Painful morning

Ugh! The equivalent would be drinking too much and waking up regretting it the next morning. This scenario involved strength-ing too much and hurting too much. I feel like the old man who can't bend down to pick up the glasses he dropped. My hamstrings are very displeased this morning. Along with my shoulders.

It was a good session yesterday. Strength in the AM followed by swimming in the PM. However, today's wakeup was a struggle which is normally indicative of toooooo heavy of a training session the day before. Luckily, today I am off. Unluckily, I am off because of the length of the work day I have! It will be good to let the legs have a day off. Plus, the cockpit is like my own high altitude chamber, which apparently it's what the pros use. Perhaps it could work for me. I'll take anything!

It's now time to fly. I look forward to welcoming my bed tonight.

Good luck to us all!

Long ride

It's Sunday. I am at home. It feels odd. Not used to this.

I must say that being home on a Sunday is not motivating to get on the bike. Yesterday was very fatiguing. Finished the Pedal For Pancakes at my local triathlon shop and then went for an additional 1 hour run. For some reason that really took it's toll yesterday, despite what appeared to be the good use of nutrition. Had stomach cramps all afternoon and evening. Was able to soldier on at the bar, but suspect it was more down to some form of sickness I have carried all week. Body has been fighting it and with the long workout yesterday, it probably just wound me down.

However, today is better. A good nights sleep has helped and the plan is to remount the bike shortly in front of a movie and spin for 90 mins. Hopefully the legs oblige and the whole workout will be completed. Suspect that some foam rolling will be in order once this day is done.

Week 5 awaits tomorrow, with a long swim and strength training tomorrow. Time to get on the calender and adjust the schedule to match the work one. Could be a sleepy week.

Good luck to us all!

Grand slam tennis and Ironman

This morning I have awoken in Winnipeg Canada.  It's early, as ever, but late in Australia. As a result I am afforded an opportunity to watch And Murray on the semi finals of the Australian open. It's 30c (88f ish ). The players have just completed a marathon 3rd set and you can see in both their faces how far their bodies have taken them.  You can see Andy has hit the "wall" and quickly his opponent does the same.

It's now 5-1 in the fourth and both men are seeing the classic ups and downs associated with Ironman. From one minute you see then power a rally along, then the next they can barely get across the court to reach a shot.

I see a lot of my race in the TV screen I currently see. Not a negative point, but more of an acceptance of the amazing body that we live in. The difference is that the opponent that we will see in France with new the outside environment. It's return shots are random and whenever my body wishes to acknowledge it. I can stop if I don't want to return and walk. The two players on tv right now don't have that luxury.

I woke to thinking about Ironman because of the dream I had about the swim. A surreal dream swim with only us three racing and a very relaxed, almost casual feeling about it. The first time I have felt such a feeling about the open water part of this race.

As I leave  the hotel for work, I see two tennis players in the 5th stretch. The equivalent home stretch. Legs are still with them, like watching two sluggers bashing it out in the final round. That's how I imagine it will feel coming down the chute in France. Can't wait for that feeling!

Good luck to us all!

Back on the road

Blogging from the back of an aircraft enroute from Chicago to Bismarck, SD. Wishing very much that airports had gyms onsite. Only a handful do have them and they are mostly for employees only. A 3 hour break in an airport seems like a wasted opportunity to train.

Last week, www.airportgyms.com was successfully used at Washington Dulles airport. During a four break, I was able to get an hour bike in thanks to Rocko at Gold's gym. Although, it was at a cost. This week, I doubt I will be as lucky. Denver might provide some respite in their airport gym, but not set in stone yet.

The hours are beginning to increase. Can't believe it's already week 4 in training. I am becoming more inventive and more discovery is being made in to how I can get workouts done. By doing this, the schedule can be better adhered to.However, recovery always suffers, but isn't that what it's all about? The training is the true Ironman effort.

Glad also that I have a few weekends off approaching. Not only do I get some time at home like a "normal" weekend person, but I also get to attend some illusive group workouts, which are always fun. Allow me to introduce Peddle For Pancakes. Our local store, Urban Tri, hosts a free peddle at 9 on Saturdays, swiftly  followed by a batch of pancakes. I will also get to train with Constitution aka Radford and Napoleon. Completing all the workouts alone does allow such group workouts to be very much looked forward to. It will be nice to pass two hours on the bike with some good humored conversation. Now to just get through this trip.

Good luck to us all!

Sunday - it's long ride day

Returned from work last night. Getting up at 3am that day made for a long one which in turn made for a traditionally fatigued wakeup today. Quite often, even though 9 hours of sleep was achieved, after a long 20hour last day, no matter how well I sleep, normally I wake up still tired. The reason to take note of such a thing is that having a long workout due the next morning requires an awful lot of motivation to get it done. Today was a day like this.

Managed to get my new training tire on the rear wheel and make it on to the rollers by 9am. The abductor is still a little sore on the rollers, but it is showing signs of improvement. However, the true struggle was remaining on the rollers! Due to the slight fatigue still being felt, concentration was not the strongest. If you lose that concentration or become distracted, allowing your core to relax, the next thing you find is your bike wondering towards the edge of the barrel. This seem to occur numerous times today and was not helped by watching the Man U vs Arsenal game on TV (a good match).

Even with all those distractions, 30 miles came around reasonably quickly and I managed to complete the workout. The abductor is sore right now. Some ice and rolling is needed to recover it a little. That is the next order of the day.

Tomorrow starts week 4 already. Time seems to be flying by. Concern remains over my abductor and I feel that a doctor visit may well be fast approaching. Lets hope it doesn't come to that.

Good luck to us all!

Canada and training

This week is all concerning competing my training week with a recovering injury and bitterly cold temperatures in Canada. All my overnight stays are in Canadian cities, with gyms that are average at best. The need to be inventive in getting high. For example, $22 in cab fares was spent on finding a gym during my 4 hour break (sit) in Washington DC.

Tonight, Ottawa provides the challenge of completing a strength workout. Traditionally, running would be the order of the day. However, the injury is not quite up to par for a run just yet, so the room strength in order. There shall be numerous inventions with the resistance bands in my bag. Let's hope no one peaks through the window and finds me in all different kinds of contorted situations, tangled up in elastic!

The crux is that today would be a perfect winter run day in Ottawa - -20f and sunny skies. If only the abductor would allow it. It will require a lot of self control to prevent that from happening. The lack of winter clothing should help with that.

That's it for now. I wish Constitution and Napoleon a speedy recovery from their illnesses.

Good luck to us all!

The Dark Side

Greetings from Ironman training. This week has been a lot of ups and downs. All of the team has experienced some form of The Dark Side. This is our way of explaining the significant fatigue in the form of tiredness that many Ironman trainees appear to experience. There has definitely been days this week where each of us has felt very tired. Normally, one would hope to avoid this feeling until much later in training. However, each of us has coincided the beginning of our official Ironamn training with some very busy work weeks.

Constitution made some fascinating decision making whilst on a work trip, which involved a combination of drinking and running. This was very much felt the very next morning. Napoleon was been "hard at work" with long days in the "kitchen" and also upping the length of our workouts. I myself had a trip last week with numerous 4am wakeups with a workout planned on each day.

It all seemed to catch us up, like the tortoise and the hare. At least one day this week we have all just been cranky and tired - how I would imagine a typical Clint Eastwood character training for such a feet! Normally, I would associate this with over training. However, I would lean to point the finger at under resting. Certainly where I am concerned.

It is said that an athlete training for Ironman races should sleep a full 8 hours a night, minimum. However, the guy who wrote that clearly was the CEO of the company. In the working man world, to combine a profession and training, it's just not realistic, although equally not impossible.

I have noticed that many of the posts on this blog have remarked upon the tired state of the body. 8 hours a night will have to be striven for and no longer ignored or dismissed. Undertaking this task was a simultaneous acknowledgment that I would not be as much fun and just that little bit more boring. And so it must be (although not all the time! That would make Jack a dull boy!!)

The irony of this post is found in the fact that as I type it is 8:17pm. My wakeup is at 4am. Thus, already ignoring my own advice! Perhaps that can start tomorrow, which is, thankfully, a day off.

Sleep well and good luck to us all!

I rarely proof read and publish as is, so please provide me some latitude for the odd error.

Fatigue

Yesterday and today began and ended with fatigue.  I think a lot could be attributed to my lack of discipline when exercising each of the preceding days. I frequently allowed my heart rate to sore followed by a shortened cool down. If I am to make it to Nice without over training, I need to rediscover the discipline from last year. In 2011, I was very rigid in my approach to training, consistently resisting the urge to power on and maintaining my aerobic heart rates. 2012 has come with a brief repressing of that attitude, which had immediately lead to the current fatigue I am feeling (that and the 355am wakeup this morning).

I think it is more the draw of this immense challenge that is ahead of me. An odd impulse that I need to workout harder, or, to rephrase, longer to meet my goal. This is not true and I must reminds myself of that. Quality and aerobic. These were the keys to last year's success in the half ironman and they must be observed in 2012.

The reason I bring this up is because I don't want to just finish this challenge, but I want to enjoy the majority of it too. There will be downsides...mostly downsides in morale, more so than speed inducing boosts of energy/adrenaline. However, the true enjoyment will be gained knowing that I can do it before the date arrives. And the way to achieve that is to allow my body to make it. Depending on who you are, you need to get slower to get faster (stolen quote).

Now time for some rest. 4 am wakeup and not even for a run (I really miss running at the moment!)

Good luck to us all.

Climate change and granola bars!

The last few days have been tough with the abductor problems. It has been quite sore. What made this particularly tough was being in Florida and seeing all the triathletes on their bikes in the perfect training environment. 75 degrees Fahrenheit and clear skies, quiet roads and little traffic. The beaches were mostly empty and perfectly ripe for a short jog. The draw was too much and I succumbed to a short jog down the beach. It felt fantastic, like a dog being let off the leash in the park. And after some attentive stretching, things weren't so bad.

Now we are back in Minneapolis and experiencing record high temperatures. It's January. It's 50F!! I had a swim this morning and was due to go on the trainer, but felt it was sinful to stay inside. So, I hopped on the new bike - the first time I have been on the road with it - and set off. It was fantastic! The bike is a perfect fit and the best cycling I have had the privilege of experiencing. The "boy blue" was as reliant as expected and the power output was equally impressive. Even the abductor didn't complain.

Along with the swim this morning I am quite spent. What better thing to do than to make some granola energy bars. I nicked the recipe from Triathlete Magazine and so far so good. At least the pictures looked ok. I am awaiting the final result as I type.

Tomorrow will be a little puke inducing strength training with Coach Danielle and hopefully a two hour ride on the trainer depending on how the abductor feels in the morning.

Nice planning is coming along nicely. We are aligning our accommodations and should have them booked soon. Now if we could only figure out how to get the bikes to the race start without spending an arm and a leg.

Good night and good luck to us all!

Thresholds and swimming

The schedule of training and working certainly dawned on me this morning at 5am when I was awoken by my alarm, having only headed to bed 5 hours prior. I arrived home from work at only 11pm and didn't hit they hay until midnight. It was one of the more challenging wake ups I have had in recent times, yet I'm sure that the challenge of Ironman will far surpass this one. That is what makes you get up and go in the morning.

I arose before dawn to complete a threshhold workout. What this entails, is a good warmup followed by your maximum effort that you can stand for a defined period of time. This morning it was a 20min maximum effort. I crashed in on a regular bike class at Danielle Pellicanos. She is the coach we have for strength training who regularly kicks our behinds in to shape.

There were 7 weary cyclists this morning. All of us pushing it to "the max" in order that we may establish our heart rate zones for the bicycle. The goal of this is to allow for more effective training. Most notably, the prevention of overtraining. By knowing your heart rates, you are able to keep yourself in order and not allow yourself to push training sessions beyond what you should, thus allowing your body recovery when the schedule is busy. The irony- a threshold workout is complete knackering!

I am meant to be out swimming today, in addition to the threshold workout. With the chronic lack of sleep last night, I struggled to make it to the pool as of yet, but the day is young! Sleep dominated my day and I am a little frustrated with myself. I certainly had the time to do it, but was so fatigued that I chose the covers over the water. I can get away with it now, but not in the near future. This was a "key" swim and not to be missed.

Lunch was a good old fashioned beans on toast that should provide me with the energy to get to the pool this evening. 90mins hopefully achieved at the U of M pool.

Good luck to us all!

2 days in...

The start of training has coincided with a trip. I have already found a few new places on the road which will be effective places to train in the future - which had provided a positive start to the official Ironman programme.

First day was a long, 3500 yard swim in Bismarck. Although, "long" is now a relative term, with 2.4 miles the goal. Felt pretty good for the 90 minutes in the pool. The itchy skin syndrome notwithstanding.

Today was a short 60 mins on the stationary bike, which normally would be a dreaded prospect. However, the bike available to me in Charlotte was a nice new stationary. Time flew by and was actually a good experience.

Food during recovery, whilst on the road is a challenge. My Hammer whey protein is an essential to ensure the muscles get what they need. If I rely on the food on the road then I might be in trouble. The "road food" had about as much nutritional value as my left little finger. So, bringing my own food and hammer nutrition is a must. So far so good.

Tomorrow, I might try to set my heart rate zones and have a bit of a swim.

Good luck to us all!