Enjoying the Ride

IRONMAN LOUISVILLE 2020 TRAINING

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WEEK 11 – May 25 > May 31, 2020

IRONMAN TRAINING IN THE TIME OF PANDEMIC – PART XI

The weather was pretty awesome this week. I was in upper Wisconsin at my lake home at the end of last week and the beginning of this week. I was able to do a long ride and long run last weekend and began this week with a Tuesday run on the Bearskin Trail that runs through town before heading back home. We would have stayed longer but the in-laws have sold their local home and were leaving for Florida so we needed to be back home to say goodbye.

Swim training began this week! And although boring, as usual, it didn’t suck. Well, it had its moments. I only got in the Thursday swim because we were traveling on Tuesday, and I only did 30 minutes. I tried using my Garmin 935 watch in the past for swimming in my pool, but it never read the distance correctly. Garmin must have updated the pool swim feature for the watch as it now lets me customize the pool distance to a more realistic 15 yards for my pool. Still a little long, but more in the ballpark than 18 or 25 yards, which were the only options before. Anyway, here’s proof that I was swimming:

Look out, Mark Spitz! I’m coming for you!

The Saturday long ride was interesting. I saw a lot of interesting things on this ride and thought I would share some photos. These photos are screenshots from my Fly12 bike flashing light/camera.

Screen Shot 2020-05-30 at 5.07.24 PM — 15 minutes into the ride and I had to wait for Mama Duck to get her ducklings across the road.

Screen Shot 2020-05-30 at 5.14.41 PM — This trucker gave me a nice wide berth on Hoff Road. Thanks for sharing the road, trucker guy!

I caught up with the local cycling club that I follow and rode with them for a while, and I made a new friend. Hello, Angela!

Screen Shot 2020-05-30 at 5.19.25 PM — This white 1967 Olds Cutlass 442 was parked off of Hoff Road in the Midewin Nature preserve and rumbled by giving me a smile.

Screen Shot 2020-05-30 at 5.33.27 PM — This farmer was kind enough to give me space too.

Okay, enough with the photos.

The Sunday 8.5 mile run was interesting too. I was coming up to pass a guy who was walking ahead of me, and as he reached into his pocket for his phone a deer appear not five feet in front of him. He never saw the deer as it bounded right past him! I was shocked that he didn’t see him. Unbelievable how much you miss when you are paying attention to your dumb device and not your surroundings. I enjoyed it though.

Lastly, with all of the turmoil going on in the country and especially in the midwest today, I refuse to let it get to me. Focus on the positive and stay away from the negative. I do my part to be a good upstanding citizen. My best to you all.

TOTALS FOR WEEK 11:

Swim: 1 / 1470 yards
Bike: 4 rides / 128 miles
Run: 5 runs / 26.5 miles

My Search For American Muscle – Part IX

PART IX – Interesting Hemi Dodge Coronet R/T

I’m still looking for a classic car, and I am just a picky as ever. I saw this 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T Hemi car pop up for sale on an auction site and got really excited.

A very nice Hemi-powered 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T in a cool turquoise color. It looks like it won a couple national awards, too.

The auction site listed the car as “no reserve” and with an estimated selling price of $50,000 to $60,000. That is a steal for a Hemi-powered original car. The car was being auctioned online only and was in Indiana, so I was very interested.

Then I started looking at the pictures with the discerning eye that I have developed on this car hunt journey. First thing I noticed was this VIN tag:

fullsizeoutput_13d2a — I’ve looked at numerous pictures of Mopar VINs from 1967 and this one doesn’t look similar. The black paint is not very clean and the rivets aren’t the correct shape. Plus there are no Chrysler Corp. markings anywhere. The number does decode to a Dodge Coronet R/T with a Hemi engine.

As a reference, here’s a real 1967 Hemi Dodge Coronet R/T VIN plate. I suspect that the top one is a fake.

Then there was a picture of the fender tag of the car:

This fender tag decodes correctly to a Hemi-powered 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T as best as I can tell.

The fender tag seems correct for the car as presented, but I see a red flag. My main issue with it is that it is somewhat weathered and worn. This car is pretty well restored and the fender tag looks like it sat outside for thirty or more years. Seeing that the tag is screwed on, which is how they were attached, it can be removed quite easily from one car and reapplied to another. It is correctly stamped for a Dodge Coronet R/T (WS23) with black interior (P6X) and turquoise paint (LL1). I can’t dismiss it as not being the real-deal yet, however.

Then there was this picture of the Certicard:

Certicard’s were Chrysler cards that were used for warranty information that could be swiped for records purposes. They were kept in a plastic sleeve usually in the engine compartment on the firewall of the car.

This is a major red flag. The vehicle identification number (WP41G…) doesn’t match this car at all. It decodes as – W=Dodge Coronet, P=Premium, 41=Four door sedan, G=383 2-barrel engine. All of this is wrong for the car listed for auction. But… this card could have been from another car and just is along for the ride with this one. Maybe someone mixed up the cards? I don’t know, but I am sure I’m not gambling $50,000 on this car being the real deal.

Knowing all of that I now suspect that the car was originally most likely a 1967 Dodge Coronet 500, that had been cloned into a Coronet R/T with a Hemi engine. It was a very good clone though. The correct 150 mph speedometer was present, as was the bucket seats and console, and painted the correct trim and exterior colors that appear on the fender tag. I’m just not buying that it is real. What is a little puzzling to me is that it won two AACA awards. Those judges know a heck of a lot more than I do about the originality of these cars and they still gave it a thumbs up.

I kept an eye on the auction and saw that the bidding was pretty slow and was in the $30,000 to $40,000 range for a few days. It finally sold for $50,000. The current market value for a real Hemi-powered version of this car would be closer to $90,000 or more. Someone got a really nice but possibly cloned Hemi-powered Dodge Coronet R/T to drive around. I just hope that they know that it may not be the real deal.

Reliving Previous Week 10’s

IRONMAN LOUISVILLE 2020 TRAINING

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WEEK 10 – May 18 > May 24, 2020

IRONMAN TRAINING IN THE TIME OF PANDEMIC – PART X

As I wrap up this tenth week of a 30-week training plan, I was thinking about what was I feeling in my previous four Ironman training Week 10’s. So I thought it might be interesting to look back at what I wrote about in those weeks.

2013 Ironman Wisconsin Training Week 10 – I was blogging my journey for my first Ironman on a triathlon blogging site that is no longer around, but my son Ben was able to recapture those posts. It looks like I was actually looking forward to the next third of the training plan. Hmm… imagine that. I would never look forward to what was coming now! Since I can’t share a link to the post, I will copy it below:

WEEK 10 – April 22, 2013Week 10 is in the books! I can’t believe I am 1/3 done with the training. Week 10 ends the Base Phase of the training program and now I am heading into the dreaded Build Phase! The next 10 weeks looks challenging, with an extra swim added per week, along with some intervals added to the bike and run training. I look forward to getting out of Heart Rate Zone 1 and 2 and into zones 3 & 4.
This week took a hit, with heavy rain flooding many parts of the Chicagoland area. We were spared here in Mokena for the most part, but getting outside was not in my plans. As a matter of fact, even the Will County Forest Preserve District closed the two local preserves because of flooding, and those are my running and now cycling haunts. But I did well inside, missing only my Sunday long run due to my daughter’s confirmation and party. Sacrifices are a two-way street.
My butt is continually sore and uncomfortable in the saddle on long rides. My Saturday 3 hour ride took that to a new level of soreness, and I am wondering if a better saddle may alleviate some of my issues. I also think I just need to ride more. I’ll get there.
The swim this week wasn’t the best. Tuesday’s swim was after a run, which caused me to cramp up in my lower legs and feet. I just couldn’t swap them that day. It is readily apparent to me why the swim is the first event.
I joined a Facebook group for the 2013 Wisconsin Ironman. Good group of people and they have shared tons of valuable information. I’ve been quietly respectful of them, but I will come out of my shell soon and interact with them more. They are having tons of fun.
WEEK 10 TOTALS:
SWIM – 4400 yards, 2 swims
BIKE – 77 miles, 3 rides
RUN – 17.5 miles, 3 runs (skipped a long run again this week due to family responsibilities)

2016 Ironman Lake Placid Training Week 10 – Another upbeat post in 2016 for Ironman Lake Placid. There was a three-year gap between Wisconsin and Lake Placid, so it seemed like it was still kind of new to me. Since this race is a mid-summer race, it seemed to be much colder than my other Week 10’s. The best part of this week was the 3-hour ride with fellow Gunner John.

John and I seemed like we were enjoying ourselves on a cold April 3-hour ride. Probably not.

Read the actual post here: 2016 IMLP Training – WEEK 10

2017 Ironman Louisville Training Week 10 – Since I am training for Louisville again this year it isn’t a surprise Week 10 falls on Memorial Day weekend again. It seems like I did a lot of assessing myself in 2017. I see that I was starting to realize that all of that crazy swim training wasn’t worth it and I was happy to just do enough. It worked well for me then as I ended up setting a swim personal best in the race. Here is the post: Memorial Day Reminders

2019 Ironman Chattanooga Training Week 10 – It seemed by this point I was doing more writing about the week’s experiences than what the ten weeks meant. It looks like I hadn’t done any swimming yet, which is not surprising. I learned a lot in 2017. The post was about getting the crap scared out of me apparently: Week 10 Wrap Up: Fear… Parts I & II

2020 Ironman Louisville Training Week 10 – Half of this week was split between home and the lake home in northern Wisconsin. Glad to get away from the self-isolation and quarantining in Illinois to the beauty of the Northwoods, where apparently the State of Wisconsin doesn’t care if you go about your regular routine.

So here I am again, wrapping up another ten weeks of training and glad to be done with it. As usual, I am hoping for better weather, for my butt to get acclimated to the seat soon, and for the coronavirus to not kill me or my race. I’ll keep training like the race is on until it isn’t.

brace-yourself-swim-979e158b9e

TOTALS FOR WEEK 10:

Swim: 0 / 0 yards
Bike: 3 rides / 75 miles
Run: 5 runs / 34 miles

Clicks, Ticks and the Same Old Tricks

IRONMAN LOUISVILLE 2020 TRAINING

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WEEK 9 – May 11 > May 17, 2020

IRONMAN TRAINING IN THE TIME OF PANDEMIC – PART IX

I’ve been training on my new gravel bike for most of the spring, mainly because the weather has been wet and I would rather ride that bike through the puddles than my triathlon bike, but I have been on the triathlon bike more now. And it has been talking to me – lots of clicking and ticking sounds coming from it that the gravel bike being new definitely isn’t making. I bought the bike in the summer of 2013, so it is getting a little old now and the sounds shouldn’t really surprise me much. But when I am riding over 20 mph at times, those little sounds probably shouldn’t be ignored. I’m guessing my headset and fork bearings may need to be repacked with grease. I’ll play around with it and see if I can get the bike back in a silent running condition. A new bike would be an easy reaction to an aging bike, but I’m going to make sure my bike can last me as long as it can. I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to pursue Ironman races. I’m getting a little worn out. The click and tick sounds could be coming from me as well.

As I did my weekend long ride on Friday instead of Saturday (moved my senior college grad Ashley out of Valparaiso University on Saturday – 2 down, 1 to go!) I could tell that my level of fitness while doing the ride has gotten better but it’s still a long way off. First I had overdressed for the day and was sweating more than I should have allowed myself. That lead to getting a tad bit dehydrated and a slight bonk while finishing up a planned 2 hour and 45 minute ride in 3 hours. This is my fifth time training for an Ironman and it seems I have to relearn the same lessons each time. But fortunately, I’m a quick learner and it comes back to me pretty quickly.

Every time I train for an Ironman, I guess.

It rained like crazy on Sunday and I didn’t get a chance to do my Sunday long run. I’ll do it tomorrow. One thing I don’t have to relearn is how to be flexible and get the job done.

Lastly, I finally opened the pool. I think I set a record getting it ready. The temperature is up to 85 degrees (yeah, I hate swimming in cold water), and the junk is all vacuumed out. I should be able to swim next week.

cbHwirOmTYCJGyGv51FuHw — I had to stop at my turn around point to empty rocks from my cycling shoes. Good times.

TOTALS FOR WEEK 9:

Swim: 0 / 0 yards
Bike: 3 rides / 74.5 miles
Run: 2 runs / 9.5 miles

35 Years to Life

Someone liked one of my recent training blog posts and started following my blog this past week. I know this because I get a notification via my phone when it happens. And this notification jolted me awake at 2am! I have to learn to silence that notification! But I always appreciate it when someone takes an interest in what I’m doing or writing about.

When I publish something it gets posted to the host website, wordpress.com, and it gets shared to a reader page. I guess that is how they may discover my blog. Other bloggers see these posts too. Some find my posts when they search for “triathlon” or “running”, or maybe a race report for a specific race, or search for a specific tag. Interestingly enough, besides my home page, my most popular blog is about my do-it-yourself electronic drum kit build that I did, and all I did was post it and walk away from it. I never shared it on any forums or anything.

For me, this blog is about documenting my journey in my later stages of life so I can look back on it and reflect. I write for me. But there is a great satisfaction for me when someone hits that “Like” or “Follow” button. I’m glad that something I shared is relatable to others.

So I checked on who liked my blog and it turns out he has had a struggle with alcoholism and has been sober for a couple of years now. He uses his blog site to write about his journey. I never did a specific blog post about being a non-drinker, but I may have mentioned it a few times here and there. I gave it up in college, February 1985. I was barely 21 years old, just getting started. I did a dumb thing in a drunken, sleepwalking state and regretted it. No, it wasn’t illegal, and I wasn’t even ridiculed for it – just some gentle ribbing and teasing from my friends. But I was embarrassed and thought I could be a better person. I never thought of myself as an alcoholic and I don’t think I fit that definition. I’m just someone who said it was time to quit something I didn’t like just as I was getting started.

The original promise I made to myself was to no longer drink to get drunk, which is the exact opposite of what most college kids do. I promised that I would only drink socially as long as I never overdid it again. Well, a day without drinking turned into a week, which turned into a month, which turned into a year, which led to a decade, etc. It’s been 35 years and 2 months and adding on day by day.

I never really missed it, and I certainly missed a lot. Ice beers came and went in the late ’80s. Wine coolers were a huge hit, too. I never drank a single one. I have no idea what makes a craft beer what it is or even what it tastes like. Wedding toast? I put a glass of Champagne to my lips and faked it. Block parties? I drank soda.

The current crazes are wines and whiskey. My buddy has an awesome collection of whiskey/bourbon/scotch and the like. I find it very interesting, but I am not drawn to it in any way. He encourages me to give some a try, but I have no desire.

I truly don’t remember what being drunk actually feels like. I couldn’t describe it to you.

So what has kept me on this path of sobriety for so long? Not sure really. Some people actually have an addiction that they have to overcome. I wasn’t addicted. I would never claim that I was an alcoholic. I think that is an insult to those that struggle with alcoholism. I didn’t even really enjoy the taste of alcohol, and I definitely didn’t enjoy the post-drinking hangover. I quit drinking because I was embarrassed and just had enough will power to no longer do it. I can sometimes challenge myself and get focused enough that I won’t let anything stop me from my goal. Running marathons? Doing an Ironman? All tough things to do, but I focused on it and got them done. Giving up drinking was just another challenge that went past the original sentence I gave myself – probation and don’t do it again. Probation is way over now, and as an adult I think I could probably drink without being irresponsible. But that’s not going to happen. My sentence currently stands at 35 years to life. I can do that easily.

So if my story of giving up something that everybody does and can provide you some inspiration to do the same, I would be thrilled. Best of luck on your journey.

Happy Mother’s Day

IRONMAN LOUISVILLE 2020 TRAINING

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WEEK 8 – May 4 > May 10, 2020

IRONMAN TRAINING IN THE TIME OF PANDEMIC – PART VIII

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there! I certainly miss my late mother and think of her often. If you are fortunate to have your mother and father around, cherish the time you have together.

My mom never knew me as a triathlete. She would tell me to be careful when I was just a runner, worried about the marathons in particular. I wonder what she would think about the Ironmans I have trained and raced. I’m guessing she wouldn’t have been too happy about it. That’s what mothers do, they mother.

Week 8 was a drawback week as far as training goes. The training plan sneaks these in occasionally and it is always a welcome surprise. It always seems to come just when you need it. So this week ended with a reduced ride and run, and I reduced the run even more by eliminating it because it’s Mother’s Day and it’s a rainy Mother’s Day. Maybe I will do it tomorrow on my normal rest day in Week 9. It’s an easy hour run that I can do without much effort.

While training for my ultramarathon this past winter I had developed some nagging little injuries, but when the pandemic hit and the event got postponed, I was happy to slide into the Ironman training which heavily reduced my running workload. I realized in Week 5 or 6 that I no longer had those injuries and was feeling pretty good. But I’m starting to feel the little behind the knee thing starting to come back. Maybe taking off from running on Mother’s Day is a good thing to give it an extra day of rest. I’m guessing Mom would approve.

TOTALS FOR WEEK 8:

Swim: 0 / 0 yards
Bike: 3 rides / 66 miles
Run: 3 runs / 14 miles

Smile!

IRONMAN LOUISVILLE 2020 TRAINING

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WEEK 7 – APRIL 27 > MAY 3, 2020

IRONMAN TRAINING IN THE TIME OF PANDEMIC – PART VII

My son had a female teammate on his college cross country team that had two great attributes that everyone took notice of. First, she was smoking fast. She outright won many of the meets during the season. When the team ran in the NCAA DIII Cross Country Nationals, she was the runner-up. So yeah, the competition knew who she was. And the second characteristic – she smiled when she did it. I’m not just saying that if she heard you cheer for her that she would flash a smile. No, she smiled through the entire race like she actually enjoyed running and putting the beat down on everyone else.

This week I thought about that out on the trail while putting in my training runs. Although lately there have been some times when I wanted to flip people off, this week seemed to be more enjoyable. Lots of people were being friendly and I took notice. So I started to smile when I saw people. Not sure if they noticed me having fun doing what I love doing, but I started to see the benefit of smiling. My pace quickened a little. I felt myself sliding comfortably into a pace that normally is reserved for hard efforts.

So smiling may be in my future. Feeling good about running in this crazy world right now is just what I need.

Training went well this week. After riding a stationary bike and my gravel bike for my training rides the previous six weeks of training, I finally committed to riding my tri bike for my Saturday long ride. I don’t mind getting my gravel bike dirty and riding it is fun, but I was pushing hard and only finishing with a 15 mph average. So I was eager to ride the tri bike to see if there was a difference. Yes, there is a difference. I did 45 miles and averaged 17.5 mph. That’s something to smile about.

I’m not alone when I say I haven’t done any swim training yet. Most pools are closed due to the pandemic, and the lakes are just now starting to hit 60 degrees allowing some swimmers that are braver than I a chance to swim. But that’s way too cold for me. I will open my pool soon though. I usually open it in May when the temps start averaging around 60 degrees or more. I looked at the forecast for next week and see that we have another cooler week coming, so I think I will wait one more week before opening the pool. I’m okay with waiting. Swimming sucks.

TOTALS FOR WEEK 7:

Swim: 0 / 0 yards
Bike: 3 rides / 72 miles
Run: 4 runs / 25 miles