Do You Want A Nutty Bar?

IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA 2019 TRAINING

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WEEK 26 – Monday 8/26/2019 – Sunday 9/1/2019

Dave came to join me for the Saturday long ride, a planned 5.5-hour ride with an hour-long brick run right after. As he was getting ready I saw that he was doing a little pre-ride carb-loading with what looked like a Little Debbie Nutty Bar.

“Is that a Nutty Bar?” I asked. “Yeah, do you want one?”

Do I want one? That’s like offering a junkie a fix. That’s like asking a dog if he wants a bone. That’s like asking a fisherman if he wants to go fishing. That’s like asking… well, you get the point. At one time I was addicted to the dang things. I would buy a box weekly and have one for my mid-afternoon snack. When I go on car trips and stop for gas, the snack I look for is a Nutty Bar or a Payday if the gas station is dumb enough to not stock Nutty Bars.

So back to the question – did I want one? You bet I did. But seeing that I had just eaten breakfast and also was dealing with a pre-ride nervous stomach, I didn’t want to chance eating one and regret my decision. So I very reluctantly took a pass.

Screen Shot 2019-09-01 at 5.03.00 PM.png — Little Debbie and her Nutty Bars sponsor Ironman Chattanooga.

So onward we rode heading south and west on the route I take because it’s the safest and best riding from where I live, but that can be an issue if the wind is not in your favor. We could tell that the wind was going to be in our faces coming back as we rode out with ease. But as we turned around, it didn’t seem to be too much of a struggle.

6j69UhPxS9SsrtaA+Oo74Q — Dave complying with my mandatory selfie.

At the turn around we filled up our water bottles and Dave texted his brother John that we would swing by his house to pick him up. John had done Wisconsin and Lake Placid with us, but his growing little family has now taken priority in his life. So we were looking forward to riding with him.

We finally got to his place and I could see he was having some issues with his bike. He showed us his chain and it looked like he had tied the chain in two knots. Quite a head-scratcher for sure, but we got it sorted out and hit the trail for home. When we got to downtown Frankfort, this younger guy on a mountain bike asked as we passed if he could join us. I don’t think any of us said yes to him, but he grabbed on to us as we were trying to meander our way back through Frankfort that was extremely busy with the annual Labor Day Fall Fest. Dave and John both rode up and told me that this guy was behind us, so I pushed the pace and tried some different routes to see if we could drop him or get him to get bored with us, but he hung on. We finally got close to my house and stopped and told the guy the ride was over. I guess that was all it took and he said he’d ride around Mokena for awhile. I got to hand it to him, he kept up with us at times doing 25 mph or so on a mountain bike.

John opted out of the run, so we snapped another mandatory selfie before Dave and I started the run.

The run went well and we both came back ready to be done with the day. I offered Dave the opportunity to jump in the pool for a cool down, but he declined. He loaded up his gear in the car and we said our goodbyes. As I walked away, he said: “Hey, do you want a Nutty Bar?” I reluctantly declined again, this time with a chuckle. I didn’t think a Nutty Bar sitting in a warm car would be very tasty, and I kind of wanted some real food so once again I reluctantly passed.

They better have Nutty Bars at the finish line of Ironman Chattanooga.

WEEK 26 TRAINING TOTALS:

Swims: 1 total, 2800 total yards

Rides: 3 total, 131 total miles

Runs: 5 total, 45 total miles

Gunners-2-1 — The Dreaded Week 27 is looming…

I Got the Moods

IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA 2019 TRAINING

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WEEK 25 – Monday 8/19/2019 – Sunday 8/25/2019

Granted, I’m a pretty moody SOB to begin with, but this week I was in a funk. After training for four Ironman events, I should know by now that come about this time during training that I can get moody. Week 25 in my thirty-week training plan is usually when I am sick of the training and just want to get it over with. I’m not alone in that, plenty of triathletes get that way judging from the posts I read on Facebook this week.

It started last week really when I had sort of a rough Saturday long ride and run workout. It wasn’t bad, but I felt like it wore me out more than it should have and that I should have my hydration and nutrition better dialed in by now.

Then on Wednesday, I realized it was the 40th anniversary of my father’s passing. I spent some time reflecting on that for some reason. Truthfully, I don’t really remember mourning his passing when I was 15 years old and usually, the day passes by without me even noticing. But I did remember this week and got reflective about it.

The following day I had a work event in the evening that I wasn’t really excited about doing. The event was just not my thing, but I went and realized that I was silly to feel the way I did. My coworkers appreciated my effort even though I was in a mood, and I realized the people there were fighting things in life that I had no idea about. I’ve written about attitude before and reminded myself about being more understanding and appreciative of others and their personal battles.

But on Friday I had a good day. The weather got cool – temps in the ’70s for late August made for a great 1.5-hour run. Saturday was also beautiful. My 5.5-hour bike ride was awesome. I dialed back the effort a little and found that I didn’t wear myself out as much as I usually do. I think if I plan to ride about 17mph in the race it will be a good tempo to leave me feeling good for the marathon. I never felt dehydrated or without energy, and the hour-long run afterward went great. Sunday was another great weather day and the 16.5 miles of my 2.5-hour run seemed to float by.

Why didn’t I just ride an extra mile or so and make it a perfect 100-mile day?!

The weather certainly made a huge difference in my attitude. I am really hoping this trend continues to race day. A great day will make for a much better mood for me. Five more weeks of training and I am now kind of looking forward to it.

I took a little time to refuel at the turnaround and realize that I am lucky to do this dumb sport.

WEEK 25 TRAINING TOTALS:

Swims: 1 total, 2800 total yards

Rides: 3 total, 140 total miles

Runs: 5 total, 43 total miles

Switching It Up & Getting It Done

IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA 2019 TRAINING

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WEEK 22 – Monday 7/29/2019 – Sunday 8/04/2019

We pulled the old switcharoo with the plan when Dave advised that Alex would be in town this weekend, so the training plan for this week was swapped with the one for next week.

The weather was pretty great this week, often just barely getting into the low 80’s, but it gradually climbed through the week and was pretty warm on Saturday and Sunday. I was glad for the cooler temps as I was volunteering for a second week at the high school band camp. Our band no longer goes to an actual camp, but rather opts to stay at the school and learn the competitive show for the fall season without the distractions of being away from home. Camp was a success, and I was still able to get in my workouts.

My daughter Rebecca going through the paces at band camp. I took tons of photos of the kids.

On Saturday I drove out to Dixon to meet with Dave and Alex and we started our ride around 8:30 am. I like riding out there with them as it provides a different type of riding and scenery. Dave says the same thing when he joins me on my routes.

CJTpn8WER2y7VNaN1+UO5w — Trying to take a picture of us riding requires skill that I lack.

The plan was to ride out for 2.5 hours and back. At the three hour mark, we stopped at the town of Lanark and filled up our water bottles for the remaining two-hour ride back.

Alex and I goofed around while we waited for Dave to fill his bottles numerous times.

Zm4YmoGtTsKztpkPVn+m6Q — Dave joined us for one final selfie before heading out.

I was glad for that little break and we hit the road to head back. Not much longer after that Alex started getting a little nauseated, and truthfully, I was getting dehydrated on this warm upper 80 degree day. We kept at it but by the time we got back, we were beat.

Alex did about 10 minutes of the 45-minute brick run, but I summoned some extra will and joined Dave for 4.5 miles of post-ride running. I was glad we got it done, but I was bonked. It took a while to rehydrate but after a shower and some refueling at the local Subway, I was feeling better again.

I spent the drive home and the evening thinking about skipping the two hour Sunday run, but I woke up and decided to hit the trail. I felt pretty good, got in 12.5 miles at an easy Z2 pace, and patted myself on my back for not bailing on the run. Sometimes you want to quit on a workout, and this one would have been excusable in my mind, but when you pull on the shoes and get out there it really builds your character. I didn’t quit on myself, and when the hard part of the training and the race comes, I will remember that.

6+0mqTO3RJeq3tFMDflMxA — I spent my afternoon with my son Ben enjoying the Cubs beating the Brewers. A great way to end the week.

WEEK 22 TRAINING TOTALS:

Swims: 1 total, 2100 total yards

Rides: 5 total, 162 total miles

Runs: 5 total, 40 total miles

Getting It All Done

IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA 2019 TRAINING

WEEK 21 – Monday 7/22/2019 – Sunday 7/28/2019

Triathletes joke around about how everything gets neglected when training for an Ironman and typically cutting grass is one of the first things to get behind on. Fortunately for me, I have plenty of time to cut the grass, take care of the pool, and the other stuff that I am usually responsible for. However, I volunteered to chaperone at band camp this week like I have done the past several years and that takes three hours out of my afternoon to do things like the above. But band camp is two weeks long, and it is worth my time to watch my daughter and her group practice their way into another awesome award-winning field show. Certainly looking forward to chaperoning again this next week. Fortunately, I was able to catch up with chores on Sunday.

With the chaperoning duties to do, I did a little shuffling around with the plan to get things done.

I did my Tuesday swim on my Monday rest day. On Tuesday I got my run in on a very nice day. Wednesday was the typical bike/run brick workout that went just fine. Back to cycling on Thursday, but I pushed the swim until Friday. On Friday, I did a brief two-mile shakeout jog and then did the swim before heading to band camp. I didn’t want to overdo it because I was racing a sprint triathlon on Saturday.

Saturday was race day, and I did very well! I nabbed 2nd place in my age group and was 17th overall. You can read about it here:

Race Report: 2019 Manteno Triathlon

After the race, my training buddies Dave and Jeff rode to Manteno to meet me after the race and then we did a group ride back home together. So cool that they came out to ride with me when they could have just ridden on their own. Although I didn’t quite get in the mileage or riding time that the plan called for, I was happy with what I accomplished.

Sunday was a long run that ended up being about 11.5 miles. I felt good on that rather warm and humid run. I got a surprise when I saw Dave’s son Alex running at me and calling my name, with Dave not too far behind. Heck, if I knew that they were still in town I would have joined them!

After that run I jumped in the pool, rehydrated, and then started catching up on my chores. First was mowing the grass, and then I did some more power washing the sidewalk that I didn’t get to a couple of weeks ago.

There’s time for training, family, and chores when training for Ironman. You just have to be resourceful.

WEEK 21 TRAINING TOTALS:

Swims: 3 total, 4682 total yards

Rides: 4 total, 86 total miles

Runs: 5 total, 28.5 total miles

I Won a One Man Race!

IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA 2019 TRAINING

WEEK 18 – Monday 7/1/2019 – Sunday 7/7/2019

This week was somewhat light for the training plan that I follow and boy was I thankful for that. July Fourth occurred this week which meant that once my daughter marched in her last Independence Day hometown parade as a high schooler we would be off to our vacation in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. So there was travel involved and vacation and hosting lots of family at our lake home. Even with all that happening I still managed to get in most of the training.

One cool thing that happened this week is that I got my new tri kit a couple of days before leaving for vacation. I chose to go with Jakroo this time around and the kits seem to be pretty decent for a lower priced product. The best things about this company was there were no minimum orders to meet, I could design the kit myself, the prices were affordable, and the turnaround was super quick. Here’s me with the tri shorts and the cycling jersey. The shorts were size Large but were a little snug. I may order an XL if I find these uncomfortable. I did one short hour long bike ride in them and they felt okay.

The weekend called for an Olympic distance race according to the plan. Although I will race a 5K or triathlon during training I’m a little hesitant to race when training for an Ironman because I don’t want to risk crashing or otherwise injuring myself and throw away all the investment I made in training and other stuff, so I just usually do them at home on my own. And being in Minocqua offered a perfect opportunity to do just that.

First Annual Minocqua Olympic Distance Race For Chris Only Race Report

When: 7/7/2019

Where: Minocqua, Wisconsin

Time: 2:55:52

Results: 1st Place Overall – WINNER!

After a good breakfast of pancakes and bacon, I donned the wetsuit and recruited Kari to kayak next to me on the swim to keep me from being run over by one of the thousand wakeboard type boats on the lake. I’m exaggerating a little, but these obnoxious boats seem to be the boat of choice by beer drinking party animals who somehow have the money to afford such an over the top boat.

The Swim: 1562 yards / 28:49 / 1:51 per 100 yds.

Fortunately for me, I was seeded in the first wave and got ahead of the pack early. The wetsuit seemed a little restrictive for some reason, but I felt good. The water was warm, but the race director said that it was a wetsuit legal race. I decided that I would swim along the shoreline for 750 yards and then turn around, not realizing that 1500 yards didn’t quite equal 1500 meters, but it was close enough. I swam pretty comfortably and was surprised to see that I averaged under 2 mins per 100 yards, which was awesome. I reached the dock and like a dummy, I hit stop instead of the lap button, but I got it fixed quickly and I was off the change into bike gear for the ride. Nice to be first out of the water!

T1: 5:30

The Bike: 24.8 miles (40K) / 1:29:36 / 16.6 mph average

I decided that I would ride Highway J west toward St. Germain and make use of the wide bike lane on the road. I’m a little nervous about being on that road but the cars were giving me plenty of room. By a half mile into riding, I was regretting riding my hybrid bike in this race and not bringing my tri bike up to ride. My butt and left leg were bothering me and to alleviate the discomfort I shifted my butt as far back on the saddle that I could. Lots of rollers on this ride but it’s not too challenging. As I got to St. Germain I was very pleased that I was right at 12.4 miles and this out and back would be a perfect 40K. The ride back was smooth and trouble-free. Glad to average 16.6 miles on this heavy old bike. I was also very glad to be the first bike back and still in first place.

T2 – 3:21

The Run – 6.2 miles / 48:36 / 7:51 pace per mile

My back was a little sore getting off the bike but loosened up quickly. As I headed down my street I debated as to which way to run but decided to stick to my original thought of running downtown to the trail and then head back. I wasn’t planning on pushing the pace on this run because I had such a huge lead, but when I got to Hwy. 51 and saw the parade of backed up cars leaving town on the only road that takes them back south I did a little peacocking and was running hard. That was a bad decision as the pancakes were starting to wear a little thin. But I paced the out and back well, hit the water fountain a couple of times, and coasted home to a first-place finish. I kind of like winning. I might make this an annual tradition.

WEEK 18 TRAINING TOTALS:

Swims: 2 total, 3,662 total yards

Rides: 3 total, 56 total miles

Runs: 5 total, 24.7 total miles

Training is Halfway Done!

IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA 2019 TRAINING

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WEEK 15– Monday 6/10/19 – Sunday 6/16/19

EMBRACE THE SUCK!

The weather was finicky this week, forcing me inside for one ride and soaking me on another. The soaking came on the Saturday four-hour long ride. As I headed south into the wind I knew that I might need to ride a little farther than two hours before turning back home because the headwind would become a tailwind and the trip back would take less time than the trip out. But at about 1:45 into the ride I could see the dark storm clouds getting much closer. I made the choice to try to outrun the storm and head back home and make up any extra time needed to complete the four-hour ride closer to the safety of home. It didn’t happen. At the two-hour mark, the sky unloaded on me.

As it just started to rain, I stopped and tossed on the lightweight cycling rain jacket that I decided before the ride that I might need. I’m glad I brought it along, not that it was really going to keep my dry, but it would keep me from getting cold. I rode in this hard rain for about 30 minutes. Thankfully, the very strong tailwind had me flying along at around 23 mph or so, and the rain wasn’t pelting me in the face. When it let up from the hard rain, I just dealt with a light drizzle, wet roads and gunk getting all over me for the remainder of the ride. But as I rode I almost was having a great time. I felt like a kid again. It was fun.

There’s a saying in triathlon – “Embrace the suck” – meaning that things aren’t always going to be perfect, and dealing with these miserable moments can only build confidence. It’s easy to move a ride to another part of the day when you know a storm is coming at your planned ride time, or to run inside on a really hot day. But race day won’t offer you that trade-off. After finishing the ride, I ran for 30 minutes in light rain with my feet squishing and reminding me that it will be worth it. You can be physically prepared for an Ironman, but being mentally prepared is also a huge asset.

WRAPPING UP THE FIRST 15 WEEKS

Any milestone in a journey can be notable, and when you are on another 30-week quest to be prepared for an Ironman finish, getting halfway through the training plan is certainly a worthy accomplishment. I’m not fooling myself though, through 15-weeks I have finished 10-weeks of the base phase (pretty easy) and half of the build phase (getting tougher each week) with the rest of the build phase and the endurance phase yet to come. But this is my fourth go around training for an Ironman and I know from experience to put my trust in the plan, follow through with the workouts, and I should be more than ready on September 29th. Time to look back on the first 15-weeks of training! (Click on the link if you want to read the original post.)

Week 1 – Ironman Chattanooga Training Begins! I started with some excitement about chasing Ironman for the fourth time.

Week 2 – Attitude is Everything I was struggling with this week, and complaining too much. It was time for an attitude adjustment.

Weeks 3/4 – Two For One Training Update A busy two weeks doing some college visits with my daughter Rebecca and wife Kari and trying to keep the training going.

Week 5 – I’m My Own Worst Enemy I found myself doing dumb things in training that could easily sabotage my plan, like racing the local high school track team up a hill during their hill repeat workout. It wasn’t my fault, I can’t shut that off.

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Week 6 – The Comparison Trap In Week 6 I once again realized how important it is not to compare myself to others. I have to relearn this every time.

Weeks 7/8 – I’d Be A Horrible Judge Another twofer update from me, pondering whether I like the idea of relay teams in Ironman races or not. Truthfully, I don’t, but whatever.

Week 9 – Week 9 Wrap-up A somewhat boring week with wet weather forcing me inside. But I did play around with my new Fly6 and Fly12 bike cameras and started designing a new tri suit for our team.

Week 10 – Wrap Up: Fear… Parts I & II It was a weird week and I got a little freaked out by a storm and a creepy guy admiring my bike. I survived both.

Week 11 – The Uneasiness of Being Comfortable I became aware that I was being a little lackadaisical about training and losing focus.

Week 12 – Swimming Sucks A reminder of my love/hate of swimming.

Week 13 – Bike Helmets are Instant Dork Makers I bought a new helmet that looked great online but made me an instant dork.

AWP_0513 — I guess it’s not so dorky after all.

Week 14 – Sun Tans, Group Ride, & Racing! I wrapped up Week 14 with a great ride with teammates and a 1st place age group finish in my sprint race!

Here’s to the next 15 weeks!

Week 15 Training Totals:

Swims: 2 total / 4200 yards > Rides: 4 total / 108 miles > Runs: 5 total / 32 miles

Sun Tans, Group Ride, & Racing!

IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA 2019 TRAINING

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WEEK 14 – Monday 6/3/19 – Sunday 6/09/19

You sure are getting tan.

A few weeks ago I started getting compliments on my tan. I never really notice getting tan because it’s a gradual progression for me, but others who are less tan than I seem to notice it quite easily, and are sometimes envious and will point it out. I guess getting sun exposure and developing a tan is easier for a runner or triathlete, as we are outside doing our thing a lot. But there are some downsides to getting tan. First, the danger of exposing yourself to the harmful UV rays is pretty evident. If I am heading out on a sunny day, I will always spray myself with SPF 50 or cover myself well. Even so, I will still start developing a good tan. The other downside is triathletes can develop some really strange tan lines. I generally wear mid-length socks that will protect my lower leg from the sun. Also, tri suits cover your thighs which leaves just a small portion of your leg exposed for tanning. That’s a weird look. Wearing a hat also adds to that weird tan line on your forehead, like pro golfers get.

It’s not like I seek out sunny days to exercise – I take whatever day I get and prepare for it. But when it is sunny, I make sure that I place more emphasis on protecting myself from the sun than getting that envious tan.

Group Ride!

Riding with my teammates and buddies is always better than going alone. Last week Dave was in town but I wasn’t, so we couldn’t do the Saturday ride together. But Dave ended up making a return trip to visit this weekend, and he coaxed Jeff to come down from the city and do our 3.5-hour ride, 1/2 hour run Saturday workout together. The weather turned out great for us, except for that pesky wind that always seems to be in our faces in the second half of the ride.

We turned around a little before making it halfway out from home because we thought we were going to need to fight the wind back home. But we ended up having about 15 extra minutes we needed to ride, so we took a trip through a local neighborhood called Prestwick, a neighborhood where STYX lead singer Dennis DeYoung used to live back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. We also saw an old neighbor Bill Goldschmidt out riding. He was a dad who lived on the street that Dave lived on and I virtually lived on and a long time rider. He was very excited to see us on the trail and we had a short but nice conversation with him.

We finished the ride and then headed out on a fairly easy paced 3.5-mile run that took us more than the 30 minutes the plan called for. They let me hear it for making them run longer than what the plan called for. Whatever, it’s good for you.

After a quick splash in the pool, some great conversation, and a nice lunch, we all headed back to our busy weekends.

The required post-bike selfie that I demanded they participate in.

Racing

On Sunday, I once again drove myself to Batavia, IL to race the ET Batavia triathlon and did quite well for myself. I ended up 27th overall and 1st in the Male 55-59 age group. I was very happy with that result. You can read my race report here:
2019 ET Batavia Triathlon Race Report

Week 14 Training Totals:

Swims: 3 total / 4600 yards > Rides: 5 total / 102 miles > Runs: 5 total / 25 miles

Bike Helmets are Instant Dork Makers

IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA 2019 TRAINING

WEEK 13 – Monday 5/27/19 – Sunday 6/02/19

I need a new bike helmet! It’s always a cause for celebration when you need new stuff because you get to shop for new stuff! But shopping for bike helmets is not fun for me. They look good in pictures, not so good on my head.

I have two cycling helmets, an old one I keep around for a backup, and my current cycling helmet that is three years old. The styrofoam in the backup is showing classic signs of age degradation. It’s probably 8 years old and time to retire it.

I also have an aero helmet that I use to race with. It looks to be in pretty good shape but the date of manufacture sticker on it says it was made in 2012! Seven years is pretty old for a helmet. I’m thinking maybe I should replace it as well. Plus, as soon as I bought the helmet it became a relic, as the helmet industry sort of adopted a new design for aero helmets that were less dorky so to speak. Nowadays there are plenty of newer aero style helmets that look more like regular cycling helmets. I can essentially kill two birds with one stone and buy one of those newfangled models!

But it doesn’t really matter what helmet I buy, or how cool it looks online or in the store, as soon as I put it on my head I become an instant dork.

2014 Ironman Muncie 70.3 – Instant dork. It doesn’t help that I wear a skull cap type thing to keep the sweat from getting in my eyes. You can see Rebecca behind me laughing at her lame dad.

The only time this helmet looked good on me was in the photo at the top of this page, and the fact that the scenery of the Adirondack mountains in the backdrop keeps you from noticing how dorky I look.

I have always liked BELL helmets, mainly because after trying different brands I found that BELL helmets fit my head the best, were pretty common and could be found most places, and the fact that BELL kind of leads the way in testing and advancements in head protection. So naturally, I went to their website and looked to see what they had to offer. I found a really cool aero helmet called the Z20. It looked cool online. It made me an instant dork as soon as I put it on. It sits higher on my head than my old ones for some reason.

if9k6xhZSaWTsBflB%HJaA — New helmet, same old dorky guy.

So there you have it. Three different cycling helmets all having the same end result with me – instant dork. I’m starting to think it might be me.

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And now a Public Service Announcement from me:

WEAR A DAMN HELMET WHEN RIDING! I was running today and counted a dozen helmetless riders in that 7.5 mile run. Two adult cycling deaths in the nature preserve I run in since it opened and still there are people risking serious head injury on those steep downhills and blind turns. Plus not everyone out there is a good rider. Tons of knuckleheads and inexperienced riders riding without head protection. Don’t give me that crap that they weren’t around when you were a kid and you survived. You probably never left the neighborhood or street you grew up on on your bike. If they did exist back in the day, I’m guessing your parents would have wanted you to wear one. Seatbelts weren’t mandatory when I was a kid, but would you not buckle yourself in now?

Have you ever hit your head on something like a cabinet door or the like? It hurt like hell didn’t it? Now imagine slamming your head to the asphalt at 15 mph or more.

WEAR A DAMN HELMET WHEN RIDING! Even if it makes you look like a dork.

WEEK 13 WRAP-UP

I had a chance to head up to the lake home in Minocqua on Thursday to be there for the furniture that was going to be delivered on Friday, so I was fortunate to get some training in up north. A change of scenery can do wonders when the training routine becomes a little boring. Don’t get me wrong, I like the ride out to the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetary at home, I just get sick of doing that ride week after week. Minocqua was a breath of fresh air.

A huge tree fell over on the path and I didn’t get to ride the whole trail. Forced me to do some exploring and I found some decent paved roads to ride.

Week 13 Training Totals:

Swims: 2 total / 3500 yards > Rides: 4 total / 85 miles > Runs: 5 total / 26.5 miles

Swimming Sucks

IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA 2019 TRAINING

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WEEK 12 – Monday 5/20/19 – Sunday 5/26/19

The pool is open and ready for swimming! Yay me! But I have a problem. I hate swimming. It sucks. It’s hard, it gives you cramps, it makes me sleepy for some reason, it makes me hangry, and I could drown. So there’s that. It’s the activity that kept me from being a triathlete for years until I finally took the time to learn to be decent enough to get through a sprint distance swim. I’ve always thought that swimming is just the necessary evil that is required to get to the two sports that I actually enjoy. A prerequisite of sorts. But it’s soooo boring.

I can’t believe that it is Week 12 already of my 30-week training plan and I’m just now starting to do my swim training for Ironman number 4. My last training for Ironman was in 2017 and my buds and I did Ironman Louisville, a course known for a pretty generous swim. I decided that the plan I follow is way too heavy on the swim training. Three swims per week, starting with 2500 yards per swim and progressing to 3500 yards per swim a week was too much for me, and I figured that if I can easily swim 45 minutes, how difficult is doing another 30-45 minutes? I gambled a little and it paid off. My swim times went from 1:30 at IM Wisconsin in 2013 when I followed the swim plan very closely, to 1:18 at IM Lake Placid in 2016 in which I was following the plan pretty closely but was starting to rebel, to 1:09 at IM Louisville in 2017 swimming only 45 minutes twice a week. So, if Louisville could produce a personal swim best my thinking is Ironman Chattanooga will be about the same or quicker, seeing that it is a downstream swim. That is if they don’t cancel the swim like they did last year. Which would be just fine with me.

On Tuesday I jumped into the pool after an hour-long run to cool down a little and begin my first 45-minute swim. It sucked. It wasn’t long until I could feel my arms getting sore and by 20 minutes into it, I was getting horrible foot and leg cramps. I stopped at 30 minutes and decided I had had enough. I got out, ate lunch, mowed the ever growing grass, and then to my credit I jumped back in and finished the last 15 minutes of my swim. It felt good not to give up on that swim, even if I had to break it into a couple of sessions.

When Thursday came around I figured I would do my swim after my hour-long bike. I fully expected to have a similar swim to Tuesday’s, but it actually went okay. No cramps and I was able to get the 45 minutes done.

So I will keep at the two swims per week, figure out a time when I can get to up to Minocqua and do a few longer open water swims this summer, and hopefully build my swimming confidence as the summer rolls along. I have lots of time to get better and maybe even start liking it a little.

I thought I had figured out my bike issue last week and was pretty sure I had it licked, but on Saturday’s long ride I could hear the rubbing again and for some reason, my rear brakes were really making a horrible scratching type noise. I stopped mid-ride and checked the wheel out and it looked like there might be some rubbing of the tire on the brake mechanism itself. I didn’t spend much time diagnosing the brake noise because there was a storm coming from the west and I was 22 miles from home, so I got back on the bike, limited myself to mostly using the front brake, and got home as quick as I could.

After a thorough wash down of the bike, I put it on the bike stand and tried to diagnose the issue. My son Ben was supervising and he pointed out that the tire was actually rubbing on the frame. I looked at the tire and could see that it wasn’t seated as far down on that portion of the wheel, so I let the air out of the tube and reinflated it. That worked and the wheel and tire spun just fine after putting it back on the bike. As for the brake, one of the brake pads had a little chunk of metal embedded into it, which explains the horrible noise I was hearing when braking. I dug it out with a metal probe and, voila! no more noise. I should probably replace the pads soon, they are getting pretty worn down.

On to Week 13!

Week 12 Training Totals:

Swims: 2 total / 4100 yards > Rides: 4 total / 90 miles > Runs: 5 total / 23 miles

The Uneasiness of Being Comfortable

IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA 2019 TRAINING

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WEEK 11 – Monday 5/13/19 – Sunday 5/19/19

As I slid into Week 11 I found myself reflecting on being comfortable with where I was in the plan. It has kind of become routine – Monday rest, Tuesday run, Wednesday bike/run brick, Thursday bike, Friday run, Saturday bike, Sunday run – then repeat week after week. But on Saturday I finished my ride, put the bike away and got busy cleaning the swimming pool and mowing the grass and totally didn’t realize that we are now at a stage in training when Saturday’s long ride is followed by a run brick. I had gotten so used to the previous ten-week routine that I didn’t remember that the runs are added to the bike on Saturday. Oops. Oh well, I did have a killer of a Saturday long ride which kind of made up for missing that 15 minute brick run.

Speaking of the Saturday bike, I decided to join a local riding group that is primarily made up of people from the local running group that I have become familiar with. It was supposed to be a 2-2.5 hour bike ride averaging 17 mph. I was comfortable with that pace and length of ride, but I have certain expectations when riding as a group and as we rode a little I started figuring out who was on the same page as me and who wasn’t. I started to get a little uneasy and moved to the front of the group to avoid any issues. There was one stop in which a rider fell over. Not sure how he accomplished that as it didn’t appear that he was clipped in and was wearing running shoes. It has happened to all of us and I felt bad for the guy, but I made a mental note to stay clear of him. It wasn’t long until this group of cyclists and aero riding triathletes were on each others wheel. While training for Ironman, I usually avoid riding on the wheel of another rider because you aren’t allowed to draft at all during the race, but here we were. I was definitely getting out of my comfort zone.

My “Z2” ride was mostly spent in Z4! WTH?

We made it out to Elwood and the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery and stopped for a quick restroom break and to refuel a little. I had some good conversations and then we were headed back. That’s when I got dropped. I was fighting like mad to keep up, but I was starting to wonder why I was killing myself. The group did eventually rejoin and I put myself ahead again to help control the pace a little. I was able to keep with them the rest of the ride. But this “easy” pace group ride was killing me!

When we turned around I noticed something was not quite right with my rear wheel. It was making a slight sound and I was sensing a little bit of vibration. I had ridden the bike on the trainer on Thursday and when I switched out the skewer I must not have had the wheel exactly straight. I stopped about 20 minutes from home and reset it the best I could and I didn’t feel the vibration anymore. When I got home I inspected the wheel and found that the tire sidewall was getting pretty worn, had started to bulge a little and it wouldn’t have been long before it failed completely on me. I was way too comfortable in letting that little warning sign of vibration and sound go on for too long. I should have dealt with it as soon as I noticed it. Stop being so comfortable! But I wasn’t the only one who should have been paying close attention to their bike. I noticed one strong lady rider who was about my age whose water bottle cage was wobbling so loosely that I thought it was going to fall off any minute. How do you not notice that?

All in all, I had a pleasant ride, learned that the cemetery has a restroom, learned a new route out to Elwood that bypasses a busy road, met some new people, had some good conversations and made it home in one piece. I will definitely join the group again but will not let the group’s ride influence my training plan for the day.

Next week I promise not to be so comfortable. I need to make sure I am executing the plan in the way I need to.

Week 11 Training Totals:

Swims: None > Rides: 4 total / 88 miles > Runs: 4 total / 25 miles