IRONMAN LOUISVILLE 2017 TRAINING
WEEK 7 – May 1 > May 7
Training for Week 7 went pretty much as expected. I noticed that some extra time was added to both the bike and run at the end of the week, but 15 minutes isn’t so bad, I guess. The hard stuff is coming, so I should be happy that I’m still in the Base Phase of the training. I missed one swim due to me deciding I didn’t want to do it. (lol) That happens sometimes, but I know my ability pretty well. I am experiencing a little swimmer’s elbow tendinitis, possibly from trying to pull too hard in a bent elbow angle. When I keep my arm straight, I hardly experience any discomfort.
The best part of the week was the weekend. On Friday, my wife, in-laws and I went to Loras College in Dubuque to watch my son Ben run his final home meet. He usually runs the Steeplechase in track, but conference is coming up, and coach had him running the 1500 and a 4×400 relay. He did well and made us proud. He has steadily improved throughout his four years of running cross country and track, and I am sure he has some great running experiences ahead of him.
After watching him run two events, my father-in-law Gary and I made the trip up to Minocqua, WI to bring up some of the stuff we have been buying for our new lake home. Gary grew up in the area and was anxious to see our new place. This meant I got the chance to do my weekend training in the Northwoods. I really love it up there.
I brought up my hybrid bike, a Trek 7700FX, to ride on the crushed rock Bearskin Trail. It has a little wider tire, and was a good choice for riding that trail. I left it up there for future rides on the trail, but I will probably also try to ride my tri bike on the roads up there as well in training for IM Lou.
Not long after starting my ride I noticed my butt was hurting. I took an assessment and realized my seat had slipped down about 1.5 inches. I stopped and adjusted it and found immediate relief for my butt pain. But the dumb thing wouldn’t stay up. I must have stopped a dozen times trying to get it to stay. I pulled it out and noticed that it had a little grease on it. Not sure that was something I did, but I tried wiping it off with an old cut up hat that had been run over by a mower that I found trailside. That didn’t work. I rubbed sandy dirt on it, stuck a sticker on the seat post, tightened the quick release lever several times, all to no avail. I finally rubbed the post on some concrete, scratching it up somewhat in order to provide some grip. That seemed to work the best, although it wasn’t permanent. It’s amazing how a little adjustment can make a huge difference in comfort and preventing injuries.
I was met on the trail by a guy running his dog who stopped to see if I was doing okay. Turns out his name is Blaine and he is a local race director who organizes the local marathon called the “No Frills Marathon.” It’s an out and back on the same trail I was riding. I will have to run it someday. He was also wearing a Boston Marathon shirt and I picked his brain about the race for 10 minutes or so. It was nice to meet him. I forgot to bring any sort of nutrition with me, and only had water to drink. Sometimes in training you make mistakes, and that was mine for the day. By the time I got home and added a quick post-ride brick run, I was approaching “bonk” status. Gary and I headed out to lunch after I showered and I quickly bounced back.
I also got in a 8.5 mile run on Sunday before packing up and heading home. It was chilly, but it was a beautiful sunny day.
All in all, a great way to finish a training week.
TOTALS:
1 Swim – 1600 yards this week / 13200 yards total
3 Bikes – 65miles this week / 353 miles total
7 Runs – 32 miles this week / 185 miles total
an amazing run 