Duck fat and registration

Last night was the big registration day. We thought we would make an evening of it and had Chef Napoleon rustle up some lovely dishes for us. This involved lots of duck fat and a fine spread. A very French evening to fit the occasion. Very nice!

There was a lot of nervous excitement, particularly from myself and Constituion- the first timers in the group. But, with a little help from Mr Amex, we were registered in short time. I wish the race was as quick!

The arms are particularly sore today after a vigorous strength training session with Coach D. One of the tougher ones I have done there.  We were doing all sorts of body weight exercises with rings and bars and weights. All told, it was about an hour and 15 mins of non stop push  push push. This is the time, however, to become strong in preparation for the long season ahead. And let me promise you, it will be long!

Today has about an hour run in the future. A good time to have a gentle run and wear the dog down a little. It will be gentle based on the pain and suffering it takes just to get out of bed this morning. "Pain is your friend!" as a particular Frenchman likes to say.

Good luck to us all!

Home time and Fartleks

Get to go home today after a long four day trip that ended with a lot of flying today. Mother nature always seems to show up towards the end of my work week.

Still, managed a good Boxing Day Fartlek. Got on the treadmill in Cedar Rapids at the hotel and bashed out a decreasing set of miles - 9, 8:30, 8:00, 7:45. Heart rate was nice and high toward the end, so decided to cut the workout short at 4 miles. Had originally planned on 6, but the warm up on the bike was a little vigorous and perhaps took a little out of me. Or it could have been the outrageous non organic diet over Christmas! Either way, the heart was showing the strain on the increased and indoor heavy workout, so that was all she had Captain!

I'll be back out tomorrow for a ride on the rollers I think. Haven't been on the bike for a week or so and I miss my new toy. Normally, I am a little run down on my first day after work, so a bike sounds about right. Especially, seeing as official Ironman training starts on Jan 4th! I'm as excited as a dog waiting for it's favourite treat.

Good luck to us all!

Happy Christmas and an Ironman filled New Year

Just another quick note to wish all a Happy Christmas. I am off to work for the next four days. Normally, I would be used to this, but this year it's tough to leave the family. Going to be a little down this year on Christmas Day. I can always just go out for a run to take my mind off of things.

Still quite tired from the last two days of workouts, but that was the point. Some recovery is in order!

Good luck to us all and Merry Christmas.

Pre-Christmas Run

Just a quick note. Very tired when I woke up today. Recovering from the massive swim yesterday.

Went for a run with the dogs and Napoleon. He's house sitting with one, he has two and Maggy was with as well. I wonder what the house owner's neighbours were thinking watch our group run through their neighbourhood!? Started to snow at the mid point of the run, which added to the Christmas feel of it all. Bloody cold though. With the wind chill, it was probably close to 0F for the temperature, but after the first mile or so you don't notice it.

One thing I love about running, is that you see things that other won't see just driving in their cars, whizzing by without time to take it all in. For example, today we saw a man who had groomed his own speed skating track, practicing on the lake we were running around. It was fantastic to watch and had you not been on the path we had chosen this day, you would have missed him.  It was great to watch. Apparently, the ice is just about thick enough!

I now need to hop in the shower before Marie and I head off for a Christmas skate of our own. However, not before 20 minutes of rolling the legs and back out!

Good luck to us all!

12 Days of Christmas swim

So this is what you hand looks like after you have swum in an indoor pool for 5850 yards (2.5hours).

I had seen an article in Triathlete magazine and decided to give this massive challenge a shot, in order to free up some calories for the forthcoming holiday.

The premise of this workout is similar to the song. You have twelve "days" (75 yard swims) which are broken up in to various swim styles and drills. Then just like the song, you swim along gradually working you way up to the 12th "day".  5,850 yards later I was done. Let me just say that the final stint in the pool was a great mental challenge. You are physically spent. You arms and shoulders feel almost numb. Willing yourself to complete "days" 12-1 is likely similar to the will power I might need to finish of this Ironman task next year. Just keep plugging at it and the end will always get closer. The concentration was an interesting task in itself. Once Napoleon was forced to stop at "day 8" (time constraints for work) I was by myself. Being able to continue to focus on your technique and which day was next was a constant challenge.

I think nutrition would have been a smart plan. All I had was some water and what I had consumed for breakfast - nutella on toast!

I am very glad I did it. This will be a major psychological boost for the Ironman swim. It was about a mile longer than the swim in Nice and, albeit without savage jelly fish, I managed to finish it all off within the max time allowed for race day. What a great result!

Now for some much needed recovery nutrition and perhaps a nap!

The rolling hills of Madison and some endorphins!

Been on a trip for a few days now and managed some nice chilly runs. Ran along the river in Bismarck for a nice, easy and pleasant run. Not that you would expect anything else from North Dakota, but I managed a sighting of a buffalo, mountain goat, donkey and a flock of migrating water fowl. Not bad for your average run (the zoo helped!)

Lots of 4am wake-ups which, after a workout the previous day, can require the equivalent of a forklift truck to prise me out of the hotel bed - that or the bed bugs normally do the trick! However, the body has bee recovering nicely, especially seeing as I forgot to pack a lot of my nutrition that I like to have along for and after hour plus long runs.

Today was a nice long 7.8 mile run and I decided that it would be hilly and that I would elevate the heart rate and "tempo", or raise the pace up the hills. It was a great feeling and I got to have a peak at how my heart rate is reacting as we progress towards the new season. I must admit that the Classic Power Rock that Pandora was blasting out did help a lot. I normally resist running with music, but some of these winter runs alone do require it. That, along with the huge endorphin rush I received for the body around mile 5, made this run a f-ing fantastic one! Dread to think what anyone watching me during that endorphin rush was thinking.

Tomorrow is home day, my favourite day of the week. Get to finish up the work week and fly back to Minneapolis to the family and celebrate our Christmas. My wife has no idea I bought her.....good effort!

Until next time, good luck to us all!

Motivation and Lunch

The reality of training and working, with the increased volume required of Ironman, is setting in. Last night, after a very dynamic and drawn out day at "the office", I had a dark, peaceful and quiet arrival in the early hours. I snuck in to the house to be sure not to wake anyone, but with the excitable Maggy Mae, this simply isn't as straight forward as it sounds. She bounced around like she was on springs. However, when morning rolled around, after only 5 hours of sleep, Maggy seemed to share my view point on training today. Should have gone to strength training with Coach Danielle, but just couldn't get up and going. Hopefully, I will be able to get in tomorrow for some pain and suffering.

This evening - Marie is headed out for the night for classes - will see me on the trainer again, this time for about another 20 miles. Then perhaps a run and a swim in the morning.

Hopefully, the abductor keeps calm and doesn't bother me. It's still sore from the run the other day and my concerns are mounting as to what the problem is. I am going to go on an aggressive course of ice, rolling and stretching in the hope that it improves soon.

Good luck to us all!