I ran up the helix to the transition the first person I saw that I knew was Julie, one of my classmates for swimming. I often would unintentionally run in to her during classes. The swim was my payback…everyone ran into/over me. Another huge wave of emotion hit as I saw my family and friends on the helix cheering. I am generally not a crier,however; emotion was going to be a theme for the day. I was just glad that I was still dripping from the swim no one could see the tears.
I don’t remember the ride downtown too much; I know that I was intensely focused on what I was going to do throughout the race. We parked at the DPI building and then walked over to the marking area on the east entrance of Monona Terrace. It was a mass of humanity athletes and spectators alike. My marker asked me for my number, he marked 1882 on my arms. What’s your age. 49 went on the back of my left leg. I handed Chris my special needs bags and went into the bike transition area to put my water bottles on my bike and check my tires. I had decided that unless my tires felt soft I was not going to try and pump them up. We walked up to the Starbuck’s to drop off my special needs bags and meet my friend Diane.
We all headed down to Monona Terrace and outside the building, changed into my wetsuit. The announcement came, it was time all athletes to get into the water. We headed into the building and went down the east helix to the lake. As we walked to the water we chatted a little and I got last minute encouragement as I headed toward the lake entry . I gave Chris a kiss and checked my timing chip zipped up my suit then went into the water.
The water was cold near the shore and took my breath away a bit, most people were standing near the shore waiting until the last minute to take the plunge. I swam about fifty yards out to the Ford sign and back, it felt good and I was beginning to warm up. By this time the coffee had also kicked in and for the first time since I purchased my wetsuit I peed in it. I swam out about a hundred or so yards from shore where the start was to take place. I arrived 8 minutes before the pros were to start at 6:50. While waiting for the start I laid on my back in the water just trying to focus and keep my heart rate down. The cannon for the pros went off right at 6:50 according to my watch. Good, now I know my watch is on the same time as the race clock. People crowded to the start area and I found myself in the middle of the pack. At about three minutes to 7:00 they sang the National Anthem and tears poured down my face for what would be the first of many times during the race.
Just before the cannon went off I had one last pee in the wetsuit. I had violated my own rule twice in the last half hour. Boom! Derek had advised me earlier in the week to start near the front outside. I forgot. The course is a rectangle marked on each corner by a large orange buoy with numbered yellow buoys in between. People were all over me and I them as we started on the swim. Bodies, arms and legs were everywhere. It was at about buoy #2 where I recalled Derek’s advice. Damn! I attempted to swim to the outside but quickly realized that was not happening so I waited for the group to spread out a little. At buoy #6 someone kicked me in the goggles and the suction caused me to lose vision in my right eye momentarily. I stopped, adjusted my goggles and everything was fine again. When we hit the first orange corner buoy everything came to a halt again, everyone was mooing as we turned the corner to the next orange buoy. It really did remind me of cows going through the chute. As we rounded the second large orange buoy I was able to keep Monona Terrace in my field of view during the swim until I was perpendicular to the large steel grain bin apartment building. I was pretty much free from hitting others so I kept myself occupied by looking and counting the smaller buoys as they passed until we reached the next corner. When I reach the final corner buoy I was at the half way point and had the urge to check my watch to check my spilt, I resisted and just kept on going. Finally, I had hit the last long stretch back and I had plenty of room to swim. I thought I must be doing ok as there seemed to be a fair number of swimmers behind me. Then I get kicked in the right hip. I spent the rest of the swim in something of a protective mode wondering if I was going to get it right in the (you know where I mean). As I swam by Monona Terrace for one last time I thought about how my swim had improved since June, all be it at the expense of my swimming over classmates. When I turned down that last buoy toward the steel building and shore I was wondering about my time; just how far off was I from the 1:30 goal? I went by the ski jump and kept moving toward shore finally touching the launch with my hand as I swam. Derek would have been proud that I hadn’t stood up yet. When I did stand I looked at the clock 1:24….big smile, very cool, five minutes faster than I had planned.
The crowd was cheering and I was taking my wetsuit off. The wetsuit strippers helped me remove it from the bottom half of my body. It was pretty cool, my legs cramped a little but all was good. As I ran up the helix to the transition the first person I saw that I knew was Julie, one of my classmates for swimming. I often would unintentionally run in to her during classes. The swim was my payback…everyone ran into/over me. Another huge wave of emotion hit as I saw my family and friends on the helix cheering. I am generally not a crier,however; emotion was going to be a theme for the day. I was just glad that I was still dripping from the swim no one could see the tears.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Finish
OK I am now in the recovery stage of my training. I heard the words this past Sunday Jim Henning you are an Ironman. During this down time, I plan to blog about the journey the past month or so. It has been an incredible ride. I have started the article about Sunday and my experiences and thoughts during the race. I will also include my post race reflections.
I do want to leave with two thoughts however.
1. Ironman was a great goal and dream of mine but it was not the finish......It is the START.
2. You have in your control how and when you are going to live. START now!
I do want to leave with two thoughts however.
1. Ironman was a great goal and dream of mine but it was not the finish......It is the START.
2. You have in your control how and when you are going to live. START now!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Too Good to Make up (Week of July 18th)
(Note: This is continuing updates to posts that were missed during July...more to follow.)
I have been doing the IM bike loop about one every week sometimes I leave from home but other times I go after work. This Tuesday I left after work and drove to Verona starting at Badger Middle School). When I get there is a Cadillac Escaladed and a Chevy Trail Blazer that had smacked head on doing major damage to both vehicles. Both vehicles were in the loop of the school parking lot. Police were at the scene and as I was getting ready an officer pulled off to one corner of the parking lot. I figured the right thing to do was to ask if it was still ok to park. It was. My curiosity got the better of me, so I asked the officer if the people involved in the accident were young men under the age of 20. (Ok, I have two twenty something sons, and somehow this just seemed like one of those things….yes I know I am stereotyping.) The officer turned to me and smiled, he said that was my exact thought when I pulled in.
As it turns out the persons involved were middle age men. I will qualify the punch line; yes we are all pigs. One of the men admitted to being distracted by a passing jogger and shortly after his admission the other admitted to the same thing. So many questions should be asked but maybe this one just stands on its own. See you can’t make this stuff up and it was too good not to share.
I have been doing the IM bike loop about one every week sometimes I leave from home but other times I go after work. This Tuesday I left after work and drove to Verona starting at Badger Middle School). When I get there is a Cadillac Escaladed and a Chevy Trail Blazer that had smacked head on doing major damage to both vehicles. Both vehicles were in the loop of the school parking lot. Police were at the scene and as I was getting ready an officer pulled off to one corner of the parking lot. I figured the right thing to do was to ask if it was still ok to park. It was. My curiosity got the better of me, so I asked the officer if the people involved in the accident were young men under the age of 20. (Ok, I have two twenty something sons, and somehow this just seemed like one of those things….yes I know I am stereotyping.) The officer turned to me and smiled, he said that was my exact thought when I pulled in.
As it turns out the persons involved were middle age men. I will qualify the punch line; yes we are all pigs. One of the men admitted to being distracted by a passing jogger and shortly after his admission the other admitted to the same thing. So many questions should be asked but maybe this one just stands on its own. See you can’t make this stuff up and it was too good not to share.
Don’t Drink and Run (July 4th Weekend)
(Note: I am posting stuff that for some reason I did not get up earlier. There are a few more entries coming for July)
So all that stuff I have been reading about nutrition got thrown out this weekend. I started the weekend by biking from Waunakee to our campsite near Rio and back. Sounds good I easily packed on 80 plus miles. I barely got back when we needed to head off to my daughter’s concert for summer music camp…stuff down some nice fries and a burger from Culvers. Lesson 1: One of the great things about getting smaller is that it takes less food to fill me up. Hint: What I have discovered is that getting a kids meal really seems to do the trick for me. My meal came with a scoop of custard which I was able to use on the drive back to the campsite after the choral concert…I also purchased a chocolate chip cookie for the drive back too.
Saturday is the annual cook a turkey at camp day. The cooking started out with one of my favorite drinks Tanqueray and tonic with a squeeze of lime is refreshing on a hot day. Lesson 2: One of the great things about getting smaller is that it takes far less alcohol to have the same affect that it used to. Apparently about a fifth of gin later I started communicating via text messages with friends about my need for more Tanqueray. Thank goodness there was no one sympathetic to my plight. By the way my appetite was ravenous and I tried portions of everything including desserts. By the time clean-up had rolled around the food had offset the effects of the alcohol, however in combination with turkey it really makes one tired.
Sunday 5:30 am birds are singing lots of snoring in the surrounding tents. Maybe I should go for a run before everyone gets up. Great Idea! By 6:00 am I had stretched and consumed enough water to get me from camp to Rio, WI just over 5 miles away. Mile 1 doing really well the sun is coming up and shade is still covering the road. Mile 2-3, is it just me or is it getting warm. At approximately 4 miles I can see the faint outline of the water tower and a town through the heat waves coming off County Highway B. In just a few more minutes I will be enjoying some cool water over my head….it kinda smells out here a bit. You know there is not much open in a small community of God fearing people before 7 AM. There was a church that was opening up but I cannot imagine that a guy pouring sweat would be welcome…. And I could still smell that lousy odor from a mile back or so. So I turned around without consuming more water (who thinks this was a good idea?) and made my way back to camp.
Here is weekend Lesson 3: Drinking that much alcohol makes nasty stinky sweat, and you dehydrate faster and by the way you are completely delirious after about mile 7. Oh yea, I forgot I am pretty sure the temperature was around 100 or so (at least that’s my story), and the road tar was sticking to my shoes. By the time I got back to camp I had bonked big time. I got the hint from those standing upwind from me that perhaps I needed jump in the camp lake so I could be more refreshed. They wanted me to jump in with my cloths on however I thought it would be better to change into a swim suit first…..still haven’t found those shirt and shorts……
So all that stuff I have been reading about nutrition got thrown out this weekend. I started the weekend by biking from Waunakee to our campsite near Rio and back. Sounds good I easily packed on 80 plus miles. I barely got back when we needed to head off to my daughter’s concert for summer music camp…stuff down some nice fries and a burger from Culvers. Lesson 1: One of the great things about getting smaller is that it takes less food to fill me up. Hint: What I have discovered is that getting a kids meal really seems to do the trick for me. My meal came with a scoop of custard which I was able to use on the drive back to the campsite after the choral concert…I also purchased a chocolate chip cookie for the drive back too.
Saturday is the annual cook a turkey at camp day. The cooking started out with one of my favorite drinks Tanqueray and tonic with a squeeze of lime is refreshing on a hot day. Lesson 2: One of the great things about getting smaller is that it takes far less alcohol to have the same affect that it used to. Apparently about a fifth of gin later I started communicating via text messages with friends about my need for more Tanqueray. Thank goodness there was no one sympathetic to my plight. By the way my appetite was ravenous and I tried portions of everything including desserts. By the time clean-up had rolled around the food had offset the effects of the alcohol, however in combination with turkey it really makes one tired.
Sunday 5:30 am birds are singing lots of snoring in the surrounding tents. Maybe I should go for a run before everyone gets up. Great Idea! By 6:00 am I had stretched and consumed enough water to get me from camp to Rio, WI just over 5 miles away. Mile 1 doing really well the sun is coming up and shade is still covering the road. Mile 2-3, is it just me or is it getting warm. At approximately 4 miles I can see the faint outline of the water tower and a town through the heat waves coming off County Highway B. In just a few more minutes I will be enjoying some cool water over my head….it kinda smells out here a bit. You know there is not much open in a small community of God fearing people before 7 AM. There was a church that was opening up but I cannot imagine that a guy pouring sweat would be welcome…. And I could still smell that lousy odor from a mile back or so. So I turned around without consuming more water (who thinks this was a good idea?) and made my way back to camp.
Here is weekend Lesson 3: Drinking that much alcohol makes nasty stinky sweat, and you dehydrate faster and by the way you are completely delirious after about mile 7. Oh yea, I forgot I am pretty sure the temperature was around 100 or so (at least that’s my story), and the road tar was sticking to my shoes. By the time I got back to camp I had bonked big time. I got the hint from those standing upwind from me that perhaps I needed jump in the camp lake so I could be more refreshed. They wanted me to jump in with my cloths on however I thought it would be better to change into a swim suit first…..still haven’t found those shirt and shorts……
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Time Flies When Your Having Fun
Ok, I've been bad about posting again. Training has not been exceptional the past few weeks. While I have been putting in the time and following my training plan my feeling is that I am plateauing and that I am not quite where I would like to be. I have come to realize over the last couple of weeks that I need to focus on nutrition. My mind has still been wrapped in weight loss mode and that really does not work for endurance training. I have felt more bonks at the end of my training in the last three weeks. Good news is that I have started to figure it out and I am making sure that I flavor my water and drink more on the long rides and make sure that I drink every 10 minutes or so.
Training is tough but my friend support has been terrific and I am still having fun. What a cool summer!!
BTW: Read the book Food for Fitness by Chris Carmichael (Lance Armstrong's coach) it is filled with great nutrition tips and ideas.
Training is tough but my friend support has been terrific and I am still having fun. What a cool summer!!
BTW: Read the book Food for Fitness by Chris Carmichael (Lance Armstrong's coach) it is filled with great nutrition tips and ideas.
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