training – an amazing run

I’m Bonkers

I swapped my weekend-long ride with my long run this weekend, thinking I would rather ride on the warmer Sunday. Saturday’s cool day was great for my run. Plus, there was a group ride at noon that I thought I would join.

I ended up skipping the group ride for a couple of reasons; first, I thought it might be windier later in the day, and secondly, I wanted to watch The Masters! So I decided to ride solo and leave earlier.

This ride seemed doomed from the start. I left home around 9:30 and got about 3 miles into it when I looked down and saw that I had forgotten to bring my water bottles with my nutrition in them. A quick call to my wife, Kari, and she agreed to drive them over to me. Crisis averted.

I decided my best bet would be to head west into the wind on the paved bike trail, which was a great move, as the tree-lined trail sheltered me from the wind. From there, I rode through the “rough” part of Joliet to pick up the Wauponsee Glacial Trail, a mostly crushed limestone path that heads south. It also headed straight into the wind.

I had gone through one water bottle after about 1.5 hours of riding, and I decided I’d better nurse the last bottle just a little bit to make sure I got through the ride. There’s an outdoor parking lot along this trail that typically takes me about an hour to reach from home when going the road route, but today it took me 2 hours on the trail. I figured I would have a tailwind heading back, so I made the great choice to head a little further south and head into the Midewin National Preserve. That was a mistake, because it was rough riding into the wind.

I finally exited the preserve and caught the tailwind I was looking for. My ride was supposed to be about 3:45 hours today, and I was starting to think that I would make it home way before that. So I decided to just double back the way I had come. A lot of decision-making was going on, and none of them seemed to be working out for me. I was getting dehydrated and needed to refill my bottles soon.

I stopped at every water fountain that I knew of, and they all had a little red sign saying “Water Fountain Closed For The Season”. C’mon, man! It’s a seventy-degree day! Let’s get that water flowing!

As I rode on, I got stopped by a train in the “rough” part of Joliet, so I stopped by this factory building that has been there forever, and sat on its steps until the train passed.

Me at the stage of the ride where I knew I was starting to bonk. The train is up in the distance.

I got back on the trail home and realized my next best option for water was back in New Lenox, where I work. I was dragging when I got there, but there was some relief for me. I tried the village hall side door, a door that my old coworker used to leave unlocked for some reason, but he’s no longer there (for obvious reasons), and the new guy has the place locked down tight. Next up was the police department, where I have spent my last 12-13 years working, but I didn’t have my keys, and no one was around to let me in. Thankfully, next door was the library, and it was bustling with activity. I pulled my bike up to the door and peered in, but didn’t see any fountains right there. The library has a really nice vending room just inside the door, so I parked my bike next to a bench where there were two other bikes parked, and went in and bought myself a 16.9 oz. bottle of good old Coca-Cola. I wanted something cold, something sweet, and something with some caffeine. It might have been the best Coke I have had. As I sat in the room looking out the window, I saw a father and son exit the library and take a really long look at my bike sitting there. I think they were just admiring it for some reason, but I started to wonder if I might lose my bike at any minute. Fortunately, they opted for their own bikes, and I finished my drink and saddled up.

The rest of the ride was brutal. Drinking a carbonated drink and trying to ride was not sitting well with me. At least I was functioning and getting closer to home. Eight miles to go.

I took a shortcut and hopped over the railroad tracks with my bike to finish this brutal ride at 56.25 miles and four total hours. At least I have the ability to ride the distance I need for the 70.3, but I need to work on a few important necessities that I surely neglected today.

Upon getting home, I grabbed a Gatorade and tried to get some sugar and electrolytes in me. I ended up in a ball on the floor, suffering from one of the biggest “bonks” in recent memory. I was so low on energy I couldn’t even think right. Kari kept asking if I needed anything, but I just needed to not move for a little while. I finally got up, took a shower, and sat down to watch some of The Masters. Since I had screwed up the ride, I also started screwing up the recovery by not refueling. Kari and I decided that my best option was to take a quick trip and get a smoothie. It hit the spot, and it wasn’t long until I felt normal again.

It’s a good thing that these things happen in training so that I can learn to not do them again. No more going bonkers for me from here on out.

Are We There Yet?

“Are we there yet?” was something I’m pretty sure every kid would ask mom and dad when travelling in the car on some boring trip somewhere. And when I run, I sometimes get to a spot on my running route in which I ask myself that very question. Sometimes it’s because I’m cold. Sometimes it’s due to being tired or sore. And sometimes it’s because I’ve run this same route for 20-plus years now, and the routine can make you wish that the two or three miles you have left to go would just be over. I would definitely spend one of my three genie wishes on ending some of the runs I have been on. Certain marathons come to mind.

But today wasn’t one of those days. The weather was upper 40s, mostly sunny, and calm. I was dressed appropriately for a change, and I was putting in some long, slow time on my feet. And it was feeling great. I am currently enjoying some pain-free running, which wasn’t the case in the past couple of years. I was running twelve miles today, using my typical run/walk pace plan (2 minutes each), which has been great at helping me build miles, while not tearing my muscles up with the harder straight run efforts. I will run eight miles or less straight with no walk breaks, but with several months ahead of me before my backyard ultra in September, I figured I shouldn’t push too hard at this point.

But the question of “are we there yet” can also be one of anticipation. When I had reached that point on my route today, where I sometimes ask myself how much more of this to go, I had a different thought. I was feeling great and thought I could get home, top off my bottle with more Tailwind, and possibly head out on the route for another twelve miles. I wondered how well prepared I am at this current stage, and how much longer until we get to that backyarder in September? I’m feeling ready!

“Am I there yet?” Not quite, but I am getting closer.

~~~~~

ODDS AND ENDS

I switched to wearing Hoka shoes back in 2017, after I got tired of what ASICS was doing with their shoes. I’ve tried various Hoka offerings, starting with the Clifton, but kept seeking out more cushioning, something Hoka is well known for. I have fallen in love with the king of cushioned shoes, the Hoka Skyward X. These shoes have tons of cushioning for my sore knees, and are carbon-plated to add extra spring and bounce to my footstrike. They also tend to last me a long time. I typically need to change shoes every 300 miles or so, but I can get 600 or more out of these before I even sense that they are getting worn out. I hope Hoka never stops making this shoe, but it has an issue: It’s illegal to race in them. They are on a banned list of shoes prohibited from most sanctioned road races, and that includes Ironman competitions. The racing ruling bodies that govern shoes have declared that a 40mm stack height is the maximum allowed, and the Skyward X, the monster truck of running shoes, exceeds that 40mm. Fortunately, the Hoka Cielo X, a road racing shoe that I have run the Chicago Marathon and last year’s Ironman Rockford 70.3, is legal and still provides a great ride for me.
THERE WERE SKELETAL REMAINS FOUND ON MY RUNNING ROUTE! I was coming back from a weekday run, heading past an old farmer’s field about a mile from my house, when I noticed a couple of county deputies and a guy in the field. Turns out, the guy was doing a land survey and found a human skull! It didn’t take more than a couple of days before the coroner identified the person. He had been missing since last June. Not sure yet how he got there or what caused his demise, but it was a little unsettling to know that a dead guy had been lying in the field I run past on almost every run.
I’ve been doing my Saturday (and sometimes, Sunday) long rides with the local cycling group when they pop up, and I’ve been really enjoying the rides. The wind direction often dictates which way we ride, and all of the rides have been out to the west to have a tailwind coming back. I joined my first “Tap Ride,” which is a fun Wednesday evening ride on the crushed limestone Wauponsee Glacial Trail out to a small farming town called Symerton. The group will stop there for a refreshment before heading back in the dark, with our lights illuminating the trail. Riding at night was not something I’ve done much of, so it was a nice change for me.
Temps next week will be in the 70s, so I will start working on getting my pool ready for some lap swimming in preparation for the 70.3 in Rockford, Illinois, in June. Last year, the three-year-old pool heater sprang a leak and stopped working just before the season ended. So I need to get that figured out and fixed. Pools are great, but sometimes I wonder if I should fill it with dirt and move on.
I have my first race coming up in May, a unique 5K time trial race in which you run a 5K every hour for 6 hours. The fastest cumulative time wins. I won’t win, but earlier this week, I ran an 8-mile training run, which started out very strongly for me, so I decided to see how fast I could cover 10K and recover with the last two miles. It went very well, and I think I might be able to cover a few of the 5Ks in around 26 minutes or so. Not sure if I can average that for all of the 5Ks, but I’m willing to be a Gunner at this stage.

That’s all for now. Back to training and getting ready for the season.

Let’s Go!

It’s time to start training! Well, I should have started last week, but I screwed up and got complacent. I blame this never-ending winter.

I remember that I started training for Rockford last year around this time, so when I checked, I realized that I had forgotten that Ironman moved Rockford up a week on the calendar. I’m guessing that it was due to them adding Omaha, Nebraska, to the 70.3 circuit, which is a week earlier, and the traveling Ironman circus can just pack up from there and head to Rockford. But it’s not like I haven’t been running and being active, and my training plan has less activity in the first week than I normally do anyway. I really haven’t missed much, but it is time to begin following my plan.

Racing the 70.3 in Rockford will be my main focus for the first half of the year, but I have two other races that have been added to my race calendar.

First up is a new event that is much like a backyard ultra, but it’s not a last runner standing format. I will be running in the Texas Outlaw Outlast Chicago in Palatine, Illinois. The format for this race is one 5K every hour for 6 hours. The quickest cumulative time for each 5K will be the winner. I’m really just using it to have some fun and start building endurance and speed for my later races. My son will be joining me, and I look forward to watching him compete. The race is on May 2. Here’s the link to sign up if you would like to join in the fun: Outlast Chicago

Next up will be Ironman Rockford 70.3 on June 14. I have some unfinished business there and a score to settle. Last year was brutally hot, and I didn’t do as well as I had hoped. I wanted to be under six hours last year, but barely survived the seven and a half hours it took me to get it done. Hopefully, the weather will be less of a factor this year.

After some recovery after Rockford, the focus will be on long, slow running and making a serious attempt at getting deep into the night at Broken Anvil Backyard Ultra in West Point, Iowa, in September. This will be my sixth time at this fun and well-run backyard ultra, and I intend to push myself past the mental roadblocks that always seem to make me quit before I should. My advancing age is making it more difficult to get that 100-mile finish, and I hope to accomplish it at Broken Anvil. Here’s the link to sign up: Broken Anvil BYU

That’s the plan for this year right now. I may add a race here or there, but the focus will be on the above three races.

As for my expectations for the year, my running outlook greatly improved after having a routine physical in February. My doctor advised that my blood draw showed that my vitamin B-12 levels were really low and suggested that I take a supplement. I ordered some B-12 gummies and some multi-vitamin gummies and have been taking them daily. Since taking them, the soreness in my quad muscles that I had dealt with for the past year or longer just went away. Apparently, vitamin B-12 is vital to muscle repair and overall health. The more you know. Routine physicals are so important. Don’t skip them!

Time to hit the trail and get some miles in. Let’s go!

Oh Boy, Here We Go

IRONMAN 70.3 ROCKFORD TRAINING – WEEK 15 & 16 WRAP-UP – June 16, 2025

As I wrapped up a really bad Week 15, I got busy focusing on this last week of training before the race on Sunday. Commonly called the “taper week”, this should really be called “madness week.” It’s pretty common to have some pre-race nerves leading up to the race, but man, everyone is freaking out, including myself!

Let’s rehash last week. I was up in northern Wisconsin and went out for my Tuesday run, an 8-miler, that has been the norm for the past several Tuesdays. It was cool, and I felt like pushing the pace a little bit. Welp, just before I got to the 6-mile mark, my right hamstring stopped me in my tracks. Yup, I pulled a hammie and had to walk the remaining two miles back to my truck. I got a little down thinking that I had just jeopardized my run race for the 70.3, but I spent the rest of the week laying off running, and it seems to be doing better. It didn’t affect my cycling at all, nor was it bothering me while working around the yard.

Then I tried an open water swim. I haven’t done an OWS in over a year, and silly me thought that it would be old hat. Nope. It was cold in both the air and the water temperatures. It was brutal, I’m talking the mid-50s. Garmin actually gave me the “Arctic Swim” badge after I hit stop on my watch.

A Garmin badge I never wanted and never intended to earn.

I started too fast, and quickly was out of breath. Fortunately, my wife Kari was kayaking alongside so I could take a break if needed. I took three, or maybe four, I don’t remember because my brain was frozen. My planned mile-long swim lasted 866 yards. It was not the confidence booster that I had hoped for. However, my coach-wife and I discussed it and tried to make it a positive experience instead of focusing on the failure. I was reminded that I need to start slow, very slow, and get myself under control. A lot of the high heart rate and being out of breath was due to the cold temperature, and my just not being able to focus on slowing down. But, I definitely won’t have to worry about it being that cold on race day because it’s predicted to be 94 FRICKING DEGREES FARENHEIT ON RACE DAY!!!

Oh boy, here we go again with another triathlon in miserable heat. Fortunately, I have experience in that area. I was a proud finisher of the 2019 Ironman Chattanooga race, a day that was in the mid-90s with a heat index in the low-100s. Somehow, I got through that non-wetsuit swim and the very warm ride and run. Maybe I should re-read that race report: 2019 Ironman Chattanooga Race Report I’m sure I can survive this as well, that is, if I just THROW AWAY THE WHOLE RACE PLAN THAT I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON FOR 16 FRICKING WEEKS!!!

Yeah, the plan was to go sub-six hours; have a great current-aided swim, not dawdle in transition, rock the bike like I stole it, then dial in for a sub-2-hour 1/2 marathon. Best laid plans… Now I will shift my focus to wrapping my head around the swim possibly not being wetsuit legal, and dialing it back on the ride and run to avoid heat exhaustion. And pray that my hamstring doesn’t flare up.

Time to stop focusing on what I can’t control, and get my mind in a better place. I’m off to sort through 13 years of triathlon related crap I own to figure out what I need to bring to the race. Next post will be the race report! Stay tuned.

Birds Of A Feather

IRONMAN 70.3 ROCKFORD TRAINING – WEEK 13 WRAP-UP – June 1, 2025

I like birds for the most part. They rarely cause any trouble for me, and they are fun to watch. I gifted my wife a bird feeder with a camera for her birthday this year, and we have had fun watching the variety of birds stopping by for unlimited seeds.

But there is one bird I hate with all my physical being – the red-winged blackbird. This is the asshole of the bird world. Seeing that I live in Illinois and run through nature preserves on my route, I get to see these jerks on a regular basis. There are two of these birds that nest near a tree alongside the trail that I run on. First comes the hideous call, which is just the precursor to what comes next, the dive-bombing. I don’t regularly get an adrenaline rush while running, but these damn birds give me one every time. And they are very adept at staying exactly above your head so you can’t see them, squawking their little heads off and putting the fear of death into you until you are just far enough out of their territory. All I can do is take my visor off and wave it around, looking like a loon-atic (bird pun) until I am in a safe spot. I guess I can take comfort in knowing that it only lasts FOR THE ENTIRE SUMMER.

Photo credit to Charlie H., which I stole from Facebook without permission.

I saw a post from the local riding group that I ride with by my super-stud friend Charlie, who advised that he was doing a “chill” ride with another rider named Amy for 3.5 hours. A “chill” ride for Charlie should be taken with caution, as he normally has two speeds: all-out and stopped. “Chill” could easily mean 19 mph for him. But I got the sense that Amy was not going to be going super fast, and I decided to join in. I’m glad that I did because it was a fun ride, and I enjoyed meeting Amy. She is doing Boulder 70.3 in two weeks and seems to be experiencing some burnout, just like me. When you get to a certain point in training, you just want to get the race over with. I’m getting close to that point.

Coming back from that long ride, I was stopped at a railroad crossing waiting for a freight train to pass, and just behind me was a 1963 Buick Riviera. As I backed up to ask him about his car, he was instead wanting to know how much riding he would need to do to look like I do! I was a little flattered, as I am as fat right now as I have ever been, but I told him that I was 63 miles into my ride and had about 4 to go. His jaw dropped. Then came the words that I could have anticipated – “I need to do what you do, but I just don’t have the time.” Non-exercisers always have some excuse, and any conversation I have with people who are surprised at how much work I do running and biking will always have that caveat – I don’t have the time. Oftentimes, it is the desire to do the work, but a lack of time is a common excuse. I said to him, “If I had more time, I would be driving around my classic car instead of doing this!”

Training went well this week for me, and I had two strong swims to help boost my confidence a little bit. I have no doubt that I’m prepared for the bike and run, but my swim could use a little more work. Thankfully, my race in Rockford, IL will be current aided, and I am counting on that to not make me work so hard.

Week 13 Totals: Swims 2/2726 yards – Bikes 3/100 miles – Runs 5/35 miles

Break Time

IRONMAN 70.3 ROCKFORD TRAINING – WEEK 12 WRAP-UP – MAY 26, 2025

Sometimes the plan I follow gifts you an easier week, sometimes you have to take it. It was the latter for me this week, as the midweek workouts suffered from the cool and rainy days, forcing me inside to do my workouts, which can be a big downer for me sometimes. This spring has been really weird, and summer seems to be taking its time getting here.

Memorial Day weekend also means a trip up to our lake home in northern Wisconsin, where there is a bunch of chores and work to be done. So, the training this week took a backseat to the weather and the responsibilities of owning a second home.

But that doesn’t mean I sat around doing nothing. Although no swimming was done, I did get in the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday workouts. Thursday was a run that I managed to get outside for and push myself a little too hard. That resulted in some sore hamstrings and a reminder that I need to not race in training. I can sense that I will show up to the 70.3 in four weeks with some soreness that can easily be prevented if I just would have taken it easier.

Friday was a rest day, if you consider sitting in a car with sore legs for 6 hours “resting”. Saturday was for working around the yard, raking leaves, mowing grass, and dragging the deck furniture out of the garage. I also took time to wash our snowmobiles and will need to “summerize” them in a couple of weeks.

Sunday was the gift day, a nice ride on the Bearskin Trail down to the town of Nokomis. I didn’t bring enough water and couldn’t find anywhere to refill the bottles when I arrived. So as you can probably figure, I suffered on the ride back home. Fortunately, the beauty of the Northwoods helped offset the suffering.

I’ll be back at it this week at home, hopefully getting back outside again, and also doing some much-needed swimming. I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day weekend as much as I did.

Week 12 Totals: Swims 0 – Bikes 3/91 miles – Runs 3/16 miles

Wind/Pollen/Dust – Oh My!

IRONMAN 70.3 ROCKFORD TRAINING – WEEK 11 WRAP-UP – MAY 18, 2025

Classic Rock lives in my head, and this week was a little rocky, so here’s the playlist (more like earworms) of this week in training.

Bicycle Race – Queen

I’ve been riding my e-bike pretty regularly to work and back the past couple of weeks. The temps have been warmer, and it hasn’t rained. But my bottom bracket on this bike has been creaking and making popping noises so much that it just can’t be ignored any longer. Thursday did, however, look to possibly have storms in the afternoon, so instead of trying to ride home and then hop on my tribike for an actual workout, I opted to extend my ride commute home and use the e-bike for the workout. I powered it down to the lowest level and rode 20 miles on it, making it home in time to also get in a swim. The storm? It may have rained for 10 minutes in the late afternoon. I took my bike into the local bike shop to have it looked at, but come Monday, I will really just want to ride my bicycle again, even if it is to work and back.

Dust In The Wind – Kansas

Friday was hot, and lately the pollen around the Chicago area has been off the charts. I came home and headed out for my 8.25-mile run. When I got home, there was a weather alert on my phone for a potential dust storm. That storm was something we hadn’t had here, well, in like ever. Fortunately, I only had to deal with the pollen on the run and not the dust, as it would have been miserable.

A screenshot of the brown dust storm heading into Chicagoland.

Against The Wind – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

Me wondering why I didn’t listen to my wife on this crazy windy day.

My “coach wife” Kari was looking at her phone and said, “It looks like your best day for biking this weekend is Sunday.” Great. I have had to move my weekend schedule around so much this training cycle that I was dreading the swap. It means moving the bike to Sunday, which is no big deal, but it puts the typical Sunday long run on Saturday and makes it a back-to-back hard run effort after the Friday run. Did I listen to my wife? No, I chose to ride on Saturday, a day that was cold and windy. Fortunately, the wind would be in my face heading out this time, unlike last week when I suffered trying to make it back home after a long ride. Going out toward the west was hard, but coming back, I was flying. I put in 55 miles on the ride, and then followed it up with a 5-mile brick run. Sometimes you just have to take on the day as it is presented. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, as race day is always a gamble.

The turnaround point for many of us is the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, IL. It’s hard not to be thankful for the service to our country these lives once gave us when I am here.

Lust For Life – Iggy Pop

I was running that 5-mile brick run and caught up to a runner I see on the trail all the time, and we always share a wave and hello. This time we were running in the same direction when I caught him, and we introduced ourselves and talked about our running plans for the year. Tom, as I learned, is newish at running, but has three marathons under his belt and had a ton of questions about fueling for me as he was trying to figure that part of it out. It really was a high-energy conversation that I enjoyed, and it ended quicker than I wanted it to, as my trail home went opposite of his. He definitely had a lust for life and running, too.

Running On Empty – Jackson Browne

Sunday came, and I was still sore from the 60-mile effort on Saturday. A lot of the time, getting a run workout done when you really don’t want to is to just get dressed and take the first steps out the door. And that’s what I did today. Put my foot outside the door, paraphrasing Robert Plant on Led Zeppelin’s The Ocean. But once out, I could feel the strain of running on tired legs. Running on empty, for sure. I kept putting one foot in front of the other and ended with a nice 10.75 miles. Just get out there, and you might surprise yourself.

That wraps up the soundtrack for the week. I’m sure I will have something in my head next week.

Week 11 Totals: Swims 2/2600 yards – Bikes 3/88 miles – Runs 5/35 miles

Life Happens

IRONMAN 70.3 ROCKFORD TRAINING – WEEKS 7/8 WRAP-UP – APRIL 27, 2025

Sometimes the best-laid plans of a triathlete in training often go awry, to paraphrase poet Robert Burns, and the past two weeks have been that way for me. Last week, I took a trip to Florida with the family over Easter to visit my in-laws, which made for a nice escape, and that included an escape from my training. I ran a couple of times over that extended 5-day excursion, but did little else other than enjoy my family being together and enjoying a break from our busy lives.

This past week also had some conflicts: my wife Kari’s birthday, a memorial service for an old friend, an appointment to have my sprinkler system fixed, and the ever-changing weather around here causing disruptions to the training plan. Somehow, I managed to get back at it until I got derailed again with a very sore throat at the end of the week. I could feel it coming on, and thought that maybe it was just a reaction to the bad pollen levels we are experiencing. Nope, it turned into a cold.

Wednesday’s call for a bike/run brick workout that I normally let myself push pace, but found that my calf muscles were not happy about that, cramping up occasionally while I tried to get through 45 minutes of biking followed by a 30-minute run. I grabbed a Gatorade after the bike and took a big swig from it, hoping that a swig of electrolytes would set me straight, but I thought that I better bring it with me. I’m glad I did. Normally, I never cramp while running, but the bike effort had already done its damage. Nevertheless, as I moved forward slowly, sipping away at the Gatorade, I was able to find my stride again. It was a wake-up call, though – I need to focus on hydrating more and making sure that I’m taking in enough electrolytes.

The weather is starting to look warmer here in the Chicago area, and I started thinking about opening the pool. Closing and opening a pool both include a fair amount of work, but there’s definitely more cleaning up with the spring opening. So while the sprinkler guy worked on the sprinkler valve, I gathered my pool opening supplies and read through my notes. Even though I have opened my pool by myself for almost 20 years, each year I forget how to do it. I’m losing it.

I held out hope for feeling good by the weekend, and on Saturday morning, I decided that I felt good enough to run. I planned to take it easy and just run and walk through the 1:45 run, but I felt good and changed my mind, running it straight through. I felt pretty good, but after getting home, my body didn’t like that. I was drained, and now my sore throat was accompanied by a cough. Time to take some medicine.

I opted to skip the long ride this weekend, and instead I filled the time opening the pool and mowing the grass. The pool was pretty clean, and didn’t take much time to vacuum and start the heater going. I should be swimming by Tuesday, or maybe Thursday.

So, life threw some curveballs at me this past two weeks, but experience has taught me not to worry about it. I will pick the plan back up this next week and keep moving forward.

Week 7/8 Totals: Swims 0 – Bikes; Far too few – Runs: Nowhere near enough

Comfort Zone/Danger Zone

IRONMAN 70.3 ROCKFORD TRAINING – WEEK 6 WRAP-UP – APRIL 13, 2025

I put in some good work this week and was feeling pretty good about it. I had not had any nagging issues or pains to deal with for a few weeks now, and I knew better to tempt fate by declaring myself back to normal. What is normal, anyway? I’m not sure if people who put themselves through this type of training for this dumb sport are ever normal. But, I was feeling good and taking notice of it.

I have a usual running route that I take almost every time, and I had noticed that someone had painted little mile markings on the trail. I later realized that these markings were for a local 1/2 marathon race that I have run a few times in the past. As I was running my 6-mile run, I was feeling good and started to think that maybe running that race again might be a good test for myself. I began to push pace, and as the run was winding down, I could feel myself tiring, and the hamstrings started to bark at me, reminding me that any “feeling good” effort could lead to bad things. I decided that pushing myself at this stage of training was not in my best interests. Stay in the comfort zone and avoid the danger zone.

I was tempted to swap my long Saturday ride and long Sunday ride as that Sunday group ride was becoming a fun time for me. But I thought the best riding conditions would be Saturday, so I stuck with that. I was glad I did, because Sunday was a windy day, to say the least.

I overdressed a little for the sunny ride, but I wasn’t uncomfortable. Since the ride was a three hour, fifteen minute ride, I figured I would ride to the west and add on out there if I needed more time/distance. I realized that 3:15 would be a time near that 70.3 bike of 56 miles, so I decided that 3:15 or 56 miles would be a good ride and might be a good way of telling me where I stand at this point of training.

I felt great, and the miles were flying by. I don’t know if riding the gravel bike as I have been doing lately was just harder for me and I didn’t realize it, or if the tri bike was just that much faster. It seemed effortless. Most of the ride felt great, but the comfort zone of the first 2/3’s of that ride started dipping into the danger zone in the last 1/3. I made it home with a 56-mile split of 3:16, not too far off of where I thought I could be, and I think that there is time to get a little faster. I’d like to be somewhere near three hours for the bike portion of the race in June.

2-hours into the ride and a little stop for a nature break and a stroopwafel. Nice day for riding!

The plan called for a run right after the ride, so I changed into running gear and was out running within 5 minutes. The bike was causing numbness in my left foot, and I hoped that it wouldn’t affect my running, but it did. But it seemingly didn’t affect my pace. I felt labored and couldn’t believe that I had an 8:40 first mile split. I pushed on and could sense that I was definitely entering the danger zone again, feeling like I was about to run out of gas. I made it home with a 3.25 mile run and a need for some Gatorade and nourishment. Seems like I went a little too far into the danger zone. The 59-mile day was a wake-up call, letting me know that I am not quite ready to tackle the half-iron race distance. But I’m getting closer. Back at it next week, and back to the comfort zone, I hope.

Week 6 Totals: Swims 0 – Bikes 3 rides/85 miles – Runs 5/27.6 miles

Character Building

IRONMAN 70.3 ROCKFORD TRAINING – WEEK 4 WRAP-UP – MARCH 30, 2025

I was a little concerned about the weather for the weekend, so I thought I might have to shuffle things around again to make sure that I got the important weekend workouts done and not skip them. Sunday looked to be the worst of the weather, so I moved that long run to Friday and did two hours of easy run/walk through 10 miles. Friday was a good day to do it; a little windy, but otherwise, very comfortable.

That left Saturday for the bike as usual. My plan indicated that I was supposed to do two hours and fifteen minutes of riding. A day or two earlier, Jim, a local friend who admins our local bike “club,” posted on Facebook that he was planning a 3-hour gravel ride on Saturday. Three hours was a little more than the 2:15 ride I was supposed to do, but I figured it wouldn’t kill me. I replied that I’d be there and crossed my fingers for good weather.

I normally would have ridden to the normal meet-up location, but since the ride was going to be three hours, I didn’t want the extra 40 minutes of riding. I loaded my stuff into my truck and drove to meet Jim. As I backed out of the driveway, I could see sprinkles of rain on the windshield. It was raining consistently when I met up with Jim and another rider, Dave. I invited Jim into my truck, as he had ridden the half-mile to the school from his house, and we checked the radar. The rain let up enough to begin the ride, but since Jim’s house was on the way, we stopped for him to get some extra riding gear to handle the weather. I was starting to think that this ride was going to be a character builder – one that you don’t want to do, but if forced to do it, you would get it done.

As we began again, the rain had stopped, but what was on the road was spraying our legs, feet, and butts. But it wouldn’t be long before we would dry out from riding and enjoying a nice gravel ride through the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. We had no overall plan other than to get to Midewin and then wander through the park, exploring different abandoned roads and trails that none of us had explored before. Jim had realized that his front tire was going flat, and I just so happened to have brought along my new electronic pocket pump, which filled his tire quickly, and thanks to his tubeless tire setup, I think the tire probably had enough sealant in it to stop the leak.

Upon riding through Midewin for a while, we arrived at a newly re-opened trail that had been closed for the past couple of seasons. Jim suggested that we ride over Route 53 and then loop back. I looked at my watch, and it showed 1 hour and 50 minutes of riding. The Gilligan’s Island theme song popped into my head – “A three hour tour, a three hour tour.” If we kept riding further out, this was going to turn into a much longer than a three-hour ride. It was a good thing that I had a stash of extra gels in my bike top tube bag.

Of course, the first bridge we got to said “CLOSED DANGER” or something like that. We crossed it anyway. Building character. The next little bridge we came to was also apparently closed, as it had mounds of crushed limestone piled in front of it. The ground next to it looked wet but possibly passable, so we dismounted and walked through the wet stuff, just barely sensing some water seeping into our shoes. More character building. We rode a little further and came to another bridge that was impassable due to a creek, and we just weren’t ready for that type of character building, so we decided to turn back. Upon getting to the swampy bridge that we had previously just passed, I said screw it and rode my bike through it. It might not have been the most sound idea I have had, but I must have picked the correct gearing to get through it without sinking. We gathered again, and up ahead of us was a single rider stopped, looking at the ground. She was looking at a snake she had narrowly missed and then said hello. After a brief introduction, Kristen said that she was from South Carolina and had recently relocated to the Chicago area and was exploring the preserve. She was headed for the direction we had just turned back from, and she decided to join us as we found an alternate route. Kristen wasn’t any new rider; she shot ahead with us three older guys trying to keep up. She wanted to see the bison, so we headed that way, and we weren’t disappointed. The bison were out grazing in the prairie, and Kristen found them to be worth the trip to the area.

Kristen decided to visit the park’s visitor center, and we parted ways, deciding to head back to our cars. We got a little turned around, riding a little bit out or our way again (more character building), then finally into the town of Manhattan. We decided to pick up some fuel, but the little eatery that Jim wanted to stop at was now closed. A trip a little bit down the road found us parking our bikes in front of a Dunkin’ Donuts and heading in for a brief refueling. Then it started to sprinkle.

The sprinkling led to consistent rain, and it wasn’t looking good. We opted to ride a busier road as it was a more direct route, but other than the driving rain, we had no further issues.

I had mentioned this character-building ride several times to Jim as we kept making dumb decisions, and each time he said he didn’t need any character building, as he was already a “character.” Aren’t we all?

But the ride did provide a couple of insights for me. If I need to ride in weather conditions that I would normally avoid, I can do it. And, after logging nearly 56 miles, I don’t have to worry about covering that distance in my upcoming race. Twelve more weeks of character-building to go.

Week 4 Totals: Swims 0 – Bikes 3 rides/84.5 miles – Runs 4/23 miles